The different paths to the QB conundrum

And so, for the first time this off-season, here at UKHTTW we dip our toes into the main discussion point for the Washington Football Team – just who will be under centre playing the Hardest Position in Sports™ in D.C for Year 2 of the Ron Rivera era?

To make it a bit more fun, the challenge was set for UK fans James Lowe (Washington FCUK Podcast) and Tony Wheat (Full Press Coverage Washington), in addition to UKHTTW, to make a case for a QB scenario, but with the caveat that the choice would likely meet with at least some derision by your average WFT fan.

Christian Burt ,UKHTTW founder, steps up to the mark first.

Who is your QB choice:

Teddy Bridgewater

Why do you think he can do the job?

My pick of Teddy is that he complements the natural strength of the burgundy and gold, the defensive line, in the sense that Bridgewater is a non-flashy but solid enough QB.

If, as expected, the front four DL for WFT continue to grow as a unit at the current rapid rate of development, then a dependable guy under centre would be crucial when WFT look to defend the NFC East title.

A move for Bridgewater, who has a comparable risk-averse mindset to Alex Smith, but is younger and with a point to prove, would be at minimal cost in terms of the trade.

It is vital that the WFT continue to draft well and keep those four combined picks they have for rounds 1-3. Teddy went to Carolina on a three-year $63,000,000 deal, the second year of which carries a significant dead cap hit if they cut him ($20,000,000). 2022 is the get out deal for the Panthers with minimal dead money.

But might they be tempted to sever ties now?

Although Carolina is low down on the list of Win Now franchises, there were strong rumours of a huge play for DeShaun Watson. Rivera has a new front office team with plenty of experience and do not forget, for better or for worse, it was Marty Hurney who gave Teddy the deal in Carolina. They might also want a seasoned veteran in their first year together in Washington, who would come at a minimal cost of a WFT fourth/fifth rounder in Draft 2021.

The more likely scenario in Carolina is that they take one of the QBs when picking at #8 such as Trey Lance, with Teddy and the high draft pick QB battling it out in camp to start.

Why you know you will get flak for it?

The opportunity was there for Teddy to become a franchise QB in Carolina and he fluffed his lines. The apparent keenness to move on from Bridgewater after just one disappointing season is also less than appetising.

There were, however, legitimate mitigating circumstances for the less than stellar showing in Carolina.

Star RB Christian McCaffrey barely saw the field in 2020, but even so Bridgewater proved less than clutch with a particularly poor record on attempted game winning drives.

Of course, it is also well-known that in 2016 practice, as a Minnesota Viking, Bridgewater suffered a near career ending torn ACL and suffered other structural damage, including a dislocation of the knee joint. He missed two full years of the NFL but made 15 starts for Carolina in 2020, which likely points to a fully healthy Teddy in 2021.

Next up, it is James Lowe of the Washington FCUK podcast.

Who is your QB choice:

Ryan Fitzpatrick

Why do you think he can do a job?

Picking at 19 is going to be too low down to draft one of the top QBs in the upcoming draft.

We have too many holes to fill to give away major draft capital on unknown players.

Proven QBs are going to require a king's ransom this offseason as competition is fierce. We need to draft well and attack free agency for elite talent. Fitzpatrick is going to be available and at a team-friendly price. He is an ideal bridge QB for next year and is experienced enough to pick up the playbook quickly.

He would fit in well with the current QB room and would provide genuine competition for Kyle Allen and Taylor Heinicke who I would expect him to beat out. I thought he was playing at a high-level last year and he recorded a career-high in a completion percentage of 68.5 per cent.

I think he is a bargain at the talent level and should be acquired for around a heavily incentivised $8m a year. Fitzmagic is also entertaining and a great face of the franchise. I think we would be his best option to get his first playoff run.

Ryan is a lot of fun and the antithesis of Alex Smith the game manager. We would need to pick up some weapons in free agency and the draft for him to succeed, but I believe he will put up more points than we have been used to for a number of years.

Why you know you will get flak for it?

It is a short-term fix to a long-term problem. Ryan has been around for years and never made the playoffs. He is nearly 40 and is not a top tier QB.

And finally, we have a different way from Tony Wheat who has 40 years of WFT fandom under his belt and is a contributor to Full Press Coverage Washington

Who is your QB choice:

For me is a year to draft a QB and my choice would be to move up to a draft position where we can take one of Zack Wilson, Justin Fields, or Trey Lance.

Why do you think one of the draft QBs can do a job?

I am still firming up my thoughts on the QB situation, but it is becoming clearer and I have reached a point where I have a preferred option.

That is not to say I do not see the benefits of some of the other options and would not be completely opposed to a different route.

Just as a bit of context for what has probably partly shaped my current mindset. I have been a fan for nearly 40 years now and for pretty much 30 of them we have not been settled at QB. It is a bit of a generalisation but in that time, we seem to have had 1st round busts or bridge QB’s.

Obviously neither is a likely route to a championship but I have concluded that we are better off buying tickets in the 1st round raffle than trying these stop gap replacements. Roughly half of 1st round QB’s are busts and we must have had our share over the last 3 decades!

I do not see us being able to land DeShaun Watson, Russell Wilson or Dak Prescott if they become available which would leave us with the rest of the free agent class. There are a couple that are interesting but ultimately, I would not go there. Are Sam Darnold and Jameis Winston salvageable?

Could Cam Newton or Ryan Fitzpatrick do a job for a short while? What about Marcus Mariota? You could make an argument for all of them but to me it is just kicking the can down the road for another year.

There is a solid viewpoint should use the 4 picks we have in the first 3 rounds to strengthen the team along with a couple of free agent pickups.

This point of view is reasonable, in that we will have a much stronger roster which would make us competitive even with average to below average QB play. We could then look at a QB next year rather than give up next year’s first to move up this year.

I see this point but if the price is not ridiculously prohibitive, my choice would be to move up to a position where we can take one of Zack Wilson, Justin Fields, or Trey Lance. Now that would almost certainly be inside the top 10, (although Charley Casserly had Fields falling to 24 in his mock which I cannot see).

Wilson is likely to go Top 5 which leaves Lance or Fields. Lance is very raw, but his physical attributes are outstanding, and Fields is an all-round playmaker, so I’d be happy with either.

Why you know you will get flak for it?

Obviously neither is a likely route to a championship, when many feel we can retain and build on the NFC East divisional title in 2021.

But I have concluded that we are better off buying tickets in the 1st round raffle than trying these stop gap replacements. Roughly half of 1st round QB’s are busts and we must have had our share over the last 3 decades!

I imagine that some fans would say the price is too high and with a good bridge QB and a decent draft/free agent period we can contend. I would not argue with that but if we can land our QB for the next 10-15 years then I would try and do it now.

Things change and players will emerge next season but as it stands there do not seem to be any real superstar QB’s coming out of college next year.