NFL Offseason 2020: Best quarterback carousel ever

Every year there are a number of great players looking for new teams, but the 2020 NFL offseason is on another level. This is the best quarterback carousel ever and when it stops spinning the NFL may be unrecognizable.

This year’s quarterback carousel has already begun to spin and the 2020 NFL offseason is getting hot. This week, the Los Angeles Chargers announced that Philip Rivers would not be returning to the team for 2020 and would enter free agency. We have also seen endless speculation on where Tom Brady will play (if anywhere) next season, followed by him trolling us all with a Super Bowl commercial.

Those are just two of the big quarterback names likely to find themselves in the news this offseason. Through random chance, there is a huge slew of big names available for one reason or another.

For a quick run-through: Andy Dalton may be on the outs in Cincinnati, Cam Newton could be done in Carolina; Nick Foles could have been usurped by Gardner Minshew in Jacksonville, Ryan Tannehill is a free agent after a huge season with Tennessee, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota need new contracts and Drew Brees might retire. This is the best set of quarterbacks on the market ever.

More from NFL Spin Zone

• Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
• Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
• Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
• Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
• Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate the 2020 NFL offseason in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Todd Salem:

Availability of names like those above will likely throw off plans for others, if teams like Chicago or Indianapolis think they can find an upgrade. Then we suddenly see Mitchell Trubisky or Jacoby Brissett available too. The carousel is picking up speed.

There are looking to be at least three elite quarterback prospects in this year’s draft to boot. The teams picking near the top will scoop up those guys, but who knows what type of trades could develop and who grades who higher.

From a grand view, there is the main question to consider: Do you prefer a team with a “mediocre” quarterback stick with something familiar or take a chance that a new acquisition can shake things up for the positive (or the negative)? Neither quarterback in this discussion is a sure thing. Call it swapping Trubisky for Dalton. Is change for the sake of change worth the risk? If not, are we stuck at being mediocre?

Teams never make that move. They would take the sure upgrade (Trubisky to Rivers) or restart with a rookie. But from what I remember, they never make the perhaps sideways move at the quarterback position.

With a lot of potential sideways moves, maybe this offseason won’t be as exciting as it seems right now. We know Rivers will play elsewhere next season, but he could be the lone big name. Brady and Brees likely return to their squads. Even someone like Winston is hard to move away from when Tampa Bay knows what he can provide.

So is the carousel worth getting excited about or not? The potential is intriguing, but just like with players, potential doesn’t always develop into anything.

Dan Salem:

The 2020 NFL offseason quarterback carousel is totally worth getting super stoked about! First of all, making a sideways move is always a great idea. If your team is treading water with a mediocre quarterback, then changing the voice in the huddle can go a very long way. This assumes the rest of your team is solid but such lateral moves can do wonders.

We don’t see the lateral move happen very often because we aren’t paying attention. If Andy Dalton joins the Chicago Bears, it will be as their backup initially. Trubisky is the current starter. Dalton won’t be coming in as the new starter, but as the backup who will certainly challenge and likely win the job from Trubisky in July.

This is a lateral move that gets overlooked because it’s considered the signing of a backup. Chicago signed a second-string player. Big whoop. Dalton must settle for second-team duties. Makes sense. It’s all covered up and glossed over because the team wants to be right either way.

I’m stoked for this year’s quarterback carousel because of so many names that can dramatically shift the balance of power in the NFL. Rivers has at least one more great year left and will be in prove-it mode. He is a huge upgrade for Tampa Bay simply because he throws fewer interceptions.

A change of scenery for Winston can also help him cut back on those turnovers, making him a huge upgrade for a team like Cincinnati as it fumbles with finding a rookie quarterback. Brees is returning to New Orleans for one more year. That is probably the only thing guaranteed.

Who will lead the Chargers? LA has a very good football team only a season removed from double-digit wins. Sounds familiar because Jacksonville just went through this same thing. They flopped, but the Chargers in a new stadium can shine. I’m convinced the Bears move on from Trubisky, but I have no idea how. Tannehill and Newton will be steals for whomever signs them. Both have a ton to prove and lots of evidence that points to their continued success.

You didn’t even mention Dak Prescott, who remains without a new deal. Do the Cowboys dare balk at his contract demands and roll the dice with a savvy veteran? Will Tom Brady hoodwink a team into signing him? I see him struggling outside of New England.

But the biggest truth of all is a simple pleasure that never fails to put a smile on my face. Both of our New York football teams are set at quarterback. Neither the Jets or Giants will be participating in these shenanigans. Thank goodness.