Hunting for a Backup Quarterback

[Pokerbrat2000]

Brett Hundley is our guy. His pad level is unequivocally the best I have ever developed.

**** or mini, we all want to know!

 

[I asked LT to delete my acct]

Brett Hundley is our guy, he is our future! Anybody that disagrees with that, obviously is not highly successful like myself!

Put this nice white jacket on and let me fasten it at the back for you

 

[McKnowledge]

Nick Foles will be a starting QB next year, not a backup. I think Buffalo is a good fit. Offer up Philly your #21 pick for the kid and they win the AFC East.

Foles is an unrestricted free agent. He should go Arizona. Team up with McCoy and that defense.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Foles is an unrestricted free agent. He should go Arizona. Team up with McCoy and that defense.

Foles is not an unrestricted free agent. Philly holds all the cards on him for now. Perfect trade bait for some team who thinks they are "just a QB away" from competing.

 

[swhitset]

I do think he can start somewhere but he will stay in philly for sure.. Carson Wentz isn’t a guarantee to be ready.. and they actually value the back up qb situation If u rmbr two years ago when Pederson first came into town they had Sam Bradford threw money at Chase Daniel and traded up for Wentz.. no way he leaves imo

Being coached by a guy who spent his entire career as a backup probably gives the Eagles a slightly higher opinion of the importance of having a good backup QB... that appears to have worked out well for them. I agree that Foles will be retained by the Eagles.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Being coached by a guy who spent his entire career as a backup probably gives the Eagles a slightly higher opinion of the importance of having a good backup QB... that appears to have worked out well for them. I agree that Foles will be retained by the Eagles.

I think you are both correct, that Philly will head into training camp with the notion that they will hang on to Foles for one more year, especially given Wentz's status. However, depending on how Wentz and 3rd string QB Nate Sudfeld look heading into the 2018 season, it wouldn't shock me to see Foles being traded before the final cut downs to a team that all of a sudden is desperate for a starter. If they keep him through 2018 and he doesn't see much action, his trade value will probably be less in a year.

 

[Mondio]

I wouldn't be in a hurry to unload him if I were Philly, but if the price is right I would. But they have a perfect scenario, they bought low and it worked out for them. and they have a cheap starter with a medium expense back up that is under contract for at least another year. it's not like they have to give him a raise or something, he's under contract and not their future and not their starter.

Plus, it seems Foles is a pretty bright man and has things fairly figured out in life. He knows this was his time to shine, but it is Wentz's team going forward and is fine with that. I don't see him rocking any boats about it either.

 

[ESKYMOPACK]

There is no way that after 3 years in this system that Hundley is going to be the future. Either MM blamed Alex Van Pelt by firing him, or it's MM and his (laughable) QB school that failed! AR is no Brett Favre as far as injuries go, so what the hell were they thinking would happen when Rodgers went down??

You can bet there will be a special emphasis to get that backup ready in case this happens again. While the Vikings and Philadelphia can plug in backups that perform, we were blessed with mediocre play with a dummy-downed system to help Hundley every Sunday. MM should be ashamed!

Ron Wolf always picked a QB in the mid rounds regardless. That's how important the position is!

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

There is no way that after 3 years in this system that Hundley is going to be the future. Either MM blamed Alex Van Pelt by firing him, or it's MM and his (laughable) QB school that failed! AR is no Brett Favre as far as injuries go, so what the hell were they thinking would happen when Rodgers went down??

You can bet there will be a special emphasis to get that backup ready in case this happens again. While the Vikings and Philadelphia can plug in backups that perform, we were blessed with mediocre play with a dummy-downed system to help Hundley every Sunday. MM should be ashamed!

Ron Wolf always picked a QB in the mid rounds regardless. That's how important the position is!

Keep in mind that the Vikings and Eagles plugged in Veteran backup QB's with plenty of NFL experience.

Not trying to give MM a pass on Hundley but I think the "blame" goes more on TT, AVP and the Packers relying on a backup with very little real NFL experience. I also have to wonder how much a head coach works directly with the backup QB's.

As far as drafting QB's to serve as backups. One, Ted Thompson was no stranger to doing this:

2005: Aaron Rodgers (1st Rd.)
2006: Ingle Martin (5th Rd.)
2008: Brian Brohm (2nd Rd.), Matt Flynn (7th Rd.)
2012: BJ Coleman (7th Rd.)
2015: Brett Hundley (5th Rd.)

Second, if you are suggesting that a team should frequently use a top pick for a backup QB, especially when you have a FHOF under center, I would disagree. Rodgers until last year had been what I would say pretty healthy when compared to other QB's around the league. Finally, I would blame the idea of expecting a QB with very little NFL experience, no matter how long he was in the system or what round he was taken in, to be expected to come in and play like a veteran QB that wins every game.

If the Packers drafted say Baker Mayfield at #14 and AR went down for the year in game 6, how do you think the season would turn out?

