The newly-named Washington Commanders will be of the teams that hops on the NFL's offseason quarterback carousel. And although the trade market has yet to pick up steam, all head coaching vacancies have been filled, so it's just a matter of time until rumors intensify and teams make aggressive pursuits.
What does the future hold for Aaron Rodgers with the Green Bay Packers and Russell Wilson with the Seattle Seahawks? Are the Las Vegas Raiders open to shopping Derek Carr? Have the Minnesota Vikings fully committed to another season with Kirk Cousins? And how about the San Francisco 49ers' situation with Jimmy Garoppolo? The teams searching for a new franchise leader have options, and Commanders head coach Ron Rivera knows his elevator pitch.
"First of all, I'd tell them that we have an opportunity to make our own legacy now. We've got a new name. Secondly, hey, we're the sixth-ranked offensive line in the NFL," Rivera told the Maggie and Perloff show on Friday. "We have a 1,000-yard receiver in Terry McLaurin, back-to-back years. We have a 1,000-yard rusher in Antonio Gibson. We have playmakers coming back from injury... Offensively, we're where we need to be.
"We have a young defense that's got to mature, but it's young. And it's shown what it can be, potentially. We're solid on special teams. We're not necessarily rebuilding as much as we're looking for the right guy to plug in... You have to be prepared to make sure everybody knows we have a good offer. And if you have to make it a better offer, you've got to. If we get in that situation, we're going to look to make a good offer."
Related
Rivera, who took over as the Commanders' head coach back in 2020, is 14-19 over his first two seasons, and in 2021, the team finished third in the NFC East with a 7-10 record. In those 17 regular season games, Washington ranked 24th in average points scored (19.7), 21st in average yards (323.6), and ranked tied for 22nd in total giveaways (24). The Commanders have the No. 11 overall pick in the 2022 draft, but at the moment, only six total selections.
The entire football conversation between Rivera and Maggie and Perloff can be accessed in the audio player above.
