Adam Schefter Predicts More Than 18 Quarterbacks Will Change Teams This Offseason

Last year's NFL offseason was a wild affair when it came to the quarterback position. Players like Tom Brady and Philip Rivers, long assumed to be the types of men who would only ever wear one uniform, changed teams. Presumptive starters were exchanged and displaced while former backups received big deals to take their place.

When it was all said and done, six teams started the 2020 season with a different starting quarterback. That's a big number because QBs are so important in the NFL. The teams with good starters do everything they can to keep them, while teams with middling starters talk themselves into the guy they currently have rather than a replacement. Even teams with terrible quarterbacks, such as the Jacksonville Jaguars, can hold onto a starter for a year longer than necessary. Teams who shuffle through quarterbacks do not win very often in the NFL, so those with jobs on the line are reticent to move on from known quantities-- even if those are bad players.

That is all a long way of saying that it would be astounding if Adam Schefter was correct in the bold prediction he made today about just how many QBs will be on the move this coming offseason.

That does not necessarily mean that 18 teams will have a new starting quarterback next year. Right now, four teams almost certainly do not have a choice and will be starting a new signal-caller no matter what (Colts, Saints, Patriots, and the Jaguars). As a baseline, that's a big number for quarterbacks.

But there is far more uncertainty this year than even last year, which was a bonanza in itself. Plenty of teams, like the Niners, Raiders, Giants, and Rams, appear to want upgrades. Then there's what might happen with Deshaun Watson and Sam Darnold. The Steelers could join their ranks if Ben Roethlisberger hangs 'em up. Matthew Stafford wants out of Detroit. Washington doesn't know if Alex Smith will come back and it might be a good idea to bring in someone else even if he does. God only knows what the Bears are going to do with Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles.

All in all, there are at least four and as many as 14 teams with legitimate question marks regarding the quarterback position next year. That's before you get talking about what the Raiders could do or if the Falcons are going to auction off Matt Ryan or whatever the new GM in Denver might think about Drew Lock. It is not at all out of the realm of possibility that over half of the league's teams will have a new quarterback trotting out there in September.

That's nuts! It's great for us day laborers at the Content Factory, but it's a lot of fun for everyone else, too. Such uncertainty does not come along at quarterback, perhaps the most important singular position in sports. Even if Schefter is a little off, the game of QB musical chairs will be a blast to watch come March.