The Aging Quarterbacks You Need To Worry About
October has arrived, which means we’re just about wrapping up the first month of collegiate and professional football. Right out of the gate, we’ve seen some of the elite veterans like Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, and Alex smith live up to expectations. However, for the other aging quarterbacks around the league, the early returns haven’t been promising.
While the upcoming NFL Draft is loaded with quarterback talent at the top and value towards the bottom, the following teams below need to look into replacing their veteran signal callers.
The New York Giants: Eli Manning
It’s no surprise that the Giants find themselves atop this list of quarterback concerns. Through four weeks, two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning has looked atrocious. Even after a much-improved effort in week three against the Philadelphia Eagles, Manning has thrown just six touchdowns to go along with four interceptions. While his 69.88 completion percentage ranks third in the league amongst qualified throwers, the main area of concern for Eli has been his deep ball accuracy. From the 2011 season to now, Manning’s yards gained per pass completion has decreased from 13.7 to 6.70 per Pro Football Reference.
While that number is a huge concern going forward, the issues don’t stop there. Manning has continually demonstrated the inability to escape the pocket under pressure and quickly get rid of the ball. Through the first four games, Manning has taken eight sacks for a total of 53 yards lost. This puts him on pace to take 32 sacks for a 212 yard loss, both of which would be the highest totals he’s taken since 2013.
Given that they replaced backup quarterback Ryan Nassib with perennial underperformer Geno Smith, the Giants need to look to the trade market, free agency, or draft to find a successor to Manning. Davis Webb, who the Giants drafted out of UC Berkeley in the third round of this past year’s draft, is an interesting prospect, but his inability to jump Geno Smith on the depth chart is concerning.
Fortunately for the Giants, their 0–4 record to start the season will almost assure them a selection at the top of NFL Draft, giving them a shot at several of the top quarterback prospects.
Possible replacements: Davis Webb (NYG), Josh Rosen (UCLA), Josh Allen (Wyoming)
The Los Angeles Chargers: Philip Rivers
Just as Eli Manning and the New York Giants sit on the East Coast with an 0–4 record, Philip Rivers and the Chargers find themselves doing the same in the West. Rivers began to draw concerns during the 2016, where threw a near career-low 60.4 completion percentage to go along with a career high 21 interceptions. A major strength to Rivers’ game was his ability to take over in the fourth quarter and close out games. However, after leading his team to 16 game-winning drives in his first six seasons as a starter, he’s amounted just 10 in the last six years.
Following the 2016 season, Norv Turner was relieved of his duties as head coached and was replaced by an offensive specialist in Anthony Lynn. The emergence of star running back Melvin Gordon and change of guard in the coaching staff led to the Chargers giving strong consideration to drafting Deshaun Watson with the seventh pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Consideration is all it would ever be after Philip Rivers publicly denounced the prospect of the Chargers adding another quarterback and the team went in a different direction, drafting wide receiver Mike Williams out of Clemson. In hindsight, it already seems like Los Angeles missed out as Williams has yet to play a down of professional football, while Watson has posted impressive efforts against the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans.
Learning from thier mistakes, it is almost a forgone conclusion that the Chargers will select a quarterback in the upcoming draft. Just as the Los Angeles Rams selected the Cal-Berkeley product Jared Goff first overall in the 2016 draft, the Chargers should have their choice of two California based quarterbacks this April. Should they choose to wait for day two to select a new signal caller, Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph draws many comparisons to Philip Rivers.
Possible replacements: Sam Darnold (USC), Josh Rosen (UCLA), Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State)
The Pittsburg Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger
Despite a resounding 3–1 start to the season leaving them at the top of the AFC North, the Pittsburgh Steelers need to think long term about their quarterback situation. Father time is undefeated and as his hands slowly wrap around the careers of Manning and Rivers, Big Ben Roethlisberger is starting to feel the effects of his icy grip. Roethlisberger has been on a steady decline for the past few seasons and this year seems to be more of the same. Amidst his team’s hot start, Big Ben is only completing 62.1 percent of his passes, his lowest since 2010. Additionally, he’s only gaining 7.1 yards per passing attempt, his lowest output since 2008.
Much like Manning, Roethlisberger is having trouble escaping defensive pressure and is on pace to take 28 sacks, his highest since 2014. Not only is this a concern for the success of the offense, but a major injury, with an aging body ailing Big Ben over the past two seasons.
The Steelers began their search for their next quarterback when they selected Joshua Dobbs from Tennessee in the fourth round of the 2017 draft. While it remains unknown if he has the qualities to replace their current signal caller, the selection shows the Steelers have the thought in the back of their minds. While the Steelers’ skill players and defense will keep them out of the top half of the 2018 draft, there are a few prospects that could fall onto their laps in day two.
Possible replacements: Joshua Dobbs (PIT), Josh Allen (Wyoming), Luke Falk (WSU)
The Arizona Cardinals: Carson Palmer
The BARELY 2–2 Arizona Cardinals need to hit the reset button on their franchise and it starts with a new quarterback for the 2018 season. Their overtime wins against the 1–3 Indianapolis Colts and the 0–4 San Fransisco 49ers are misleading victories that keeps the team at .500. While their defense is the real deal, their offensive play was subpar even with top-running back David Johnson in the lineup.
The truth is, Carson Palmer is over the hill as an NFL starter. The 38-year-old has completed just 59.0% of his passes to start the season and has thrown as many touchdowns (five) as interceptions. His 7.0 yards per passing attempt is the lowest since 2010 and his 78.2 quarterback rating is his lowest since 2008. While partly due to the horrendous play of his offensive line, his inability to escape pressure has led to 17 sacks through for games and puts him on pace to be taken down 68 times, which would end up as the third-highest total in NFL history.
The Cardinals have the chance to rid themselves of Carson Palmer after the 2017 season and all signs point to that being the direction Arizona will head in. Cutting Palmer would free the Cardinals of his $12.5 million salary due in 2017 and would have a great impact on the flexibility they will have in the free agency market.
Possible replacements: Kirk Cousins (WAS), Jimmy Garoppolo (NE), Baker Mayfield (OU)
