{"id":496594,"date":"2026-03-01T01:06:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T01:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/496594\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T01:06:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T01:06:08","slug":"qb-needy-teams-have-options-through-draft-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/496594\/","title":{"rendered":"QB-Needy Teams Have Options Through Draft, Free Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s really not a surprise at this point in time, but reports indicate that Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza<\/a> getting drafted No. 1 overall by the Raiders is all but a sure thing. Mendoza cemented himself as the likely first overall pick even before the Hoosiers\u2019 championship run through the College Football Playoff secured his Heisman win, and as soon as Las Vegas secured the top pick in the draft, Mendoza\u2019s move to Nevada became a near certainty. \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Nothing is ever 100-percent sure, though, and there is always a possibility that the Raiders look at next year\u2019s wide crop of quarterback prospects and an historic trade offer for the No. 1 overall pick and choose that route. Overwhelmingly, though, pundits across the media spectrum believe that Vegas will retain their top overall pick and make things official with Mendoza. During an appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Sports Illustrated\u2019s Albert Breer dropped a number of quotes<\/a>, saying,\u00a0\u201cI would be stunned if (Mendoza) didn\u2019t go No. 1, right? I- I think it\u2019s highly unlikely he goes anywhere but Vegas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over at ESPN, a crew of reporters polled several NFL executives<\/a> on the topic at the Senior Bowl, Shrine Bowl, and Super Bowl, and eight executives believed the Raiders would keep the pick, while no votes were tallied against that possibility. Separately, ESPN\u2019s Rich Cimini asked Jets general manager Darren Mougey about the possibility of reaching out to Vegas to inquire about moving up<\/a>, and he stated pretty plainly, \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s happening.\u201d Courtney Cronin, another ESPN contributor, added to the crowd<\/a> yesterday with a piece on Mendoza\u2019s meeting with the Raiders and his excitement at the prospect of potentially being mentored by minority team owner Tom Brady.<\/p>\n

Now, for teams with a need at quarterback not located in Sin City, the other obvious solutions are to go after one of the top free agent quarterbacks available \u2014 namely, Green Bay\u2019s Malik Willis<\/a> or Indianapolis\u2019 Daniel Jones<\/a> \u2014 or attempt to trade for San Francisco\u2019s Mac Jones<\/a>. After impressive 2025 contributions, both Joneses are expected to stay home, though, and only one team will get to claim Willis as a solution, but there is still a solvable equation for the teams that remain.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the teams that are still looking to acquire a passer<\/a> after the above dust settles will be able to look towards either the litany of veteran quarterbacks with starting experience available for cheap or the numerous rookie passers who may be worth taking a flyer on or some combination of both. Rapoport points to several veteran former starters who are thought to be release candidates and who may, in the same vein as Russell Wilson<\/a>, be able to play for the veteran minimum, thanks to the added security of guaranteed money from the teams who may let them go. This situation would apply to players like Kirk Cousins<\/a>, Kyler Murray<\/a>, Tua Tagovailoa<\/a>, Justin Fields<\/a>, and Geno Smith<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Teams can sign one of these quarterbacks to audition for a Jones-like comeback opportunity then pair them with a young, rookie option that may be available later on in the 2026 NFL Draft. After Mendoza, Alabama\u2019s Ty Simpson<\/a> has drawn some first-round interest, but there is a perceived drop off in the arms that follow. The next names on the list \u2014 LSU\u2019s Garrett Nussmeier<\/a>, Miami\u2019s Carson Beck<\/a>, Penn State\u2019s Drew Allar<\/a>, etc. \u2014 could fall anywhere in the draft. Some see 2026 much like the 2022 NFL Draft, in which Kenny Pickett<\/a> was the only Day 1 quarterback, and the next passer was taken in the third round. Others believe 2026 could be more like 2018 or 2024, when two passers were widely viewed as first-round talents but several others drifted into the first round based on the number of teams looking for answers at the position.<\/p>\n

With many already looking forward to the quarterback prospects of the 2027 NFL Draft, we may see multiple teams opt to employ the services of a veteran starter alone or combined with a promising rookie. These decisions will play out over the next few weeks as the veterans hit free agency after release and draft grades are determined for rookies, but there are several options available to teams looking for quarterback help for 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s really not a surprise at this point in time, but reports indicate that Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":496595,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[68019,25813,15946,40548,68073,399,44082,14387,1818,1832,1830,1812,1825,57500,398,396,397,5702,99,1835,79383],"class_list":{"0":"post-496594","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-2026-nfl-draft","9":"tag-carson-beck","10":"tag-daniel-jones","11":"tag-drew-allar","12":"tag-fernando-mendoza","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-garrett-nussmeier","15":"tag-geno-smith","16":"tag-justin-fields","17":"tag-kirk-cousins","18":"tag-kyler-murray","19":"tag-las-vegas-raiders","20":"tag-mac-jones","21":"tag-malik-willis","22":"tag-ncaa","23":"tag-ncaa-football","24":"tag-ncaafootball","25":"tag-new-york-jets","26":"tag-sports","27":"tag-tua-tagovailoa","28":"tag-ty-simpson"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=496594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496594\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/496595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}