There are a handful of experienced NFL quarterbacks, from former Super Bowl MVPs to long-time journeymen, that become free agents at the end of this season.
There’s an idiom that states the backup quarterback is the most popular player on a football team. While the starting quarterback has to be pretty bad for that statement to ring true, the NY Giants were one of many teams in 2020 to know first hand the importance of having a good backup.
In the NFC East alone, 11 different quarterbacks started at some point during the season. The Giants had Daniel Jones and Colt McCoy; the Washington Football Team had Alex Smith, Dwayne Haskins Jr, and Kyle Allen; the Dallas Cowboys had Dak Prescott, Andy Dalton, Garrett Gilbert and Ben DiNucci; the Philadelphia Eagles had Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts.
The trend doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. Alex Smith’s injuries are widely known. Carson Wentz missed the Eagles’ only Super Bowl victory due to injury. Dan Prescott was an ironman, starting in every game for four straight years, but suffered a grotesque injury this season that may sway decisions to let him sit, if needed, when he comes back.
And that’s just in the NFC East.
Jones is also susceptible. Jones has missed multiple games each season in his two years as a Giants starter. And the Giants didn’t have a two-time Super Bowl MVP on the bench this season to confidently take over for when Jones went down.
The Cowboys appeared ahead of the curve within the NFC East. Singing Dalton, a nine-year starter in Cincinnati, to be Prescott’s backup now looks like a great insurance move. Elsewhere in the NFL, the Las Vegas Raiders signed former Tennessee Titans’ starter Marcus Mariota, who came in and sparked the Raiders’ offense alive when starter David Carr went down with an injury.
Examples this season were plentiful. And while the Giants’ have reaffirmed their belief in Daniel Jones, they should still bring in a viable backup quarterback for if, and more likely when, Jones misses time.
But signing a solid backup also helps in other ways. Competition brings out the best in an athlete. Perhaps knowing there was a legend waiting on the bench gave Jones the edge he needed to play better as a rookie than he did in his second season.
Regardless, Jones still has some work to do to solidified himself as a true starter, let alone as a good quarterback. And these four quarterbacks should be considered by the Giants, both as a reliable option in case Jones goes down and also to light a fire under him to play better.
Jacoby Brissett
The most tantalizing is often the most expensive. And that could be the case for current Indianapolis Colts’ backup Jacoby Brissett.
The Colts were one of the NFL’s quietly strong teams. Headed now by coach Frank Reich and quarterback Philip Rivers, the Colts went 11-5 and are locked in as the AFC’s seven seed in this year’s expanded playoffs.
But the Colts have to make a big decision when their run ends. In the absence of the early retirement of Andrew Luck, do the Colts re-sign 39-year-old Philip Rivers, do they re-sign Brissett, or do they go elsewhere?
Rivers started off slow but finished 10th in the league in passing with 4,169 yards. His 24 touchdown passes are the fewest within that top 10, but that’s in part to the Colts’ emerging running attack, which uses both rookie Jonathan Taylor and the ever-elusive Nyheim Hines as a formidable tandem.
Brissett has predominately been a backup throughout his five-year career. But it hasn’t stopped him from being a sought-after commodity in the NFL.
When both Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo went down, rookie Brissett stepped in and didn’t skip a beat. He went 1-1 as a starter, threw for 400 yards, no touchdowns, but more importantly no interceptions.
The small sample size was enough for the Colts to trade for Brissett. And despite going 4-11 as a starter in 2017 when Andrew Luck went down, the Colts believed in Brissett’s ability enough to give him a two-year extension before the 2019 season.
Brissett in a way is a similar player to Daniel Jones, and thus would make it interesting for them to play on the same team. While Brissett doesn’t necessarily look to use his legs, he has the ability to scramble if needed. In three games played for New England, he rushed 16 times for 83 yards. In the 2017 season, he ran 63 times for 260. And in 2019, he rushed 56 times for 228, which was 51 yards fewer than Jones that year.
His 2019 passing yards were also similar. Brissett threw for 2,942 yards, 18 touchdowns, and just six interceptions. Jones threw for 3,027 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. Brissett went 7-8 that season while Jones went 3-9.
What also makes Brissett a strong option is where he’s spent his time. He’s learned under Tom Brady, Andrew Luck, and Philip Rivers. Plus, his head coach is also a former NFL quarterback, with 13 seasons as a backup under his belt. Not many backups have that sort of pedigree.
And while Brissett’s ability would give Daniel Jones good competition to get better, his knowledge would give Jones insight into three of the best minds to ever play the position.
Brissett won’t be cheap; his 2019 extension was for $30 million, which means his floor going forward is the highest one on the list.
But Giants’ head coach Joe Judge was a New England special teams coordinator the year Brissett played for the Patriots. He would be wise to at least give this reunion a second look.
Ryan Fitzpatrick
When you think of a journeyman backup, you think of Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Miami came up just short of the playoffs this season. It remains to be seen if they want to keep Fitzpatrick around while Tua Tagovailoa develops. But Miami’s GM Chris Grier already started that Tua will be the starter for next season.
The 38-year-old Fitzpatrick has played for eight different teams across his 17-year career. And he’s only had one full winning season as a starter: in 2015 for the NY Jets. As a starter this year for Miami, he went 4-3.
