2012 NFL Preview: Predicting the Starting QB in 2012 for Every NFL Team

The start of the 2012 season is months away, but there's no harm in taking a sneak peak of what next season will bring us.

Each and every season teams make changes, and some of these changes are done at the quarterback season. For an example, last season Matt Hasselbeck went from being the starting quarterback with the Seattle Seahawks and ended up starting for the Tennessee Titans.

With so many question marks at the quarterback position for so many teams entering 2012, I'm going to be predicting the starting quarterback in 2012 for every NFL team. 

Buffalo Bills: Ryan Fitzpatrick

Ryan Fitzpatrick may have thrown an NFL-high 23 interceptions in 2011, but he did complete 62 percent of his passes while throwing 24 touchdowns and accumulating 3,832 passing yards.

The Buffalo Bills have made a long-term investment in Fitzpatrick, as they signed him to do a seven-year $62.195 million contract back in late October.

Fitzpatrick is the quarterback of the future for the Bills—but if he struggles in 2012, he may be benched in favor of someone else. 

Miami Dolphins: Matt Flynn

The Miami Dolphins have all the pieces to be successful on offense. They have a solid offensive line anchored by Jake Long, an elite wide receiver in Brandon Marshall and a stellar running game led by Reggie Bush.

Matt Flynn will end up with the Dolphins—that's my prediction.

Miami needs a quarterback badly and they will offer him the most money, and he'll gladly accept knowing that all Miami is lacking is a legitimate quarterback. 

New England Patriots: Tom Brady

Do I really need to explain this one? Tom Brady is the New England Patriots. He is the face of the franchise. 

Brady will be a Patriot as long as he wants to be. 

New York Jets: Peyton Manning

Believe me—I am predicting it right now. Peyton Manning will be a member of the New York Jets in 2012. 

The Indianapolis Colts will draft Andrew Luck first overall and then Manning will be traded to the Jets. 

To prove that I'm not crazy, here's one rumor that discusses the possibility of the Jets landing Manning.

Let's put it this way: Mark Sanchez is not the answer for the Jets, he proved that this past season after his horrendous final three games of the season when he turned the ball over nine times. 

Baltimore Ravens: Joe Flacco

No matter what happens in the remainder of the playoffs, the Baltimore Ravens franchise quarterback is Joe Flacco—there's no question about it. 

Through four seasons with the Ravens, Flacco has posted an 86.0 passer rating, while throwing 80 touchdowns compared to 46 interceptions and leading Baltimore to an impressive 44-20 regular season record. 

Cincinnati Bengals: Andy Dalton

Despite Andy Dalton's putrid performance in his first ever playoff appearance against the Houston Texans, I think that it's safe to say that Dalton is the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback of the future. 

In Dalton's rookie season, he led Cinci to a 9-7 record while posting an 80.4 quarterback rating and throwing 20 touchdowns with only 13 interceptions. 

Cleveland Browns: Robert Griffin III

With the fourth pick of the 2012 NFL draft, the Cleveland Browns will select Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III. 

I firmly believe that the Browns will not be moving on with Colt McCoy as their franchise quarterback and will actually select RGIII—and that's exactly how I projected it in my recent mock draft. 

Griffin is NFL ready and certainly could have a phenomenal rookie season, much like Cam Newton this past season with the Carolina Panthers. 

Pittsburgh Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger

I think that it's safe to assume that the two-time winning Super Bowl quarterback Ben Roethlisberger  will be the Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback for quite sometime—no matter how ugly his team's playoff loss against the Denver Broncos was. 

Throughout Big Ben's eight-year career he has thrown for 165 touchdowns compared to 100 interceptions while posting a solid 92.1 quarterback rating. 

Houston Texans: Matt Schaub

I highly doubt that T.J. Yates and the Houston Texans will win the Super Bowl this season, which leads me to believe that Matt Schaub will return as the starting quarterback in 2012. 

Schaub may have only played four full NFL seasons, but he's a top tier quarterback as he's posted a 92.2 career quarterback rating. 

If the Texans do win the Super Bowl with Yates, then this could start one hell of a quarterback controversy. 

Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck

Andrew Luck  is the most NFL ready college quarterback that I have ever seen, and the Indianapolis Colts will be drafting him first overall in the 2012 draft.

Luck will immediately be named the Colts starting quarterback, which will ultimately end the Peyton Manning-era in Indianapolis. 

Jacksonville Jaguars: Blaine Gabbert

I don't care how pathetic Blaine Gabbert's rookie season with the Jacksonville Jaguars was, he will be the starting quarterback with the Jags for quite sometime. 

Gabbert completed only 50.8 percent of his passes while being picked off 11 times this past season. All the Jaguars need to do is surround Gabbert with some actual talent and then he'll have a chance to prove himself and actually be productive. 

Tennessee Titans: Jake Locker

Matt Hasselbeck did his job with the Tennessee Titans and now it's time for the youngster Jake Locker to step in and take control of the reigns.

Locker played well in his rookie season as he played in only five games but recorded a 99.4 quarterback rating while tossing four touchdowns and no interceptions. 

Denver Broncos: Tim Tebow

Go ahead, say what you want about Tim Tebow. 

He may not be the greatest passer or have the greatest arm, but he's a winner and he gets the job done.

In Tebow's first season as the Denver Broncos starting quarterback, he posted an impressive 7-4 record while leading the Broncos to the playoffs after starting 2-5 with Kyle Orton at quarterback.

There is no doubt in my mind that Tebow will be the starter in 2012. 

