One of the biggest stories to come out of a very eventful New York Giants season was the emergence of Daniel Jones. Jones went from not having his option picked up to being nicknamed “Vanilla Vick” and the team most likely franchise tagging him. There are two narratives to come of this development. The first is that the Giants missed a great chance to have another year of a QB on a rookie contract. The second is that New York is stuck with a quarterback who has a very visible, not very high ceiling.
So that got me thinking about possible candidates for the next Danny Dimes, aka a signal caller that the fans aren’t sold on but who could turn it around with the right coach. In order to qualify, there has to be a debate about if he’s the guy (which disqualifies Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, and Justin Herbert); he has to have a legit shot of being the starter; and the QB has to have more than one year in the league. (A single season is too small of a sample size. Danny Dimes himself wasn’t an abject disaster after Year 1.)
The Jacksonville Jaguars starter rebounded tremendously from the Urban Meyer experience, and actually had better passing numbers than Jones this season, and just as many wins. (Jones did have nearly 500 yards more on the ground.) If a QB1 swap was proposed between the Giants and Jags, the Jaguars say no immediately.
The reason why he’s not exempt from this list is that we need to see a little bit more from Lawrence. He needs to pick up from where he left off, and I’m not talking about digging his team out of 28-0 holes. As long as the Jags keep adding talent — a true No. 1 receiver on a rookie deal would be glorious — there will be no debate when it comes time for Jacksonville to re-sign him.
The Miami Dolphins had a pretty high peak during the 2022 season. At one point, Tua was the league’s leading passer, and fully utilizing the explosive duo of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Then he suffered two confirmed concussions — and a third concerning blow to the head — was sat down for the remainder of the year, and rookie Skylar Thompson was starting a playoff game in Buffalo.
Tagovailoa was well on his way to being the promising prospect the people of South Florida hoped for. That changes when you have multiple concussions in a season, and as shitty as it is to lop him in with Jones, I’d be nervous as hell to invest in him long-term because of the health concerns. And there’s no doubt in my mind that all decisions regarding Tua’s fifth-year option this offseason will revolve around his health. We’ll see. I believe in him as a QB, and I hope he can avoid further head injuries in an extremely violent sport.
Before you ask, “What the hell is Jordan Love doing on this list?” May I remind you of the prerequisites. He has to be a possible starter, there has to be a debate about him as the guy, and he has to have more than one season in the league. Like Miami, Green Bay is weighing whether to pick up the fifth year of his rookie deal. It comes amid swirling rumors of Aaron Rodgers’ departure as opposed to a worry about concussions, but you get my drift.
If Rodgers emerges from his spiritual journey on the Pat McAfee Show leaning toward leaving, the Packers have to at least consider giving Love a shot. This is what they drafted him for, right? And he has to have learned something from being in the QB room regardless of Rodgers’ undoubtedly condescending delivery of the advice. I’d give him a shot only if No. 12 bolts because Love is likely a better option than what’ll be available to Green Bay at pick No. 15. And if he’s not, they’ll most likely have a better draft position in 2024.
Unfortunately for Davis Mills, his time as the Houston Texans starter is likely over. The general consensus on Mills is “he’s not the worst, but he’s not the guy,” and that’s exactly the same argument Giants fans made against Danny Spare Change.
I doubt we’ll see Mills get a legit shot to grow into the starter on an upstart team, but fate works in weird ways, especially in the NFL. Say C.J. Stroud or Bryce Young gets hurt early on, and all of a sudden Mills is back under center. As long as the Texans’ next coach is a fresh face or Sean Payton, there’s a chance of a turnaround. The Giants were 9-7-1. The bar isn’t that high.
Bill Belichick, franchise tyrant, never gets old, and I wish that he would’ve continued entrusting the Patriots’ offense and the development of Mac Jones to Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. The move was such a telegraphed disaster that I don’t know if any New England fans gave up on Jones as the future of the franchise.
Bill O’Brien, Patricia’s replacement as O coordinator, and Jones were two ships passing during the coach and QB’s time at Alabama, and Jones is reportedly amped to work with a Nick Saban-approved coach again. I fully expect the Mac-Churian Candidate to resume brainwashing, with the Pats fanbase on deck to be reprogrammed.
The irony is Jones and Dimes have similar ceilings, and everyone who told the Giants “he ain’t it” will recite the same line about Jones when decision time comes.
The Chicago Bears are facing an existential choice right now. They have the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and need to figure out whether to shit or trade the pot for a bunch of quarters. Anything that involves moving on from Justin Fields would be a massive mistake as far as I’m concerned, and only the Bears could squander a potential offensive talent like Fields.
Give him all the extensions — and competent coaching — he deserves, and try not to screw this up.
The football fans not sold on Fields repeat the same tired excuses that plague Black quarterbacks, and Matt Eberflus needs to give recently unemployed Greg Roman a shot at maximizing Fields’ skill set before they go about destroying another young QB’s confidence. He’s shown more potential than Jones, but the lows have been every bit as bad as the Jones-Jason Garrett era.
One would think Brock Purdy’s job is safe because his first loss is going to be in the NFC title game, the Super Bowl, or next season. That said, it wouldn’t surprise me if Kyle Shanahan refuses to give up on the quarterback he traded up to get. The reason Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers wanted Lance, in my opinion, is they desired a QB without physical limitations.
Shanahan has been succeeding with guys dramatically less talented than Lance, so logic says, if you give him a QB with every tool imaginable, the Niners will have limitless potential.
Considering Lance has appeared in all of eight games, with four starts and 102 total pass attempts, it wouldn’t surprise me if Shanahan — frustrated by another playoff exit and the quarterbacks he’s been stuck starting — simply can’t resist giving Lance another go. I just get the feeling that the coach won’t be satisfied with Purdy until he knows with 100 percent certainty that Trey isn’t the prince who was promised.
Wait for it… Wait for it… There it is. Did you hear that? It’s the sound of the entire Jets fanbase groaning at the possibility of being subjected to another season of Zach Wilson destroying any and all hopes of a return to the playoffs. Of the two New York teams in 2022, the Jets clearly had more talent, which is a welcome development for Gang Green.
That said, Wilson was basically a double agent who was reportedly a toxic personality in the locker room that fans and teammates were begging for Mike White. The prospects of Wilson, or White for that matter, improving are gone as the Jets went full Jets, and hired Nathaniel Hackett and his “I’ve given up” facial hair. In a possible attempt to woo Aaron Rodgers — didn’t work for the Denver Broncos — the team hired someone with the creativity of an auditor who will continue the team tradition of self destruction. And even if that isn’t the case, Wilson is probably still a bust. But I thought that about Jones, too, and I’ve been wrong many, many times.
