QB carousel starts to roll … So far, its an unconfirmed report, but a local podcaster in Minnesota is reporting that Carolina gave the Vikings a call asking about the availability of QB Kirk Cousins. According to the report, the Vikings said they weren’t interested, although it is believed that they would like Cousins to take a pay cut or give them some kind of salary cap relief from what is a monster contract that guarantees him $35M this fall. And if in fact the Panthers did give the Vikings a call it maybe one more hint that the QB class for 2022 may not be that strong. The Panthers have the 6th pick overall in this year’s opening round and under normal circumstances would put them in good shape to find their QB of the future in the draft even if they did ultimately have to trade up to get him. In fact, before we can start talking about the QBs in the draft, we’ll need a little more clarity on where a number of veterans ultimately end. There’s been talk in both Green Bay and Seattle, for example, that one or both of Aaron Rodgers and/or Russell Wilson could be traded this off-season. Then there are other solid veterans like Cousins, the Raiders’ Derek Carr and even Kyler Murray of the Cardinals who have also been rumored to very possibly be on the move. In the end, its just as likely that all those guys remain with their current team; however, its more likely that Jimmy Garoppolo of the 49ers and Carson Wentz of Indianapolis will be dealt this off-season. Then of course there is the ongoing soap opera surrounding DeShaun Watson of Houston whose situation got a little more complicated when a judge in Texas ruled that he will have to testify in depositions for several of the civil complaints against him before the status of the criminal allegations is determined.
Its also probably no surprise that outgoing Pittsburgh G.M. Kevin Colbert indicated at his pre-combine presser earlier today that finding a replacement for Ben Roethlisberger, who retired at the end of the season, was the Steelers’ #1 off-season job. And Colbert indicated that all options were on the table including trading for a veteran or adding someone in the draft. The Steelers did heavily scout this year’s top prospects at the Senior Bowl and Colbert said that ‘there is good quality available’ at the position in this year’s crop, just ‘not as many’ as in recent. However, he closed his remarks on the subject by noting that ‘it is what it is!’ which usually has the connotation that it ain’t necessarily very good! Stay tuned.