Kansas City Chiefs: Matt Cassel

Matt Cassel may have had a down year with the Kansas City Chiefs, as he threw nine interceptions in nine games prior to breaking his right hand—but he has the potential to be a Pro Bowl quarterback.

In 2010 Cassel threw for 27 touchdowns and was picked off only seven times and led his team to the AFC West title.

Cassel certainly has the "stuff" to be a great quarterback, which will earn himself the starting job next season. 

Oakland Raiders: Carson Palmer

There's really no options for the Oakland Raiders at quarterback—it's either Carson Palmer or Jason Campbell, and I believe it will be Palmer.

Palmer struggled in his first season with the Raiders, but with a new head coach hopefully he can get his career turned around as he was once a Pro Bowl caliber quarterback. 

San Diego Chargers: Philip Rivers

Philip Rivers may have had a down year this past season but he still is a top tier quarterback and could emerge as an elite passer next season.

The San Diego Chargers will roll out Rivers as their starting quarterback until his arm falls off.

In eight seasons, Rivers has thrown 163 touchdowns while completing 63.5 percent of his passes and posting a stellar 95.5 quarterback rating. 

Dallas Cowboys: Tony Romo

Tony Romo will be the Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback in 2012. There's no debate here.

Romo had a career year this past season as he finished with an incredible 102.5 quarterback rating while tossing 31 touchdowns and accumulating 4,184 yards. 

New York Giants: Eli Manning

Eli Manning came into 2011 as just an above average quarterback that threw a lot of interceptions but he ended the season as an elite player—that's just my opinion.

With no help from the running game, Manning had a Pro Bowl season as he led his New York Giants to an NFC East crown while tossing 29 touchdowns and posting a solid 92.9 quarterback rating.

All in all, Eli Manning is the kind of quarterback that you want to have on your team. 

Philadelphia Eagles: Michael Vick

Michael Vick may have had a bumpy 2011, but he's the quarterback of the future for the Philadelphia Eagles as he was signed to a massive six-year $100 million contract back in late August. 

Vick appeared in only 13 games this season for Philly as he threw 18 touchdowns but was picked off 14 times. 

Washington Redskins: Ryan Tannehill

With Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III going off the board prior to the Washington Redskins sixth overall pick, I am projecting that they may either draft Ryan Tannehill right then and there or simply trade back a few spots and then draft him. 

Let's put it this way: Rex Grossman and John Beck aren't the answers in Washington. Tannehill could be. 

Chicago Bears: Jay Cutler

Prior to breaking his right thumb, Jay Cutler was having a decent season with the Chicago Bears as he had thrown for 2,319 yards in 10 games while tossing 13 touchdowns and being picked off seven times.

There's no question that Cutler will be returning at Chicago's starter in 2012. 

Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford proved to the NFL world that he can be a top tier quarterback this past season as he tossed 41 touchdowns while finishing the season with an incredible 97.2 quarterback rating. 

Stafford helped lead his Detroit Lions to a playoff berth for the first time since 1999, so I'd say it's safe to assume that Stafford is going to have a very long career with the Lions. 

Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers

Next question. 

Of course Aaron Rodgers will be the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers next season and many seasons after that. 

Minnesota Vikings: Christian Ponder

Christian Ponder showed promising signs during his rookie season with the Minnesota Vikings this past season as he posted a 70.1 quarterback rating while tossing 13 touchdowns. 

Ponder was the 12th overall pick from last year's draft so there's no reason why he wont be Minnesota's starting quarterback for many years to come. 

Atlanta Falcons: Matt Ryan

Matt Ryan hasn't won a playoff game yet in his NFL career but he's still the franchise quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons.

Ryan had a pretty promising season in 2011 as he scored 29 touchdowns while finishing the season with a 92.2 quarterback rating. 

Carolina Panthers: Cam Newton

Cam Newton had himself one remarkable rookie season with the Carolina Panthers as he finished the season with 35 total touchdowns while throwing for an NFL rookie record 4,051 yards and rushing for an NFL rookie record for a quarterback, 706 yards.

There's no question that Newton will be the starter a year from now. 

New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees

Really? Is this even a question?

Drew Brees is the best of the best. Enough said. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Josh Freeman

Josh Freeman certainly did not have the greatest season this past year as he threw for 22 interceptions while tossing only 16 touchdowns. 

I do believe that Freeman is the answer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—they simply need to surround him with talent and a true running game. 

Arizona Cardinals: Kevin Kolb

Kevin Kolb definitely did not have the greatest season with the Arizona Cardinals but I do believe that he will be the starter in 2012.

Some may argue that John Skelton will be the starter, but I firmly believe that a full offseason with the Cardinals should get Kolb back on track on being the franchise quarterback. 

San Francisco 49ers: Alex Smith

For being considered a bust for the most of his NFL career, Alex Smith actually turned around his career in 2011 with first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Smith threw 17 touchdowns while being picked off only five times while recording a 90.7 quarterback rating.

Smith does exactly what the 49ers need him to do: Don't turn the ball over and manage the offense. 

Seattle Seahawks: Mark Sanchez

This is apart of my master-plan.

The Indianapolis Colts will draft Andrew Luck then trade Peyton Manning to the New York Jets and then the Jets will trade Mark Sanchez to the Seattle Seahawks.

Why Seattle? Because Sanchez will be reunited with his old college coach, Pete Carroll. 

St. Louis Rams: Sam Bradford

We all need to stop and realize that Sam Bradford was drafted first overall in 2010 for a reason and that he was named the offensive rookie of the year a year ago for a reason. What's that reason? He's incredibly talented.

Bradford had a very disappointing season in 2011 but he will be back in a big way in 2012. I guarantee it.