But there’s a reason he’s called “Fitzmagic.”
Fitzpatrick is capable of coming off the bench and sparking his team to victory as he did in Week 16 to keep the Dolphin’s playoff chances alive. What’s more, the Harvard-educated Fitzpatrick has been in the league for nearly two decades, and certainly has obtained some wisdom to pass on.
Fitzpatrick is a cheaper but still comparable option. No one assumes he is a dual threat quarterback, but he’s rushed for over 100 yards in 14 of his 17 seasons.
That might not sound like much, but he’s cracked over 200 six times, and surpassed 300 once.
Consider his 2019 season to Brissett’s: Fitzpatrick rushed 54 times for 243 yards and four touchdowns. He ran for a first down in 16 of those rushes. He threw for 3,529 yards for 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Brissett is a more cautious quarterback, while Fitzpatrick made his name as a gunslinger. And this year, he was eight in the NFL for yards per pass attempt.
Fitzpatrick’s last contract was a two-year, $11 million with the Dolphins, meaning he was paid less for two years than what Brissett was paid for one. He’s certainly a more affordable backup.
But Fitzpatrick has learned to love the spotlight in his late-career resurgence. And if he thinks he can be better than Jones, which is a legitimate thought, he might do what he can to overtake the starting job.
Still, a gunslinger backup could be what the Giants need.
Joe Flacco
From one gunslinging former NY Jets backup to another.
The sudden and immediate rise of Lamar Jackson makes it easy to forget about his predecessor, Joe Flacco.
While Flacco has never been a Pro Bowl quarterback, let alone a threat with his legs, he is a Super Bowl MVP. Further, he sports a 10-5 playoff record, helping lead the Ravens to five consecutive playoff berths and six overall in his 11 years with the team.
Flacco is like a diet Eli Manning. No one will assume too much from him, no one is going to leave a QB spy on him in case he slowly trots past the line of scrimmage. But you can’t discount someone with as much playoff experience as he’s had, even if he’s gone 6-15 as a starter since 2018.
This year proved that Flacco still has plenty of arm left in the tank. While he was the Jets’ starter, he breathed life in an otherwise lifeless team, often being the one who would take chances downfield.
In his four games as a starter in 2020, he threw for 864 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions. What’s positive about these pedestrian stats is he matched his 2019 touchdown total in half of the games played.
A gunslinger by nature will have more turnovers than the average quarterback. And Flacco has never had a complete season in which he has thrown fewer than 10 interceptions.
But the best thing a quarterback can have is a short memory. Flacco might help develop Daniel Jones’ ability to throw the long ball, and just as importantly, help him shake off any deep balls that inevitably get picked off.
Flacco has also now had three years under his belt in a backup role. He graciously stood by while the Ravens moved from him to Jackson. He only played half the season as a starter in Denver before passing the reins to Drew Lock. And in NY, he only played while Darnold was injured.
He can perform a similar mentor role to Daniel Jones without the risk of attempting any late-career resurgence.
Flacco might also be the best bang for the Giants’ dollar. The Jets signed the Super Bowl MVP to a one-year, $1.5 million contract, which was less than what the Giants gave to Colt McCoy.
His playoff experience alone could be worth it for the Giants to keep him on the bench, especially since the goal for the GMen next season should be becoming a playoff contender.
Robert Griffin III
Sticking with Baltimore Ravens’ quarterbacks who aren’t named Lamar Jackson, Robert Griffin III is an out-of-the-box option the Giants would be wise to consider.
Griffin could bring all kinds of experience to the Giants, and particularly to Daniel Jones. He won the Heisman before being selected second overall in 2012. In his rookie campaign, he was a Pro Bowler and started a playoff game.
But more recently, he’s been on the Ravens’ sideline, watching and helping facilitate the growth of Lamar Jackson.
Jackson and Jones are slightly comparable quarterbacks. In 2019, both threw for more than 3000 and were second on their team in rushing attempts. The difference there being that Jackson also rushed for 1000+ yards while Jones rushed for 279.
While no one can argue that they’re on the same talent level, Jones could improve his own game by seeing how Jackson improved. And that’s where Griffin comes in.
Quarterbacks, especially backup quarterbacks, learn as much on the sideline as some players do on the field. The Giants’ offense coordinator, Jason Garrett, was a backup to Troy Aikman. Arizona’s head coach Kliff Kingsbury was drafted by the Patriots and watched and learned under the leagues best head coach in Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.
Griffin has watched the ascendance of Lamar Jackson, and how head coach John Harbaugh has helped coach him up. It could be worth having someone who knows what works in today’s NFL, with today’s kind of quarterback, on the bench to help develop your franchise player.
Griffin hasn’t started more than one game in a season since he went 1-4 as a Browns starter in 2016. He knows his role on an offense is to help get a young starter ready, which is what he’s done for the last three years with the 2019 NFL MVP.
Further, Griffin was a part of an early wave that had teams taking their chances on college quarterbacks inclined to use the run/pass option. He could be a veteran voice to help teach Jones when it’s a good time to use his legs, and when it’s not.
He’s also one of the cheaper options out there for someone with applicable experience. Griffin’s last contract with the Ravens came in 2019, when he signed a two-year, $4 million deal. And he should be a more appealing backup after seeing what the Giants can get from Colt McCoy for more per year.