The Jets are a hot mess for sure, at least they have been for a long, long time.
The Steelers, OTOH, have not had a losing season since 2003.
In all honesty, I like the idea of acquiring a vet QB to succeed Stafford. The Rams trading for Stafford is Exhibit A on how that could work out, Darnold to the Seahawks is Exhibit A on how that could work out.
The thing for me is it doesn't happen often enough for that to be relied on. Besides, home grown QBs have won 40 SBs, vets acquired by trade or thru FA have won 20.
Burrow would look great in horns, for example. But what if the Bengals don't want to trade him?
Here's a list of FA QBs for 2027. Of course, a few of them are going to sign extensions with their current teams, but that fact notwithstanding who is the next Sam Darnold on this list?
Deshaun Watson
Baker Mayfield
Justin Fields
Anthony Richardson
Marcus Mariota
Davis Mills
Jacoby Brissett
Joe Flacco
Jarrett Stidham
Gardner Minshew
Mac Jones
Andy Dalton
Jameis Winston
Mason Rudolph
Kenny Pickett
Geno Smith
Carson Wentz
Sam Howell
Trey Lance
Drew Lock
Will Levis
Nick Mullens
Sam Ehlinger
Teddy Bridgewater
Josh Johnson
Brandon Allen
Zach Wilson
Jake Browning
Bailey Zappe
Desmond Ridder
Will Grier
Tua Tagovailoa
Shane Buechele
Stetson Bennett
Aidan O'Connell
Sean Clifford
Jake Haener
Sam Hartman
Tanner McKee
Adrian Martinez
Connor Bazelak
Carter Bradley
Kedon Slovis
Brady Cook
Chris Oladokun
Cam Miller
Kyle McCord
DJ Uiagalelei
Seth Henigan
Joshua Dobbs
As I have pointed out before, drafting Simpson doesn't eliminate the possibility of trading for a vet QB or signing one in FA. The Rams have a lot of time to evaluate Simpson up close and personal and if they determine that they've made a mistake by drafting him they won't hesitate to turn the page.
Personally I think Simpson is primed for major success, but if he's not it will be just as easy to trade for a vet QB or sign one in FA in 2027 as it would have been if they hadn't drafted Simpson. If the Rams work with Simpson and decide they really need to trade for Burrow or sign Baker Mayfield (or whoever) in order to field a Super Bowl caliber team they won't shy away from doing that.
The Rams invested way more in Goff than they have in Simpson and they moved on from him. They won't hang their hopes on Simpson, either, if he turns out to be the wrong guy.
AlbaNY_Ram
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2026 05:08AM by AlbaNY_Ram.
