Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? 10 NFL Quarterbacks Who Might Change Jobs in 2011
Virtually every season in the history of the National Football League has experienced change at the quarterback position. From starters losing their jobs to upstart reserves or injuries, change at this position is almost as inevitable as the planets rotating throughout their universes.
Though Andrew Luck has decided to play one more year of college football, there are several prospective rookie quarterbacks who will look to earn a starting job upon their selections. Men like Cam Newton, Jake Locker, Ryan Mallett and Blaine Gabbert are considered the best of a group available in the 2011 draft.
If a rookie earns a starting job, a common occurrence, that means another veteran will be looking for work. There are also several others looking for work right now months ahead of the draft. An NFL team must soon decide whether to go with one of these veterans next season or gamble the rookie they desire will fall into their laps and meet expectations through performance.
This is all assuming the players resolve their union contract woes and decide not to strike. If this happens and there are NFL games in 2011, here are a few quarterbacks you may see wearing uniforms in just seven months.
Michael Vick
1 of 10
Though it is hard to imagine Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeff Lurie not offering Vick a desirable contract, this free agent should get a lot of sumptuous offers around the league after the season he just put together.
Always known as an excellent running quarterback to where he is already second on the NFL list of most rushing yards ever by a quarterback, this four-time Pro Bowler finally showed an ability to play in the pocket folks had been waiting to see since he was drafted in 2001.
The work Vick and assistant coach Marty Mornhinweg put in paid off beautifully for Philadelphia, and some wonder if Vick would want to separate this tandem for a few dollars more. Yet his financial woes are well chronicled after losing most of his money from time spent in prison during 2007 to 2009.
How the league resolves their contract dispute with the players union could have a significant impact on Vick, who will be 31 years old next year. There is a possibility a team like the Oakland Raiders will offer him so much money he chooses to move on.
Lurie might look to match anything thrown at Vick, but having Kevin Kolb under contract in 2011 might have a part in the final decision. Kolb was named the starter in 2010 before getting hurt in the first game of the year and losing his job to Vick.
Wherever Vick ends up in 2011, he will get a substantial increase in pay.
Donovan McNabb
2 of 10
McNabb fell victim to the madness of King Mike Shanahan in 2010. Both entered their first year with the Washington Redskins expected to lift a franchise that has won little since its 1992 Super Bowl win. Shanahan was a head coach who butted heads with several players, as did his son, who served as offensive coordinator.
Kyle Shanahan's treatment of McNabb was well scoffed all year, but it had an everlasting impact beyond the 16 games of 2010. McNabb came in as the anointed saviour and is about to leave town with the "bust" label attached to him.
McNabb was acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles after Philadelphia decided to part ways with maybe the best quarterback it's ever had. He joined a team with a very mediocre offensive line, questionable running game and extremely inexperienced offensive coordinator.
He was never sharp all year, but once was on pace to set a team record for passing yards in a season. He spent the final three games as a third-stringer because the Shanahans wanted to see what the other quarterbacks on the roster could do for their struggling team. Though McNabb was offered a chance to make the Redskins squad next year, he has been told he will not be a starter,
There are teams that would probably start McNabb in 2011. Arizona is one of those teams, and McNabb has had a home in that state for years. He is 34 years old, but many critics think he has several more years left of productive play. He might not make big money like he has in the past, but it would be reasonable to predict he will resurrect his career in 2011.
Kyle Orton
3 of 10
Orton was well on his way to setting career best marks in passing attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns when he got hurt and missed the last three games of 2010. Rookie Tim Tebow stepped in and played well enough that Orton's future with the Denver Broncos may now be in question.
If the Broncos decide to go with Tebow in 2011, Orton will be a very attractive player on the trading block. He is also under contract for 2011, making him even more desirable. The 28-year-old will enter just his sixth season in 2011, but he has been a full-time starter in four years with two teams and had won 10 more games than he has lost before encountering a disastrous 2010 with a terrible Broncos team that saw them win just four times all season.
Denver got him from the Chicago Bears in 2009 after a blockbuster trade that saw the Bears deal several draft picks and Orton for quarterback Jay Cutler. Since the trade, Orton has thrown for over 500 more yards and has tossed 29 less interceptions with a quarterback rating of about seven points higher than Cutler.
