Need a quarterback? 2015 is not your year

In two weeks, 20 teams will be home for the holidays with many others soon to follow. For those organizations, the internal evaluations will begin, with some leading to changes among the front office and coaching staffs. For others, it will be a time to pour over the roster and figure out what needs to be done for a playoff push in 2015.

A bevy of franchises will figure it out and improve. However, teams in desperate need of a quarterback are going to be left out in the cold unless they can nab Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston in the NFL Draft. Perhaps the Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Jets will be that lucky, but most will end up looking to the free-agent market.

The pickings are beyond slim there, with the only name players being Jason Campbell, Brian Hoyer, Mark Sanchez, Michael Vick, Matt Moore, Jake Locker and Colt McCoy. Does anybody really believe that any of the above names can take even a good roster to the postseason?

Teams that don’t end up with an extremely high draft pick need to make a trade and move ahead of the Titans, Jets and Buccaneers. Without doing so, they are stuck taking a player with potential, but also a player who has no potential to get them to a Super Bowl.

There are some franchises which won’t have the ammunition or stomach to move up so high, keeping them in quarterback purgatory. The Buffalo Bills have a great defense and solid players at the skill positions, but currently employ Kyle Orton and EJ Manuel under center. With that duo, Buffalo will never see a playoff run. Unfortunately for the Bills, they are also without a first-round pick in 2015. It appears the playoff drought will only lengthen in Buffalo.

Then there is a case like the Chicago Bears. Chicago went all-in this offseason, paying Jay Cutler a king’s ransom at $126 million over seven seasons. Cutler is impossible to move without massive salary cap ramifications before 2016, so the Bears are locked in. It’s a bitter pill to swallow for those in the Windy City considering the talent around him. Cutler has shown repeatedly he isn’t good enough to get the job done, whether through poor decisions or leadership.

For teams like the Bills and Bears, and even perhaps the Arizona Cardinals, the only hope is to find a hidden gem beyond the first round. Brett Hundley could be available in the second, along with Dak Prescott and Bryce Petty. None are sure-fire NFL starters, but potential is worth a pick in the middle rounds when talking about quarterbacks.

In this day and age of NFL football, you have no chance without a quarterback. It is akin to having a gaping hole at goaltender in hockey or a lousy starting rotation in baseball.

You might be able to mask it with other terrific components for awhile, but it will bury you before long.

About Matt Verderame

Matt Verderame, 26, is a New Yorker who went to school at the frozen tundra of SUNY Oswego. After graduating, Verderame has worked for Gannett and SB Nation among other ventures.

Quantcast