Well, it is that time of year again in Washington D.C. Just like the State of the Union or the Cherry Blossom Festival, as winter's grip begins to slip and thoughts of spring take shape, the now-annual quest to find an answer at quarterback has arrived in the DMV.
Reports indicate Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera has promised to leave no stone unturned, to make every inquiry to finally bring a competent, effective, starting quarterback who can survive all 17-games of the NFL season and be ready for the playoffs. In other football towns that's a. small ask, but not here.
Washington has been stuck in the doldrums of quarterback purgatory since Kirk Cousins left in free agency. While Cousins' play on the field left a lot to be desired, he managed to start every game in each of his last three seasons here, an exceptionally low bar Rivera would be thrilled if the Commanders' QB could clear in 2022.
With the NFL's free agency period a week away and the NFL draft at the end of April, former Washington tight end Logan Paulsen evaluated some of the quarterbacks on the Commanders' radar this offseason.
Mitchell Trubisky, 27, free agent, 5 years experience
"When you watch him, I think, you do see why he was a first-round draft pick. He's got a live arm, he does a good job, making, kind of, decisive throws, the more you watch him the more his facade, the more your vision of him starts to fray and fracture and crack," Paulsen said. "And what I mean by that is, you see him, again, we talked about the rhythm with the feet. He's got good mechanics, but you can tell that he's off rhythm, he's kinda waiting to see stuff come open, he's holding the ball a little bit, he's double-clutching quite a bit. I feel like in some instances he's reading the wrong side of the field based on the defensive structure and what the defense is giving him, which is kind of a big no-no. That's something Dwayne Haskins, that's something Robert Griffin used to do, and that's something coaches kinda look at and say, 'Does he understand fundamentally what we're trying to do from an x's and o's standpoint?'"
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Marcus Mariota, 28, free agent, 7 years experience
"But in terms of the things that make you doubt Marcus Mariota's ability to play quarterback in the NFL, none of those questions were answered in that [2020 game vs. the Chargers]," Paulsen told Russell & Medhurst. "When you look at him in Tennessee, a run-first team, a play-action team, a team that insulates the quarterback tremendously, had a ton of inaccuracy issues while he was there, had a ton of inaccuracy issues in that game when he was playing for Las Vegas. So, I think you get a guy who is kind of in the same realm as [Taylor] Heinicke. I mean, Heinicke-plus a little bit, or plus or minutes a little bit depending on how you wanna look at it. He's a guy who lacks elite arm strength, lacks elite accuracy, his fundamentals in the pocket are kind of all over the place... he kinda overreacts to pressure, he's not a tremendous scrambler... as a runner, he doesn't bring the upside that a lot of those other guys do and he doesn't bring the upside as a passer that some of those other guys do."
Deshaun Watson, 26, Houston Texans, 5 years experience
Deshaun Watson "is everything you want at the position right now," Paulsen said, in evaluating strictly his on-field play and not the off-field concerns. "Arm strength, athleticism, ability to extend plays, reading defenses I'd say that's probably his weakest element, but it's not like a weakness I would say. Very skilled in that area, even though there's other guys that are better, he makes up for it with all the intangibles he brings to the game. Outstanding leader, really well-liked, while I was there, in the locker room. Very, kinda, commanded the room, but not loud, had this presence and aura around him. If he's available, I know [the Texans] were asking for three first-round draft picks, I don't like trading draft capital period... but he's a guy I would definitely, definitely think about it long and hard over because I do think he's a generational, franchise kinda guy... he would change the complexion of this franchise."
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Russell Wilson, 33, Seattle Seahawks, 10 years experience (EDIT: Wilson was traded to the Broncos on Mar. 8.)
"He's a guy that's kinda made this modern iteration of the NFL quarterback very popular, he's a guy that plays a little bit off schedule buys time with his legs, he's not necessarily a scrambler, but he's good moving around, buying time in the pocket," Paulsen said. "My big question is when you look at Russell over probably the last six games of the [2021] season, you see a guy who doesn't look like that guy who was dominant in that area, even the year before. So you kinda wonder to yourself, "how much more does he have in the tank from an athletic standpoint?'"
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