Quarterback Carousel: Who Plays Where In 2022?

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Quarterbacks are always at the forefront of NFL discussions. Finding a competent one is not too difficult in today’s day and age. However, finding a tremendously consistent and perennial winner at quarterback is much more challenging. No one truly knows if their next gamble at the position is going to pay off.

Much of those same ideas remain the same as we enter the 2022 NFL offseason. Which quarterbacks could be sent to a new team via trade as part of a blockbuster package deal? Will a team make a major splash in free agency to help turn their postseason hopes around? Or, are all of these fantasies and chaotic predictions all for naught?

Today, we will be giving our own predictions and best guesses for where some quarterbacks may land. Some options may not be surprising. On the other hand, a couple of predictions could be too wild for some to digest. Let’s get to it. 

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Aaron Rodgers

The speculation surrounding Aaron Rodgers has been steady before the 2021 season even began. He held out of summer activities that the Green Bay Packers hold every season before the 2021 regular season. And when he did show up, Rodgers stood at the podium and was bombarded with plenty of questions. This included items about his future, the reasoning for his holdout and what kind of involvement he longed for regarding Packers’ roster decisions. Overall, we were left with just as many questions as we were answers.

The 2021 season was right on par with what we had seen Rodgers produce in the prior few seasons, from a statistics perspective. He threw for over 4,000 passing yards for the fourth straight season. His touchdown to interception ratio was magnificent once again (37 touchdowns: four interceptions). In addition, his completion percentage was nearly 70 percent.

He may not have been as dominant as he was for all of 2020. However, Rodgers finished the season with precision and poise. This helped Green Bay clinch the NFC’s number one seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Unfortunately, they were eliminated in their only playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round. As crushing of a loss as that was, Rodgers was able to take home the MVP award for the second straight season. He has now won MVP a total of four times.

Where will Aaron Rodgers play in 2022?

Prediction: Green Bay Packers

Immediately after the season ended, Rodgers mentioned how he would take some time before making his decision for 2022. Will he be retiring? Does he play for another team? Or, is Rodgers set to play another season with the Packers? I believe he returns to Green Bay for an 18th season.

There is a moment that helps this case from the quarterback himself. In his MVP acceptance speech, he took time to thank Packers’ general manager Brian Gutekunst and team president/CEO Mark Murphy by name. That was extremely noteworthy. Also, that could mean that the team-player relationship is in as good of a spot as it has been in a good while.

From a team standpoint, the Packers have also made it clear that they are not trading their longtime passer away. You can take that a bit differently depending on what team says that about their quarterback. But in the end, Green Bay is too much of a world class and historic franchise to believe that they would operate that loosely.
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Russell Wilson

2021 brought a series of firsts for Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson was drafted in 2012 and had been the starting quarterback since then. Yet, 2021 was the first campaign in which the Seahawks had a losing season in the Wilson era, finishing 7-10. It was also the first time in the Wilson era where Seattle had finished last in the NFC West division. And for the quarterback himself, 2021 saw him miss a game for the first time in his career.

He suffered a broken finger in Week 5 against the Los Angeles Rams after hitting his throwing hand on the helmet of an opposing player. Wilson was later ruled out for Week 6 and placed on injured reserve. Once that was made official, it meant that his consecutive games started streak had ended at 149. That was the sixth longest streak all-time in NFL history. He worked hard to make a late season return. Although, Wilson never looked the same.

Perhaps it was because he rushed coming back too early, or the lack of depth around him had finally collapsed Seattle. It could have been a mixture of both. In his nine games after returning, Wilson had only four games where he completed over 60 percent of his passes. He also averaged just 213 passing yards per game during that stretch. Wilson had 15 touchdown passes to five interceptions in that span, but did have three games without a touchdown pass.

Where will Russell Wilson play in 2022?

Prediction: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The 2021 season displayed a wrinkled mess for both Wilson and the Seahawks. The quarterback was not able to carry the team on his back this time around. And as a team, the future looks awfully hazy for Seattle in many areas. What better time to swing a trade if you are a franchise that is entering limbo mode, so to speak?