The rebuilding job the Broncos have ahead of them will require an influx of new players, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Though it is wise that a team carries two quarterbacks that can win on the roster yearly, one has to wonder if Orton is willing to sit on the bench watching the young Tebow learn when he has already done so well in only five years.
One plus about Orton is his intelligence and ability to secure the football for his team. He has tossed only 48 interceptions in a career that has nearly 2,000 passing attempts. He isn't huge in stature, strong in arm, nor fleet of foot, but Orton has proved himself to be more than a serviceable quarterback. He has shown himself to be a winner, and that may be more than enough for some team to offer Denver draft picks to attain his services for 2011.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Vince Young
4 of 10
Young has had a roller coaster career since winning the 2006 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and being named to the Pro Bowl with the Tennessee Titans. He was benched in 2008 because he was not progressing as a quarterback, which led to a mental meltdown, then he rebounded the next year with another Pro Bowl season.
His 2010 year began with him being caught on tape attacking a fan jeering him in a night club. Young then battled through the season being dinged up with injuries as the Titans struggled to a 5-4 record. He hurt his thumb the next week and was replaced during the game. This infuriated Young enough to throw his shoulder pads into the stands and walk out on the team after some cross words to head coach Jeff Fisher both personally and via the media.
He was benched the rest of the year and has been told by the Titans he is no longer a member of the organization, who will decline to exercise a sixth-year option on him. With his contract now expired, Young is a free agent with the label of a malcontent. He had several problems so far in his career that range from being benched to breaking team rules to disappearing for a short amount of time which some feel was blown out of proportion by the media.
Though he has critics that believe Young does not have the talent to be a successful NFL quarterback, he will be just 28-years-old when training camp takes place in 2011. He also had won 26-of-39 regular season starts before this year, which shows he has that winning intangible no coach can teach.
Yet, his mental problems will scare teams looking to upgrade the quarterback position. It is doubtful he will command the type of salary he earned with the Titans until he shows some maturity and sanity, which will take time to prove through demonstration.
The talent is undeniable, as is his ability to win, so he will get offers from someone. What he chooses to do with those opportunities will all be up to Vince Young.
Rex Grossman
5 of 10
Grossman started 31 games between 2003 and 2008 for the Chicago Bears and won 19 times. The 2006 season saw him win 13 times as the Bears reached Super Bowl XLI before losing. He was cut by Chicago after 2008 because he gave the ball to the opponents too many times.
After seeing very limited action for the Houston Texans in 2009, Grossman joined the Washington Redskins last year to back up Donovan McNabb. When McNabb struggled, Grossman was handed the starting job for the last three games of the season.
While he was far from impressive, Grossman's 81.2 quarterback rating was far and away the best of his career. Yet, he still makes ridiculous mistakes as shown in his very first snap of 2010 where he promptly fumbled and watched Ndamukong Suh of the Detroit Lions rumble 17 yards into the end zone to put the game away as the Lions won 37-25.
Though he may return to Washington in 2011, thanks to offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan liking him and the fact that Grossman is familiar with Shanahan's system after having spent the past two years in it, there is a slight chance another team calls him in hopes he can be its back up.
His days as a starter do appear over, but his services as a reserve attracts teams because of that Super Bowl season on his resume.
Jason Campbell
6 of 10
As crazy as it may seem, Campbell might soon be learning his eighth different offensive system since he started playing at Auburn University in 2001. Though liked by the Oakland Raiders new head coach Hue Jackson, the offensive coordinator last year and compared to Raiders great Jim Plunkett by legendary Hall of Fame Raiders owner Al Davis, he struggled under last year's head coach, Tom Cable.
Cable preferred journeyman Bruce Gradkowski over Campbell, but Gradkowski spent most of 2010 injured. Campbell started 12 games and put up the second best quarterback rating of his career despite throwing to a very young receivers corps behind a porous offensive line.
While some expect Campbell to start in 2011 because he is under contract, there are rumblings the Raiders will go after free-agent Michael Vick. Vick fits the old school Raiders' mold of being once labelled a malcontent, and the Raiders used many of these types of players to win Super Bowls.