 

[El Guapo]

This article ranking the best backup QBs came out in Oct 2017. Since Hundley was already the starter, they had to list Callahan for the Packers. I wonder where they would have ranked Hundley....probably in the "Would you recognize them at the grocery store?" section: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...anking-every-nfl-teams-backup-qb-from-1-to-32

There obviously are only a handful of good starting QBs in the league. There are usually 15 teams in need of a better QB at starter, let alone backup. I'd be satisfied if they could get Sam Bradford in here (assuming he could demonstrate that his knee if fixed). At the least, with Rodgers' increasing injury history there is a decent chance that a career backup QB will look favorably upon the job in Green Bay.

I'm still frustrated that McCarthy was too stubborn to let Callahan start the final game. We didn't learn anything new about Hundley or Callahan. We knew that Hundley stunk but still don't know if Callahan is a viable 2nd/3rd stringer or needs to go in the trash bin with Hundley.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

This article ranking the best backup QBs came out in Oct 2017. Since Hundley was already the starter, they had to list Callahan for the Packers. I wonder where they would have ranked Hundley....probably in the "Would you recognize them at the grocery store?" section: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...anking-every-nfl-teams-backup-qb-from-1-to-32

There obviously are only a handful of good starting QBs in the league. There are usually 15 teams in need of a better QB at starter, let alone backup. I'd be satisfied if they could get Sam Bradford in here (assuming he could demonstrate that his knee if fixed). At the least, with Rodgers' increasing injury history there is a decent chance that a career backup QB will look favorably upon the job in Green Bay.

I'm still frustrated that McCarthy was too stubborn to let Callahan start the final game. We didn't learn anything new about Hundley or Callahan. We knew that Hundley stunk but still don't know if Callahan is a viable 2nd/3rd stringer or needs to go in the trash bin with Hundley.

What I would be curious of, from everyone, if you were Gut, how much would YOU be willing to spend on a backup QB such as Bradford?

Given what we saw happen when Hundley took over, I would be willing to spend $5M. I'm not saying Bradford, Keenum or Foles would have guided us to the Super Bowl, but I do think they would have had us in more games and even won a few.

 

[Veretax]

I would try to sign a vet around the same age as AR who has had some starting experience in the past and start drafting potential successors every 2 years starting in 2020.

The name that comes to mind is Colt McCoy. You want someone who can run a west coast like system, has some moxy. (I'm not sure if I'd trade for Colt, btw but there is a blight of QBs in the league right now.)

What about someone like Case Keenam (yes I know he was a viking, but if the Offensive Line is healthier, I think we have the cast to support him, surely better than minnesotas. I've never been a Sam Bradford fan. I saw how he played under duress in the Fiesta Bowl against my West Virginia Mountaineers. Injuries have robbed him of a lot of what made him a solid QB IMO.

A lot depends on how much longer you expect elite out of AR too. (because I think he's still good for 3 or more years I'd steer clear of people like Kirk Cousins).

Rotoworld has a list of free agents.

http://www.rotoworld.com/articles/nfl/77018/309/2018-nfl-free-agent-tracker

when i think that it might be better to draft I start hinking well where would we draft a QB?

We pick at 14 right behind the Redskins. Maybe a 2nd Rounder like Mason Rudolph or Lamar Jackson of Louisville has enough talent that could be molded to be a backup, and maybe eventual replacement.

I'll remind everyone we had a lot of backup QBs under Holmgren who ended up being. Or maybe a later round pick on Chase Litton of Marshall.

Not sure what else we (packers) could do here. Crazy idea.... trade for Nate Sudfeld he was Foles backup in Philly, and if they keep Foles, will they need Sudfeld who has looked good at times in Preseason for Washington.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

The name that comes to mind is Colt McCoy. You want someone who can run a west coast like system, has some moxy. (I'm not sure if I'd trade for Colt, btw but there is a blight of QBs in the league right now.)

What about someone like Case Keenam (yes I know he was a viking, but if the Offensive Line is healthier, I think we have the cast to support him, surely better than minnesotas. I've never been a Sam Bradford fan. I saw how he played under duress in the Fiesta Bowl against my West Virginia Mountaineers. Injuries have robbed him of a lot of what made him a solid QB IMO.

A lot depends on how much longer you expect elite out of AR too. (because I think he's still good for 3 or more years I'd steer clear of people like Kirk Cousins).

Rotoworld has a list of free agents.

http://www.rotoworld.com/articles/nfl/77018/309/2018-nfl-free-agent-tracker

when i think that it might be better to draft I start hinking well where would we draft a QB?

We pick at 14 right behind the Redskins. Maybe a 2nd Rounder like Mason Rudolph or Lamar Jackson of Louisville has enough talent that could be molded to be a backup, and maybe eventual replacement.

I'll remind everyone we had a lot of backup QBs under Holmgren who ended up being. Or maybe a later round pick on Chase Litton of Marshall.