Wilson may also be ready for a fresh start. We knew last offseason that he had a reported list of teams he would be willing to join, if traded. There are talks of him wanting to get back to the Super Bowl and possibly play to age 40 as well. Seattle just does not offer the same luxuries that it used to.

Tampa Bay is due for their own changes this offseason. The Buccaneers may lose some key pieces in free agency, and quarterback Tom Brady has just retired after two seasons with the team. But, this franchise is nowhere near ready to go back to mediocre after tasting levels of greatness. I expect the Buccaneers to be aggressive in making a trade like this happen. Also, head coach Bruce Arians and general manager Jason Licht could be just the type of risk takers that Wilson could best gel with in a new environment.

Kyler Murray

The last two seasons have brought the fair share of once in a lifetime moments and low points for Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals. We saw them pull off one of the greatest game winners in recent history, with Murray heaving one deep to DeAndre Hopkins as time expired against the Buffalo Bills. It was also in between Buffalo defenders, a play that would later be coined as the “Hail Murray.” In 2021, things could not have gone better for the Cardinals during the first two months of the season. Arizona started out 7-0 and was the league’s last unbeaten team.

But after those stellar moments, things went awry. In 2020, the Cardinals could never recover from the emotion of the Hail Murray. Arizona not only lost their first game to the Green Bay Packers in 2021. They also lost Murray for three games, due to an ankle injury that he suffered in that first loss of the season. It seems like there is always one question surrounding the Murray-led Cardinals. What’s the catch? You either feel like they are going to run out of gas, or beat themselves in the most hideous way possible.

And now, there is another item that the quarterback and team have to work through. There is a reported tension now rising between the two. It is speculated that Arizona wants Murray to act more like a leader. Whereas with the quarterback, he has increased more speculation with the cleansing of his social media profiles, wiping away any correlation between him and the Cardinals.

Where will Kyler Murray play in 2022?

Prediction: Arizona Cardinals

The problems may be a focal point all offseason. We know if the team ever signs Murray to a contract extension, it won’t come cheap. That decision is nearing soon. Elsewhere, we know that Murray has not been too committed when speaking with the media. Does he want to be in Arizona long term? Is it crazy to rule out a career flip to baseball, like he was drafted to play before?

All in all, I do not believe that we will see Murray play his entire career with Arizona if he remains in the NFL. This is only discussing 2022, though. The Cardinals are not ready to move on from their 2019 first overall pick quite yet. However, they may be much more blunt on what kind of chance that the quarterback is afforded in the current parameters.
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Jimmy Garoppolo

The San Francisco 49ers 2017 trade acquisition of Jimmy Garoppolo did wonders for both the quarterback and the team. He did not make very many mistakes that were too crippling for the team. Garoppolo was able to execute Kyle Shanahan’s offense to a tee. And when he needed to come through in the clutch, his results were not perfect, but it was still enough to get San Francisco to new heights in more than one season.

Plain and simple, Garoppolo did enough to get the job done and was able to churn out plenty of wins. That is sometimes too hard to consistently do for even the most average of quarterbacks. For example, Garoppolo compiled a tremendous 31-14 regular season record in San Francisco, along with a postseason record of 4-2. The quarterback was able to make a Super Bowl appearance and two NFC Championship Game appearances, to boot.

Despite all of that success, there are two things that are working against a possible return to the 49ers. Garoppolo has dealt with many injuries. He tore his ACL in 2018 after three games. Garoppolo also dealt with an ankle sprain in 2020, limiting him to six games played that year. Finally, he dealt with a few different ailments just this season. This includes a calf injury, a thumb fracture and a shoulder sprain.

The 49ers may also feel like they have reached a current ceiling with Garoppolo at the helm. They also traded multiple picks to go up and get quarterback Trey Lance last April with the third overall pick. In order for this extremely talented and deep roster to extend their winning window, it may be time to move on from Jimmy G.

Where will Jimmy Garoppolo play in 2022?

Prediction: Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts were set up well to enter the playoffs. However, horrid play from Carson Wentz in the last two weeks of the season led to one of the worst collapses of any team late in the 2021 season. If anything, the head coach-general manager combo of Frank Reich and Chris Ballard are always in lockstep on seemingly every decision. That has not changed with their reactions to Wentz’s season. They have said or done nothing to commit to him beyond 2021.

