2024 NFL Season: 3 massive unknowns across league as training camp continues

Let's dive into some massive unknowns as training camps continue.
Pittsburgh Steelers OTA Offseason Workout
Pittsburgh Steelers OTA Offseason Workout / Joe Sargent/GettyImages
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The 2024 NFL Season is quickly approaching, and as training camps continue, let's look at three massive unknowns that are still out there.

In the coming weeks, NFL teams will begin to sort out all of their questions and try to find answers for them as the 2024 NFL Season begins. There has been a ton of storylines that have developed over the course of this offseason, and as the regular season begins, many of those storylines will have a conclusion.

However, there are still a ton of unknowns out there, and these three might be the most prominent.

2024 NFL Season: 3 massive unknowns across league as training camp continues
Is it a legitimate QB battle in Denver?

We've seen all of Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham, and Zach Wilson get first-team reps, as head coach Sean Payton seems to be doing more of a cycle at QB. Is there a legitimate QB battle in Denver, and is there a legit shot that someone not named Bo Nix can start for the Broncos in Week 1? It's pretty clearly been Stidham as the top guy, followed by Nix, with Wilson bringing up the rear.

However, many have said that Nix is going to start for the team, perhaps no matter what. Why would Denver have taken Nix in the first round if they planned on starting someone else? Well, at this point, the starting job seems to be firmly up in the air.

Does Justin Fields legitimately have a shot to start for the Steelers?

With Russell Wilson being sidelined for a few days with a calf injury, that has paved the way for Justin Fields to get some starting reps, and while Fields isn't a franchise QB, some have speculated that the way Fields has performed in training camp thus far, he's given himself a legitimate case to be named the starter.

Many quarterbacks are able to look quite good in training camp, but Justin Fields seems to have taken advantage of the additional reps he's gotten with Russell Wilson out. You do have to wonder if this has given Fields a big enough bump to at least put the idea in the heads of the Steelers coaching staff that he should start over Russell Wilson.

The preseason will tell us a lot, though, and that is truly right around the corner.

Why is safety Justin Simmons still on the market?

One of the worst safeties in the NFL last year, Kareem Jackson, signed with the Buffalo Bills, which begs the question; why is Justin Simmons, of all players, still on the free agency market? The safety market was quite oversaturated coming into the offseason, but there have been a plethora of safeties who have signed with teams that simply are not as good as Simmons.

Playing with the Denver Broncos from 2016-2023, Simmons was cut by the team to begin the offseason, which was a bit of a shock. Still without a team, you have to wonder if Simmons is asking for too much money, or if he is truly waiting it out. It's not uncommon for players to go unsigned into the NFL season itself, and with each passing day, that seems more possible.