The players union contact talks with the NFL may decide the direction Oakland goes at quarterback next year. There is also a chance Campbell would stay on as a reserve if the Raiders sign a guy like Vick to handle the starting job.
Yet there is a chance Oakland looks to trade him if it signs another starter. Campbell has the measurables to succeed in the NFL, and one must admire his intelligence by how he has digested so many different playbooks in just a sort time.
Carson Palmer
7 of 10
Though the Bengals decided not to change head coaches in 2011, it may be time to change their starting quarterback. Palmer, the first overall draft pick in 2003, has been to two Pro Bowls so far but has lost more games than he has won.
Palmer has been the starter since 2004, though he missed 12 games in 2008 because of an injury to his throwing elbow. Many believe he is not the same player since that injury, noticing his passes now lack the zip they once possessed. His 2010 season saw him match a career-high mark of 20 interceptions, as Cincinnati may have been the most disappointing NFL team last year.
After winning the AFC North in 2008, many thought Cincinnati would return to the playoffs. It won just four games instead and again dealt with dysfunction in their locker room. What also stood out was the lack of leadership shown by Palmer, which has to bring into question his abilities to lead a team to a Super Bowl.
The Bengals have a loud-mouthed wide receiver named Chad Ochocinco clowning it up for the media most of his career. They then decided to sign Terrell Owens, a wide receiver more noted for his psychotic behavior rather than his athletic ability. Both are similar in that they demand the ball thrown their way often and will bad mouth anyone who does not agree. They also frequently cry to the media if they feel the ball is not headed their way enough.
Yet, both have aging players who have obviously lost more than a step in their game. This did not dissuade Palmer with trying to force feed the pair much too often at the expense at the team or chance for success. Once Owens was signed, most predicted Cincinnati would lose often because teams that Owens plays on typically lose more than they win.
Cincinnati will have the fourth pick of the 2011 draft, and many feel it will go for a defensive player. Heisman winner Newton and the technically-sound Gabbert are two quarterbacks many experts feel will be the first quarterbacks drafted, and it would not be nonsensical for Cincinnati to at least consider them.
Though just 31 years old, the fading arm strength and losing record of Palmer deserves more scrutiny than it has gotten so far. It may be unlikely another quarterback replaces him in 2011, but that might be the right move for the Bengals.
Derek Anderson
8 of 10
Anderson is an enigma. Tall with a strong arm, he put it all together in 2007 and made the Pro Bowl for the Cleveland Browns. He became wildly inconsistent after that, playing a timid game. This caused the Browns to cut him after 2009.
He joined the Arizona Cardinals last year with a juicy invitation to resurrect his career. The Cardinals were full of excellent wide receivers, led by Larry Fitzgerald. Anderson flopped so bad he was benched by a pair of rookies twice throughout the season.
Many expect Arizona to draft a quarterback with the fifth overall selection this year. Anderson, who signed a two-year deal worth $7.25 million last year, will most likely be cut. Though it appears he will never again regain his Pro Bowl form, there could be a few teams interested in him as a reserve because of his game experience.
Alex Smith
9 of 10
Despite putting up the best quarterback rating of his career in 2010, the Alex Smith Experiment may be over for the San Francisco 49ers. The first overall pick in 2005 has lost much more than he has won so far, and has often been benched in favor of journeymen-types because he has failed to progress much.
The Niners have the seventh pick of the draft this year, and many critics are split on who they will pick. Though Smith is entering the final year of a contract that has handed him $49.5 million, some think a quarterback will be drafted and groomed to take over by 2012 if not sooner.
Smith has played so erratically in his career that the bust label follows him everywhere. His lack of improvement has also brought out more critics and concern. If the Niners stick with him in 2011, it would hardly be a surprise to see him benched yet again.
Brett Favre
10 of 10
Before you start singing "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead," never count out the Hickocrite.
Yes, he has turned in his retirement papers to the NFL offices, but Favre has done this a bunch of times already.
Yes, it appears his legendary career is over, and an induction at Canton will be his next move, but he could be a phone call away from donning his Crocs again at the end of a training camp.
Who knows what his next move is. It is doubtful Favre himself knows.
Besides, what will ESPN do if they can't say his name every 15 seconds?
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")