I think we're about to see some interesting QB decisions in the near future as far as roster construction goes. The Rams with Jared Goff and the Titans with Marcus Mariota and eventually the Bears with Mitch Trubisky - they've all shown flashes but haven't established themselves as true franchise QBs who can elevate the team. Once these guys are done with their rookie deals I wonder what their teams will do. Commit massive money to a QB they aren't totally sold on or draft another QB and allocate that cap space to other areas of the roster?
I am waiting for a team to have the stones to move on from one of those young guys who
might be the vaunted "franchise quarterback" and do something like...
-- flip Mr. Would-Be Franchise for draft capital, talent, or cap space
-- draft another young gun on an absurdly cheap rookie deal
-- use the resources gained, especially the $20-30 million in cap space, on the rest of the team, and trust in their coaching staff and the rest of the team to kick butt
-- get
just enough out of the new guy to be competitive, if not more
The two best "species" of teams in the NFL right now are teams that either (1.) have a true, indisputable franchise quarterback who can basically win games on his own and (2.) teams that have that young quarterback on a cheap rookie deal generating absurd value for the team, meanwhile, they use the "hole" in their cap to strengthen the rest of the roster.
If you are not sure you have #1, and not
absolutely sure -- being wrong about this can set you back for years, and probably gets a coach and a GM fired -- then why not commit yourself to running the whole idea underlying #2 back again? Seattle had that super-team that beat Denver in the Super Bowl mostly because they took the money that was not going to a young Russell Wilson and put it into their defense. The Rams almost had enough to take down Brady by doing the exact same thing. Why not adopt that as a philosophy wholesale?