What will become of Winston, Newton and Dalton?
At the NFL Scouting Combine three weeks ago, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians couldn’t say whether his team might keep or drop his interception-machine of a quarterback, Jameis Winston.
Not until the club knew what “Door No. 2” was. That is, the next best option.
Well, the Bucs learned by Tuesday morning that some guy named Tom Brady was the next best option. Even better, they not only wanted him, but he wanted them.
So it’s buh’bye Patriots for Tom, and buh’bye Jameis for the Bucs. And hello happiness, the Bucs hope.
This, on another day when big-name quarterback movements, and potential movements, dominated the NFL news cycle.
First and foremost, the NFL world waited anxiously Wednesday afternoon and evening for Brady’s signing with Tampa Bay to become official, after the league’s free-agency signing period officially kicked off at 4 p.m. EDT with the advent of the new league year.
But “the deal is done,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said just before supper hour in the East. “Contract wording is finalized.”
The NFL, however, has instructed all teams that — because league-instituted coronavirus precautions prevent any teams from flying in any newly acquired player, so as to conduct a contract-contingent physical — they cannot announce any signing until that hurdle is cleared. Teams may arrange in conjunction with a player’s agent for a physical to be done wherever the player currently is living, but some teams are hesitant to contract out such vital medical inspections to any third party.
Whenever it becomes official, the Bucs reportedly will pay Brady approximately $30 million per year over at least two years; the exact remuneration and term remained unknown early Wednesday evening.
As giddy Bucs fans whiled the wait away by making celebratory GIFs and memes, or incorporating the 42-year-old’s likeness into the Bucs’ classic orange pirate logo, others dived deep into speculation as to how Arians might fit Brady into his famous deep-strike passing attack.
I’ve heard at least two former NFL quarterbacks say this off-season Brady can throw it almost as far and powerfully as ever.
Whether he has got too skittish in the pocket, as he too often showed this past season behind a weakened offensive line while desperately waiting for any receiver to get open, probably will determine his effectiveness in Year 21 in the league.
Because Brady will have to get used to ignoring collapsing pass-rush pressure more often in Tampa Bay, given Arians’ unapologetic love of the deep ball.
It takes longer for receivers to get open deep than it does on those little dinks, dunks, ins and outs that Brady long preferred with the Patriots. Former New York Jets and Buffalo head coach Rex Ryan once called Brady the hardest quarterback in the league to sack, because frustrated pass rushers can’t “get home” before the ball is long gone.
At least Brady now has two young, stud wide receivers to throw to — in 26-year-old, big-bodied Mike Evans (67 catches for 1,157 yards and eight TDs in 13 games in 2019) and 24-year-old, flashy Chris Godwin (86 catches for 1,333 yards for nine TDs in 14 games in 2019).
Similarly, we waited into the evening for the official rubber-stamp on Philip Rivers’ free-agent signing with the Colts in Indianapolis, where he’ll be surrounded by better overall talent than in Los Angeles with the Chargers.
As for top other quarterback news on Wednesday, please read my colleague Don Brennan’s astute assessment of the Chicago Bears’ acquisition of Nick Foles, via trade from Jacksonville for a late fourth-round draft pick. Mitchell Trubisky has been put on notice.
Beyond that, there were still so many QB questions to be answered.
Where might Winston land, now that he’s officially a free agent following five at-time promising but ultimately disappointing years in Tampa Bay, after being drafted No. 1 overall in 2015?
Ditto for Cam Newton, unceremoniously dumped at the trade curb Tuesday by the Carolina Panthers, mere minutes before reports said the team agreed to terms with a new starter, Teddy Bridgewater, for $60 million over three years.
Might the Patriots have any desire to sign Winston? No compensation required there.
Or, would Bill Belichick seek a trade for Newton, the 2015 MVP coming whose health is uncertain, coming off shoulder and foot surgeries?
The other veteran passer the Patriots surely are considering is Andy Dalton, a likely trade candidate, as the Bengals are expected to draft LSU’s Joe Burrow No. 1 overall on April 23.
Dalton is not a dog. Don’t get distracted by the Bengals’ awful record in 2019 (2-14), which owed to the Bengals’ awful overall roster, not to Dalton’s play before and after the brief, ignominious late-season stint of overmatched rookie QB Ryan Finley.
So it’s gotta be Dalton, Newton or Winston in New England, right? Just can’t see Belichick putting all that succession pressure on Jarrett Stidham, last year’s fourth-round draft pick who threw four passes, and one was intercepted for a touchdown.
Last year I saw Stidham throw at the Senior Bowl in January, at the combine in February and at a Patriots-Lions joint training-camp practice in Detroit. Not once was I impressed, and I’d be shocked if the Pats go with him.
As for the Los Angeles Chargers, reportedly the only other team hot after Brady, reports said they’re content to ride this season with Tyrod Taylor. The veteran journeyman backed up Rivers last year.
You could hardly have two more divergent quarterbacks, as far as chance-taking. It’s like going from ain’t-no-mountain-high-enough (the uber-aggressive Rivers) to ain’t-no-river-low-enough (the ultra-careful Taylor).
Expect the Chargers, though, to use their No. 6 overall draft pick on a hotshot rookie QB, if they don’t trade down.
At this point, the only team still with an apparent starting-QB vacancy for 2020 is New England. That suggests two of Dalton, Newton and Winston will begin the season as a backup, somewhere. Even all three.
“There is no known landing spot for Cam Newton,” NFL Network’s Rapoport said incredulously.
Added NFL Network’s Mike Silver said Wednesday evening: “We have more (starting-worthy) quarterbacks than teams. It’s a weird state of affairs.”
Sure is.
JoKryk@postmedia.com
@JohnKryk