Not sure what else we (packers) could do here. Crazy idea.... trade for Nate Sudfeld he was Foles backup in Philly, and if they keep Foles, will they need Sudfeld who has looked good at times in Preseason for Washington.

Case Keenum is going to want to be a starter and earn starting money somewhere, he won't be a Packer in 2018. Nate Sudfeld could be and most likely is just another Brett Hundley. Looked good in preseason, but no real game experience.

I prefer your starting idea. Find a vet QB to backup Rodgers and then in 2020, start looking for his replacement via the draft.

 

[yooperpackfan]

I'm still frustrated that McCarthy was too stubborn to let Callahan start the final game. We didn't learn anything new about Hundley or Callahan. We knew that Hundley stunk but still don't know if Callahan is a viable 2nd/3rd stringer or needs to go in the trash bin with Hundley.

This was both stubborn and all out dumb on McCarthy's part.
Stubbornness is McCarty's biggest downfall IMHO.

 

[Veretax]

Case Keenum is going to want to be a starter and earn starting money somewhere, he won't be a Packer in 2018. Nate Sudfeld could be and most likely is just another Brett Hundley. Looked good in preseason, but no real game experience.

I prefer your starting idea. Find a vet QB to backup Rodgers and then in 2020, start looking for his replacement via the draft.

Yeah I agree Keenum is probably going to be starting somewhere. Bring in some young arms in camp. Keep 3 QBs in the season and keep working with them. Is my only advice. I didn't think that Hundley was that bad though, I've always felt AR is so awesome that he hides a lot of the problems on the O-Line. I'm not sure how you fix that.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I'm still frustrated that McCarthy was too stubborn to let Callahan start the final game. We didn't learn anything new about Hundley or Callahan. We knew that Hundley stunk but still don't know if Callahan is a viable 2nd/3rd stringer or needs to go in the trash bin with Hundley.

I was one who also wanted to see Callahan play in that final game, at least a half. The only thing I could conclude is that MM wanted to give Hundley even more work to prepare him for 2018. That part I understand, but then wouldn't you want to get Callahan that same experience. The other reason MM may have chose to play Hundley, he felt Hundley gave his team the best chance to win and didn't want to look like he was tanking a game.

All that said, I still would have liked to have seen what Callahan could do in a real game and it would have benefited his development, probably more than that of Hundley, who I am guessing really just wanted to get the season over at that point.

 

[Mondio]

This was both stubborn and all out dumb on McCarthy's part.
Stubbornness is McCarty's biggest downfall IMHO.

what was to gain on playing Callahan? just to see? I can tell you he was cut from GB, the saints, the browns and GB again. There's a reason for that. Play him and maybe he makes a few plays, BFD. If he's ever our back up, i'm worried. He's fine to keep stashed at #3 or on PS. He's not a guy I ever want to plan on playing. Hundley's problems were mental, he has shown he can throw, he can run, physically he has the tools. The gain if they got him to work thru it was so much larger than getting to see Callahan maybe make a few plays in a game. and if he didn't, how was that worse other than you didn't get to see Callahan run around out there? Either Hundley figured it out and was our back up, or not. Callahan isn't and I have to imagine the coaching staff knows that. He is around for playing in a pinch, not that they have any great notion that the kid is ready. Keep seeing if the better QB can figure out the last part of his game, or figure out he hasn't and you really need to look at back up QB again. Playing Callahan wasn't going to change that.

and often times a guys strength is often his weakness. Rodgers and holding the ball to make the big play, MM and being committed to his plan, Favre and his propensity to just try and make a play. BB and holding his players to a standard and benching them in the biggest game of the year. They rise to the top because of who they are. If you change that, it's probably not better.

 

[4zone]

People are still vastly underrating what Bradford will sign for. He was healthy enough to be activated ahead of Bridgewater for the last playoff game

MN won't be able to afford all those QBs. Bridgewater may be their backup since his injury will probably limit his contract potential. The one they don't sign with be starters elsehwere.

 

[4zone]

I'm thinking we draft the kid from Richmond, Lauletta, would be a great pick in the draft. Not sure what round he will drop to but I expect his status is going up and will continue to rise after his combine/pro day workout.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

MN won't be able to afford all those QBs. Bridgewater may be their backup since his injury will probably limit his contract potential. The one they don't sign with be starters elsehwere.

There is a chance that the Vikings can keep Bridgewater on the books for $1.354 M next season. The possibility exists that his contract from this season, the last on his rookie deal, could toll into 2018 due to him being on the Physically Unable to Perform list for the first six weeks of 2017.

If that happens, I think it's a no brainer to keep him and sign either Keenum or if they want to go all in, Cousins.
I would be surprised if Bradford is back in Minnesota.

 

[OldSchool101]

We should get a Veteran similar to McCown in FA. That would also reduce the pressure of having to spend an early draft pick this year. We should still grab another prospect in the draft somewhere between rounds 3-5