We’re gonna spend a lot of time over the next 11 weeks debating the future of the QB position in Washington, whether it’s a runback with Sam Howell and a better offense or a reboot with one of the signal-callers perched atop draft boards.
Here’s another idea, though, that Grant & Danny thought about on Tuesday: what if, given the number of teams that are quarterback needy, the Commanders traded back for a huge haul of draft capital, selected an offensive lineman or an edge rusher, and rolled the dice for a year or two on a veteran QB to bridge the gap and get the franchise moving forward?
Grant & Danny played Kirk Cousins’ message back on their 10th anniversary where Kirk said ‘maybe someday we'll boomerang back and I'll be able to finish my career there in DC,’ and there is one sportsbook that is actually putting decent odds on that happening.
“I would say the chances of that are slim,” GP laughed. “But let's just hypothetically suggest Adam Peters came in here and their plan was to win pretty quickly. If he sits down with Dan Quinn and Quinn goes, I got weapons on defense, I can make this a good defense and get you 10 wins this season if you go get me a quarterback who can play and let’s not play the long game with a young QB – then clearly, Cousins would be right at the top of their priority list. I just don't think that's where they are; it’s Year 1 of a rebuild, they have the No. 2 pick, you want the rookie contract quarterback rather than someone you're paying $40 million plus to.”
Just seeing those odds, though, made GP wonder what it might look like if the aforementioned scenario does happen after the Bears, or whoever, take Caleb Williams 1-1.
“In an event where they move back from 2 to 7 or 2 to 20, they pick up a ton of seconds and a third and a first the next couple of years or something like that, and then they either come back up the board to grab a quarterback like Bo Nix, or sign Ryan Tannehill or Gardner Minshew or someone and end up drafting a quarterback like Spencer Rattler or something in the second or third round – is this something that you would be open to?” Grant asked.
“That’s a no for me, but the thing that I would add is I've been frankly pretty surprised at the pulse of people that that's exactly what they want,” Danny replied. “I don't know what it is specifically, but among this fan base, I think the number of people that have been scarred by high quarterback draft picks not panning out, whether it's here or elsewhere, combined with the fact that this organization was known for having different starting quarterbacks every time they went to the Super Bowl and great offensive lines and built a different way…there is a pulse of people that has no interest in drafting a quarterback up high, despite any percentage or anything that you could show them data-wise that says this is your best chance to get one. They don't seem to care about that.”
Which, given the other elite talents at the top of the board, makes Danny even more puzzled.
“There’s a huge pulse of people that are suggesting doing that exact same thing, not even drafting somebody – going, stay at No. 2 and take Marvin Harrison, probably the best player overall in this draft, and surround some veteran journeyman guy that we've done a million times over with a good roster and see what happens,” Danny said. “It's almost like they've been conditioned to do so, and I’ve been really surprised that pulse is so significant and vociferous.”
“Cousins will have a better 2024 if he's healthy than the rookies that they're bringing in here, but that's not really the end game,” Grant replied. “For me, I'm drafting whichever of those two guys, Daniels or Maye, that I like better when I'm on the clock.”
There’s some caveats and arguments, and even Grant has to admit them, but…
“I think that the rookie quarterback contract is invaluable, although I would point out that I think only once ever has a team won the Super Bowl with a quarterback on a rookie contract,” GP said. “So as much as we love the idea of it, in this era with this draft slotting system, there really aren't examples of it having gotten you a title. It almost did with the Eagles and Jalen Hurts, and there are other near misses, but I think you gotta just take your quarterback.”
Yup, there it is – the GP philosophy.
“I go back to trying to do the thing that gives you the best chance as often as possible, whether that's hiring a head coach, drafting a QB, or whatever,” GP said. “It's a gift to have the No. 2 pick; it’s a rarity, and is only the third time we’ve had a pick this high this century, and one of those, you had to trade the farm to go up to do it. So I’m taking my chances and taking a QB – and I also don't think that it's a coincidence that the last time you took a quarterback No. 2 was kind of the closest you've been to seemingly getting it all right, and everything lining up together.”
“You got the rookie of the year and you won the division, right?” Danny replied, “That’s not high achievement for a lot of places, but here, that's as good as it's been.”
