Jacksonville Jaguars: Could a trade for quarterback be possible?
By Larry Brake
There seems to be plenty of buzz about the Jacksonville Jaguars should try to acquire a quarterback before the trade deadline. If they are, which one?
The Jacksonville Jaguars are the focus of trade speculation among the various media outlets. First of all, the Jaguars have been silent concerning making any move before the trade deadline. Most of this speculation his has been fueled by a tweet from earlier this week.
Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network tweeted out a simple question, simply posing the idea of the Jaguars front office reaching out to the 0-5 New York Giants regarding an Eli Manning trade. Jeremiah later added to that, pondering how many games Jacksonville would win with Philip Rivers — he said 10 or more.
Will Jacksonville try and make a move soon? Should they stick with Blake Bortles? Are there any possibilities that the Jaguars are looking to acquire either Eli Manning or Philip Rivers? It’s hard to tell one way or another. What options do the Jaguars have?
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Eli Manning is the main topic of any trade speculation. Manning played for Tom Coughlin and won two Super Bowls during that time with the Giants. Last week, his top receivers were injured, which has appeared to de-rail any playoff aspirations, though there weren’t many as they entered the week at 0-4. Manning is playing in his 14th NFL season. This season, he has completed 137 passes for 1338 yards with eight touchdowns, but has been sacked 13 times.
Philip Rivers might be a better choice. Through five games, he has completed 116 passes for 1,365 yards and nine touchdowns. Football Outsiders ranks Rivers ninth in their Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement (DYAR), which measures a players performance in relation to a replacement level players, factoring in things such as injuries and other circumstances.
Drew Brees might be the best option, if available. He’s a tier above Manning, Rivers and Bortles by most metrics, and he becomes an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Brees is 38 years old and might be considering retiring after the season. However, he is playing at a higher level than the above mentioned quarterbacks. He has completed 105 of 152 passes for 1,135 yards with eight touchdowns and zero interceptions.
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You have got to think all this talk would inspire Bortles’ play this week. Will the Jaguars look to move away from him? Obviously, it’s his job to lose — if he hasn’t lost it already. Let’s see how many pass attempts he gets, the measure of how the coaches believe in him.