Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers re-signing Baker Mayfield, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the market for quarterbacks just got thinner.
Luckily for the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots, there remains signal-calling depth available, either in the draft or free agency.
The Falcons were tied to Mayfield in part because head coach Raheem Morris and offensive coordinator worked with the veteran quarterback when he joined the Los Angeles Rams for the latter half of the 2022 season.
Mayfield isn’t the only quarterback the Falcons staff has ties to, however. Falcons assistant general manager Kyle Smith was a scout for Washington when the team drafted veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins back in 2012.
Cousins’ availability this offseason depends on whether he plans to return for a seventh season with the Minnesota Vikings. The team expects to hear Cousins’ decision by Sunday night, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.
If he is available, the 35-year-old quarterback could provide some veteran guidance for Desmond Riddler, who struggled last year as a first-year starter and has two seasons remaining on his rookie contract.
There are some questions surrounding Cousins’ ability to work as a starter after suffering a season-ending torn Achilles last season, however. Cousins turns 36 in August.
The Falcons also have Taylor Heinicke, who made four starts last season, and hold the No. 8 pick in the upcoming draft. Although the top quarterback picks are likely to be off the board at that point, the team could potentially snag a signal-calling prospect like Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. or Oregon’s Bo Nix.
The Patriots are similarly in need of another quarterback after working on a deal to trade Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
New England holds the No. 3 pick in a first round stacked with quarterbacks and will likely be able to choose either USC’s Caleb Williams, LSU’s Jayden Daniels and North Carolina’s Drake Maye by the time their pick rolls around in April.
The Patriots could additionally use some veteran presence for their new quarterback.
In free agency, the team has been linked to Jacoby Brissett and Joe Flacco, both veterans with ties to first-year offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, per Mark Daniels and Karen Guregian of MassLive.
Brissett, who served as a mentor for Sam Howell with the Washington Commanders last season, is an experienced veteran backup. Flacco might be a more expensive option after successfully becoming a late-season starter for the Cleveland Browns, but either could provide a veteran presence for whichever young quarterback the Patriots add at the top of the upcoming draft.
One quarterback option who could still be pursued by both the Falcons and Patriots is former Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson.
Wilson, who passed for 3,070 yards, 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions with the Broncos last season, has so far met with the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants ahead of his pending free agency, per Schefter.
Comments are closed.