Quarterback questions for 32 NFL teams: contracts and QB1 races.

Quarterback questions for 32 NFL teams: contracts and QB1 races.

No matter how good the team or quarterback, every NFL franchise has questions surrounding the most important position on the field. Some of those might be as simple as “Who is the starter?” Some might have to do with contract situations or injury recoveries. Some might have more to do with the supporting group than with the QB himself. But especially when we’re this far out from the season, every team has at least one quarterback question it still hopes to get answered at some point before or during the season.

With that in mind, we wanted to take a look at one that each team is facing and try to get a sense of whether (and when) they might be able to answer it.

1. Buffalo Bills

Will Josh Allen remain an exceptional quarterback without Stefon Diggs?

Diggs arrived in Buffalo in 2020, coinciding with Allen’s rise to the top tier of NFL quarterbacks. Allen had QBRs of 49.8 and 49.4 in his first two seasons in the league, but in the four seasons thereafter, he hasn’t dropped below 66.3. He has at least 4,283 throwing yards and 29 passing touchdowns in each of those seasons.

2. Miami Dolphins

Could Tua Tagovailoa’s deal alter the quarterback market?

Last spring, Miami exercised the fifth-year option on Tagovailoa’s rookie contract, so he now has one year and $23.171 million remaining on his contract. Tagovailoa is expected to sign a contract extension after playing the entire 2023 season healthy and answering worries about his durability. The question is how that extension will compare to the rest of the market.

3. Dallas Cowboys

Will the Cowboys extend Dak Prescott this summer, or will he be a free agency next March?

These aren’t the only two options, as the Cowboys could extend Prescott after the season and before he enters free agency. They’d still have an exclusive bargaining window from the end of their season until the legal negotiations began in mid-March. That appears to be a hazardous strategy, since the Cowboys are contractually banned from putting the franchise or transition tag on Prescott next spring, and failing to sign him by the start of free agency would result in a $40.1 million dead-money salary cap charge in 2025.

4. New England Patriots
Have the Patriots surrounded Drake Maye with enough talent to develop him?
Having used the third overall pick in the draft on Maye, the Patriots know their long-term fate is tied to whether he’s a success. Maye doesn’t turn 22 until Aug. 30, and there are people who believe he could benefit from sitting and developing rather than being thrown in as a Week 1 starter. One of the questions the Patriots have to answer before making that decision is whether the team around Maye is strong enough to support him.

5.New York Jets
Will Aaron Rodgers have a rebound year or an up-and-down season like 2022?
Will Aaron Rodgers have a rebound year or an up-and-down season like 2022? Given what the Jets gave up to get him and what they had to deal with last season after he suffered a season-ending injury on the fourth play of their opening, one could argue that no player in the NFL is under more pressure to perform in 2024 than Rodgers. Everything for the Jets depends on him recovering from his Achilles injury and performing like his old MVP self at age 40.

6. Baltimore Ravens

What does the addition of Derrick Henry mean for Lamar Jackson and the Ravens’ offense?

Since Jackson was drafted in 2018, the Ravens have more rushing attempts (3,282) and rushing yards (16,668) than any other team in the league — by a lot. The team that ranks second in both of those categories over the past six years is the Titans, whose lead running back during that time has been the powerful Henry. The Ravens signed Henry in free agency this offseason after years of trouble keeping running backs healthy. Forced into a committee year after year due to injuries, the Ravens hope Henry can be at least some facsimile of the historically dominant back he was in Tennessee.

7. Cleveland Browns

Can Deshaun Watson return to elite form, or will the Browns be saddled with middle-of-the-road quarterback performance for the next few years?

In two seasons with the Browns, Watson has played 12 games and has a QBR of 41.6, which ranks 36th in the league (and second on the Browns) among quarterbacks who have attempted as many or more passes (341) as he has. The technical football term for this is “not good.”

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