Did they give up a good chunk of trade pieces to the Philadelphia Eagles in order to get Wentz? Sure. But yet, Indianapolis is better off by cutting their ties quickly. Wentz is and has always been reckless with his play and decision making. More importantly, the Colts can escape paying Wentz a hefty price in 2022 by moving on.

Garoppolo could be the perfect replacement. Not only does he have the winning history that the Colts could cling to. Furthermore, his efficient style and safer demeanor are the antithesis of what Wentz is known to be. There is also a possible appeal to Jimmy G from a team perspective. The emphasis on the running game and having a good mixture of pass catchers that can work underneath would complement Garoppolo extremely well.

Jameis Winston

With Drew Brees retiring, 2021 was all set to be Jameis Winston’s year in New Orleans. He did quite well with the Saints after taking over. Winston did a good job of taking what the defense was giving him more often. On top of that, his turnovers and turnover worthy plays had significantly decreased from the last time that we had seen Winston as an NFL starter.

The Saints were 5-2 in games he started this season. He was also able to generate a career high in adjusted yards per pass attempt (8.2). Let’s not forget Winston’s much healthier touchdown to interception ratio of 14:3.

Just when things were looking good for the revived quarterback, his season ended instantly in a game against his former team, Tampa Bay. He suffered a torn ACL, along with other MCL damage, which ended his season. This left the waters even murkier for him and the Saints entering the 2022 offseason.

Where will Jameis Winston play in 2022?

Prediction: Pittsburgh Steelers

I would not be surprised to see the Saints push hard to bring Winston back. There is the factor of Sean Payton retiring that plays a major part, however. Plus, the offers from other teams in free agency could be something that New Orleans may have a difficult time matching, given their long running gag of being over the salary cap.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in one of the more precarious positions, regarding quarterbacks that we have seen in a long time. The quarterbacks in the 2022 NFL Draft class leave a lot to be desired. Is the roster in need of a younger resurgence, though? Or, is this team better off by going with a proven commodity?

Pittsburgh feels like they would be more likely to add a veteran. Mike Tomlin is someone who could cling to Winston as well. The quarterback has shown growth as a player and as a leader, something that is vital for Coach Tomlin. And if Winston picks up from where he left off, the Steelers chances to make a postseason run likely look more favorable than they did just over a month ago. The fact that Pittsburgh did make the playoffs in 2021 was astounding. Winston may make them that much better.

Tom Brady

It is still surreal to see the word retirement next to the name of Tom Brady. It was something that never felt plausible, despite how much closer it was to happening. He is the greatest quarterback of all time. There will undoubtedly be no other passer like him. And in my opinion, he still should have won MVP for 2021.

The question or thought of Brady coming out of retirement has been running rampant still. Mainly, that speculation likely won’t end until the 2022 NFL season officially kicks off. There are of course other reasons and projects that are putting a damper on that speculation.

Brady has his own clothing line, the Brady Brand that he is heavily involved with. Going out of the NFL healthy and still as dominant as ever also has its perks. Lastly, there is that one word that always makes it tougher for anyone to come back from retirement. That would be family.

Brady’s wife and children are ready to spend more time with him. You can tell how much they mean to the quarterback himself. At some point, they want him to stop taking hits from some of the NFL’s most ferocious defenders.

Will Tom Brady play in 2022?

Prediction: He will stay retired

I was this close to saying that Brady would come out of retirement and play for the San Francisco 49ers. He is from California and grew up as a fan of the team, idolizing the great Joe Montana. It would be a perfect final resting spot for him to end his playing career.

Yet, issues with contracts, money and trade details make that dream much more slim. That is especially true when you factor in the Buccaneers still hold his contractual rights if he did unretire. A trade package may be too challenging to come up with, given both team’s salary cap situations and possible roster turnover.

Maybe it will happen one day. Never say never about Brady playing for the 49ers. But for 2022, I do not see the GOAT returning to the NFL.

Be on the lookout for more FPC NFL offseason articles in the coming weeks. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.