Which teams need quarterbacks and who are the best quarterbacks available this offseason?

We are still over a week away from Super Bowl Sunday, but with Tom Brady’s retirement announcement on Wednesday we should all be holding our breath for the offseason to come. Headline deals will be plentiful in this quarterback heavy free agent market, and some NFL fans are salivating at the prospect of bringing in a top gun slinger.

Tom Brady hanging it up for the second time has left a trickle down effect for the rest of the league. It adds one more team to the mix of those looking to find a QB1 for the next season, and it takes a quarterback out of the pool of those available this offseason.

I’m not here to speculate which quarterback is going to what team, yet. This is simply a look at the teams that need a quarterback, and the quarterbacks that could be available, free agents or not.

Teams who need QBs

Las Vegas Raiders

Josh McDaniel needed just a year to make a decision on wether or not Derek Carr was the future of the franchise in Las Vegas. In the final few weeks of the season Carr wasn’t only benched, but he wasn’t even at the games as Jarret Stidham finished off the season. Stidham didn’t look like he was the answer to the Raiders problems so they will be on the prowl this season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

With Tom Brady’s second retirement in a matter of a year, the Bucs are now in the same position they found themselves in less than 12 months ago. Except, this time it looks like Tom isn’t coming back. They have Blain Gabbert and Jeff Driskel, but neither look like they are ready to fill Brady’s shoes under center.

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens waited out the season to start really negotiating with Lamar Jackson, and it might come back to bite them. They saw their QB1 sit out the last portion of the season and miss the playoff game against the Bengals after auto-diagnosing with an injury and ruling himself out on social media. It seems like both sides want the same thing, but if they can’t agree to terms Jackson could be heading out of Baltimore.

Carolina Panthers

The eternal search for a quarterback in Carolina continues. They made a trade for Sam Darnold. That didn’t work. They made a trade for Baker Mayfield. That didn’t work. Now the Panthers are in the all too familiar position of having to look for a franchise quarterback with out having named a coach for next season.

Seattle Seahawks

Is Geno Smith the answer to the Seahawks quarterback situation? They gambled on him last year after seeing Russell Wilson ship off to the Mile High City, and Smith repaid them with a monster year. He set a Seahawks franchise record with 4,282 passing yards, which will certainly drive his price up in this free agent market. Are the Seahawks willing to splash the cash to their one-time back turned franchise record holder?

Tennessee Titans

Ryan Tannehill is still with the Titans, and until anything changes he will be their starter, but there have been murmurs about them making a change with Tannehill coming off of an injury plagued season, and their rookie QB Malik Willis looking far from ready to be an NFL starter.

Indianapolis Colts

Matt Ryan has a year on his contract, but nothing about the way the last season went would suggest that the Colts are sold with him being their top QB. They had Nick Foles and Sam Elhinger swapping in for Matt Ryan every other week and the situation in Indy looks bleak at best.

Houston Texans

The Texans have entrusted Davis Mills for the last two year, but that trust hasn’t payed off in locking down the QB position in Houston. You can’t chalk up the Texans struggles to just QB deficiencies, they have stunk across the board. Mills was benched for Kyle Allen and Jeff Driskel in various weeks, and with DeMeco Ryans in as the new head coach in Texas he will be looking for a little more stability under center.

New York Giants

It seems like the blue and white half of New York is divided on wether or not they want Daniel Jones to stick around in the Big Apple. He did help the Giants get to the playoffs, but his resumé coming into this season was far from impressive and the way New York ended the season gives more than justifiable cause for concern when it comes to their QB.

Washington Commanders

Technically the Commanders still have Carson Wentz as their quarterback, but they probably won’t have Taylor Heinicke to back him up as he hits the free agent market. Heinicke has been their security blanket when the first string quarterback gets injured or stinks like Wentz did or was for most of the season. They haven’t showed faith in Heinicke despite his performances, so why would they extend him? As for Wentz, he hasn’t done enough to feel too comfortable about his return as the QB1 in the nation’s capital.

New Orleans Saints

Jameis Winston started the season under center and it seemed as though his injury was enough for Dennis Allen to bench him for good. Andy Dalton is getting older by the day, and is hitting the free agent market, so the Saints will certainly be on the hunt for a QB this offseason.

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons lost Matt Ryan last offseason and really didn’t try to replace him. Marcus Mariotta was brought in after barley playing a snap in the previous couple seasons, and to his credit almost led Atlanta to the Super Bowl but he is not going to solve all of the issues the Falcons have on offense. The NFC South was the weakest division in football, so a quarterback could be all the Falcons need to make the post season next year.

Top QBs coming into off season

Aaron Rodgers

Reports out of Green Bay suggest the lifelong Packer is heading out of Lambeau. He is not a free agent, but the front offices look like they are ready to move on. He will be one of the most sought after QB this offseason, even if he has just a few more good years left.

Lamar Jackson

Jackson should be the highest paid quarterback coming out of the free agent market. After trying to negotiate his contract without an agent all year, he ended the season with no deal and sat out the final few games of the Ravens season with injury. Have relations between the to come to a point of no return?

Derek Carr

Derek Carr is on his way out of Las Vegas. That’s a done deal. Carr is still in his prime, but doesn’t have the track record in the playoffs to make him one of the top QBs in the market.

Baker Mayfield

Mayfield has played on three different teams in the last 13 months and is set to be a free agent. LA seems like a pretty good fit, and Sean McVay has been a Mayfield fan for a while but if McVay takes a sabbatical that could mark the end of the short story in LA for Mayfield.

Sam Darnold

Darnold, like Mayfield couldn’t make things work in Carolina and now the former third overall pick is on the market. He didn’t impress in New York with the Jets and never got off the ground in Carolina. When he gets signed there are no guarantees he will walk into a QB1 job.

Jimmy Garoppolo

The Garoppolo era looks like it has come to a close in San Francisco. He led the Niners to the Super Bowl in 2019, and the NFC Championship last year, but his numbers never dropped any jaws. He is an experienced quarterback that knows how to win, but wherever he lands is unlikely to have as good of a defense as the Niners did.

Teddy Bridgewater

Teddy Bridgewater was a rising star in the league before his devastating leg injury. Since then he has been out of the spotlight and spent last season backing up Tua Tagovailoa. He had a few good moments with the Dolphins, but may be better suited for a team looking for a back up.

Daniel Jones

The Giants were unconvinced with Jones coming into this season, but he seemed to have a resurgence under Brian Daboll at least for the first half of the season. He showed he is more than just a running QB this season. He can pass the ball, but can he do it on a consistent basis? That’s the question that the Giants front office will have to answer this offseason.

Geno Smith

Smith was in the MVP conversation for a good portion of this season as he led Seattle to a stunning start to the campaign, and into the postseason. Was his franchise record setting season good enough to convince the Seahawks to break out the check book and pay him the big bucks?

Mike White

The former New York Jet could be the dark horse of this free agent market. He had a fantastic stint in the Meadowlands after Zach Wilson was benched for being… Zach Wilson. He jumped on to the scened with a 300 yard, 3 TD game but after four games had 3 TDs and 4 INTs

Taylor Heinicke

Washington never showed Heinicke the respect he deserved. After the Commanders to the playoffs and almost beating Tom Brady and the Bucs in their Super Bowl winning year, he was demoted to back up the next year. He almost led the Commanders to another playoff run after a slow start to the season last year, and did the same thing this season. Will anyone around the league give him a shot at a Week 1 starting gig?