Jameis Winston- NO, 2 years $28,000,000
Zach’s Grade: B
Thoughts: They were rumored to be in on Watson, but I have no clue how they would have done it. Instead, they go back to Winston who was having a fine season before tearing his ACL. He should have Michael Thomas back this time, and hopefully added weapons through the draft. The Saints decided not to start the rebuild and instead sacrificed even more cap space down the line in hopes of competing. It’ll be a lot resting on Winston’s shoulders. This is probably the right move, but it still may be argued that they should have set themselves up to go for a rookie to help with their cap issues down the line.
Jack’s Grade: A
Thoughts: The Saints are clearly a Super Bowl contender in the NFC and have been for years. The Saints were a playoff contender last year even without Winston which just goes to show that they are ready to win. Winston seems to be a meme dating back to his college days, and then his 30-30 season, but Winston has shown to be a quality starter since sitting a year under Drew Brees. The Saints were rumored to be in the Watson sweepstakes, but they should be lucky that they didn’t land him. The assets and players that would’ve been given up to get him would’ve downgraded this team. The Saints bring back a quality starter in Winston who is coming off an injury, and keep the team together. Kamara’s arrest seems to have been forgotten in the craziness of this offseason, and we suspect he is going to be suspended. Even without the Kamara suspension, the Saints offense is still a few offensive pieces shy of being a legitimate threat. The Saints defense though has pretty much stayed intact through the offseason and should continue to be arguably the best defense in the league next year. With the addition of a couple more offensive pieces there’s no reason Winston can’t lead this team to a Super Bowl run.
Marcus Mariota ATL 2 years $18,750,000
Zach’s Grade: B+
Thoughts: The Falcons said goodbye to Matt Ryan, and now left with a team without much talent beyond Kyle Pitts and Patterson. Many expect them to draft a quarterback, but they are nowhere near in position for this. Instead they roll with their free agent signing Mariota. In my eyes, this is a great signing. It is not a crazy contract, he reunites with Arthur Smith, and it has a lot of upside as Mariota has been a backup for a couple years now without showing what he still has. My money is on that he can be a capable starter in this league as long as he stays healthy. This is the big concern, but they did not break the bank to sign Mariota so it is not as worrisome if he does get hurt.
Jack’s Grade: B
Thoughts: This is a high risk, high reward signing for the Falcons. No one knows what Mariota is capable of as he has not played many snaps since his time as a starter in Tennessee; the positive is that Mariota was not bad when he was a starter. Mariota is reuniting with his old offensive coordinator from Tennessee Arthur Smith. Although the Falcons receiving room is a bunch of guys off the street, they have been loading up their running backs room. They re-signed Patterson and Ollison, and brought in Damien Williams on top of already having Mike Davis. It seems like the Falcons could move toward a run first system and short game passing offense that includes a lot of option plays and RPO. Mariota may not have to carry this team, but should be at the very least serviceable if he has to throw a lot. This is all if Mariota can stay healthy. I like the thinking behind this signing, but too many question marks because the Falcons roster is not in any shape to win.
Mitchell Trubisky PIT 2 years $14,285,000
Zach’s Grade: A-
Thoughts: The Steelers went out and signed Trubisky right away. They did not wait for any market of his to heat up, and they therefore got him for less than the other two mentioned above. Trubsiky should win the starting job right away (provided the Steelers do not add another legitimate competitor to the qb room) and add elements to this offense that old man Roethlisburger could not. He can make the O-line a little better by moving around, he can actually throw it further than 20 yards, and he has hopefully grown while learning from Josh Allen and Daboll in Buffalo.
Jack’s Grade: B+ with the potential to be an A
Thoughts: I really like the Trubisky signing. There’s a lot of Trubisky hate, and it causes people to forget that he led the Bears to the playoffs. If you look at everything that went down with the Bears and Matt Nagy over the last couple seasons, it makes you think that maybe Trubisky wasn’t the problem. Trubisky also just spent a whole season under Josh Allen and Brian Daboll in Buffalo. Trubisky’s teammates have also had nothing but good things to say about Trubisky, so there’s nothing but positive publicity around Trubisky right now in my eyes. Trubisky could end up being the QB the Steelers have needed over the last few years; he will certainly be able to open up the playbook for the Steelers who have had to shorten the playbook for Ben over the last couple seasons. Trubisky is a great sign for Pittsburgh, but is a B+ until he can prove he can return to playoff form.
Tyrod Taylor NYG 2 years $11,000,000
Zach’s Grade: B
Thoughts: If the thinking here is that they are drafting a quarterback and Taylor is the mentor, this grade can go up. If it is just to be the backup to Jones, it would go down for me. Instead it is in the middle at a B. Taylor has proven that he can mentor young quarterbacks repeatedly, but it would be better for Daboll and company to start fresh with a rookie, while letting Jones play out the final year of his contract. I am a believer in Daniel Jones, but I wonder if his resurgence has a better chance coming on another team.
Jack’s Grade: A
Thoughts: The Giants are paying peanuts for a solid QB who could still be a starter in the league. For those who think Tyrod is only a backup, you are still paying peanuts because Tyrod in my eyes is the best backup QB in the league. At the very least top 3, with Huntley and Minshew being the other two. Tyrod also seems to be the best mentoring veteran QB in the league as no matter where he goes the team’s franchise QB takes over for him: Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Davis Mills, and even Baker Mayfield looked good while Tyrod was in Cleveland. There have been a lot of questions around Daniel Jones since he’s started in the league. Taylor is a veteran presence who can sit and help try to develop Jones and if Jones doesn’t work out Taylor can take over this year. Taylor is also on a two year deal, which means that the Giants can draft a QB this year or next and let them sit behind Tyrod until they are ready. Overall this is a great pick up for the Giants.