Note that this article about QBs and potential backup quarterbacks was posted before Smith re-signed with Seattle and the other news from the NY Giants.
Detroit Lions backup QB options: Why Teddy Bridgewater may be best fit in NFL free agency
Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press
When the new NFL league year opens next week, one item high on the Detroit Lions’ to-do list will be to find a backup quarterback for Jared Goff.
Lions general manager Brad Holmes admitted at the NFL combine last week he neglected the No. 2 quarterback spot the past two seasons while trying to build other areas of his roster. And while the Lions were lucky that did not come back to bite them last year — Goff started every game for the first time since 2019 — Holmes does not want to leave his contending team without a security blanket in 2023.
“I feel like last year we kind of left training camp kind of sliding into home plate trying to fill that backup quarterback role and that's on me,” Holmes said. “I’ve got to do a better job of making sure that we're not in that position again, so that is something that we're going to need to address, whether it's here in free agency or upcoming in the draft.”
The veteran quarterback market remains in a holding pattern for now, with NFL teams waiting to see what happens with Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
Once the Packers and Rodgers come to an agreement on Rodgers’ future, that could start a domino effect of quarterback-needy teams filling their vacancies. The New Orleans Saints and Derek Carr agreed to a free agent deal Monday, and the New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, Washington Commanders and Las Vegas Raiders are among other teams who could be in the market for a veteran starter.
The Lions’ pursuit of a backup likely will not be impacted by the top of free agent quarterback market.
With about $23 million in available cap space, the Lions are not candidates to spend big at the position, and some pending free agents like Daniel Jones (if he avoids the franchise tag), Geno Smith (who's expected to re-sign with the Seattle Seahawks) and Jimmy Garoppolo will be looking for starting jobs — or the chance to compete for one — this fall.
Holmes praised the job Nate Sudfeld did as the Lions’ backup last season. The Lions signed Sudfeld, who played nine offensive snaps last season and did not attempt a pass, days before the regular season opener after he was released by the San Francisco 49ers, when Tim Boyle and David Blough failed to impress in their bids to win the job in training camp.
Holmes was adamant the Lions will not be caught shorthanded at the position again.
“Look, we love Jared, he's our starter, he's our guy going into (2023), but we don't have anything behind him,” Holmes said. “I thought Nate did a nice job when we got him, but he’s a UFA as well. So again, we got to make sure that we address everything again, whether it’s free agency and through the draft.”
The Lions seem unlikely to take a quarterback with one of their two first-round picks, Nos. 6 and 18 overall, but could go the developmental route with one of their remaining picks.
Holmes said “some of those guys at the quarterback position in free agency might not be ready to make a decision” before the draft, preferring instead to wait to see which teams invest in young quarterbacks.
But several pending free agents fit the profile Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said he wants in his backup quarterback.
Johnson said he’s less concerned with a backup quarterback’s skill set and whether he’d present a change-of-pace for opponents — a mobile quarterback, for instance, behind a pocket passer like Goff — than he is with finding “the best guy that can win a game for us.”
“When I look at a backup quarterback, the two areas that I start with are third down and two-minute (offense), because that's where they really have the most impact,” Johnson said. “Base downs, you normally, I think you can mask them to a degree with the running game or the play-action pass. But if you want to see the true character, the true identity of a backup quarterback, it's those third downs and the two-minutes, to know if the game’s on the line, do they have that ability to ultimately win it for you?
“Cause there’s a number of backups out there that — I think that’s probably the majority of the backups out there, they’re just more just, keep the train on the tracks, let's just manage this thing. The really good ones, the best backups, are the ones that can still win a ballgame for you. I think if you look at the record, the win-loss record for backups in the league, it's hard to find ones that are over .500.”
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Detroit Lions backup QB options: Why Teddy Bridgewater may be best fit in NFL free agency
Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press
When the new NFL league year opens next week, one item high on the Detroit Lions’ to-do list will be to find a backup quarterback for Jared Goff.
Lions general manager Brad Holmes admitted at the NFL combine last week he neglected the No. 2 quarterback spot the past two seasons while trying to build other areas of his roster. And while the Lions were lucky that did not come back to bite them last year — Goff started every game for the first time since 2019 — Holmes does not want to leave his contending team without a security blanket in 2023.
“I feel like last year we kind of left training camp kind of sliding into home plate trying to fill that backup quarterback role and that's on me,” Holmes said. “I’ve got to do a better job of making sure that we're not in that position again, so that is something that we're going to need to address, whether it's here in free agency or upcoming in the draft.”
The veteran quarterback market remains in a holding pattern for now, with NFL teams waiting to see what happens with Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
Once the Packers and Rodgers come to an agreement on Rodgers’ future, that could start a domino effect of quarterback-needy teams filling their vacancies. The New Orleans Saints and Derek Carr agreed to a free agent deal Monday, and the New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, Washington Commanders and Las Vegas Raiders are among other teams who could be in the market for a veteran starter.
The Lions’ pursuit of a backup likely will not be impacted by the top of free agent quarterback market.
With about $23 million in available cap space, the Lions are not candidates to spend big at the position, and some pending free agents like Daniel Jones (if he avoids the franchise tag), Geno Smith (who's expected to re-sign with the Seattle Seahawks) and Jimmy Garoppolo will be looking for starting jobs — or the chance to compete for one — this fall.
Holmes praised the job Nate Sudfeld did as the Lions’ backup last season. The Lions signed Sudfeld, who played nine offensive snaps last season and did not attempt a pass, days before the regular season opener after he was released by the San Francisco 49ers, when Tim Boyle and David Blough failed to impress in their bids to win the job in training camp.
Holmes was adamant the Lions will not be caught shorthanded at the position again.
“Look, we love Jared, he's our starter, he's our guy going into (2023), but we don't have anything behind him,” Holmes said. “I thought Nate did a nice job when we got him, but he’s a UFA as well. So again, we got to make sure that we address everything again, whether it’s free agency and through the draft.”
The Lions seem unlikely to take a quarterback with one of their two first-round picks, Nos. 6 and 18 overall, but could go the developmental route with one of their remaining picks.
Holmes said “some of those guys at the quarterback position in free agency might not be ready to make a decision” before the draft, preferring instead to wait to see which teams invest in young quarterbacks.
But several pending free agents fit the profile Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said he wants in his backup quarterback.
Johnson said he’s less concerned with a backup quarterback’s skill set and whether he’d present a change-of-pace for opponents — a mobile quarterback, for instance, behind a pocket passer like Goff — than he is with finding “the best guy that can win a game for us.”
“When I look at a backup quarterback, the two areas that I start with are third down and two-minute (offense), because that's where they really have the most impact,” Johnson said. “Base downs, you normally, I think you can mask them to a degree with the running game or the play-action pass. But if you want to see the true character, the true identity of a backup quarterback, it's those third downs and the two-minutes, to know if the game’s on the line, do they have that ability to ultimately win it for you?
“Cause there’s a number of backups out there that — I think that’s probably the majority of the backups out there, they’re just more just, keep the train on the tracks, let's just manage this thing. The really good ones, the best backups, are the ones that can still win a ballgame for you. I think if you look at the record, the win-loss record for backups in the league, it's hard to find ones that are over .500.”
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