The NFL calendar is unique: Most teams play for just four months yet command attention year round. A marketing genius dictated as much. They scheduled off-season events in front of fans like a carrot on a stick.
When does free agency begin? When can players talk to the new coach? Is the combine soon? How long until the draft? When can our first round pick train? When can we see new players in pads?
Every question is fluid and seems to keep developing until some kind of success comes in the regular season. It's like a never-ending cycle -- but I guess that's what a calendar is.
In a series of articles, we're going to answer the biggest unknowns coming this off-season -- and then provide the ensuing questions they will create.
The writing was on the wall for Baltimore's most distinguished quarterback as the team traded up for the younger, more athletic Lamar Jackson in 2018's draft. Joe Flacco, the team's former Super Bowl MVP quarterback, is due to depart his 11-year home -- with an abundance of quarterback signings in the league last year to blame. And those signings could ultimately affect his market now.
Flacco won't necessarily pick where he lands. A completely unguaranteed contract means the Ravens can decide where the 34-year-old quarterback goes. It usually doesn't make sense to trade for a player who would otherwise get cut, but because the $18.5 million Flacco is due this year is cheaper than he'll sign for in free agency, a team looking for a bargain could pull the trigger.
The Buccaneers seem like a good fit. New head coach Bruce Arians brought a similarly immobile and ageing quarterback, Carson Palmer, to Arizona when he joined the Cardinals in 2012. The tandem proved fruitful until the two retired in 2017. With Arians returning to the sidelines - and to a general manager he's friends with no less - he could look to replicate the trade in Tampa Bay. But the situation is a lot trickier now than with Palmer in Arizona.
Having worked with Andrew Luck, Ben Roethlisberger and Peyton Manning, Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht has tasked Arians with developing former first overall pick Jameis Winston. This last stitch attempt to avoid bust being written across Winston's forehead seems to come a year too late for Flacco, who could have flourished under the Quarterback Whisperer's coaching.
As a result, maybe Washington comes as Flacco's best option. The team needs a replacement if it believes Alex Smith will sit out all of 2019. They could eat Flacco's contract for a year while their starter rehabs. A year with a team built to win now could make Flacco next off-season's top commodity. The time-frame would coincide with Arians' Jameis Winston project, while teams like the Jets, Cardinals or Bills could come into play if their soon-to-be-second-year signal callers don't work out.
Flacco has a couple of options after that. Denver could look to acquire Flacco and sit a young quarterback behind him for the year. Considering the wide receiver corps, it's a less ideal situation than Washington for Flacco. He could end up handing the ball off to running back Phillip Lindsay for the year and damage his stock. But with Case Keenum as Denver's other option - he comes with $10 million dead money if cut - the team might make a move for the Baltimore man.
Miami is another destination set to make a major change at quarterback and, like Denver, could use an aging Flacco for a year while developing a quarterback from this year's draft. The Dolphins are short on cap space however -- they have only $12.4 million. So while replacing Tannehill with Flacco sounds attractive, it would all but rule out any kind of free agency signings for a team with plenty of holes to fill. Considering the team isn't in win now mode, Miami general manager Chris Grier might be better off drafting a quarterback early and using cap space to bring in pieces he hopes to keep longer than a year.
It's hard to see where else Flacco goes without a thundering quarterback competition following his team around. One franchise, Jacksonville, is Flacco's best chance at a long-term deal this season. But we're going to outline why Nick Foles - another Super Bowl MVP - is sure to end up in northern Florida in our next What Now? What Then? article, making it unlikely that Flacco ends up in the third Florida team.
So with the Redskins as Flacco's most likely suitor, we can continue wondering now and right into the season: Why replace one injured quarterback with another? Will Flacco have a better year than Lamar Jackson? Do the Redskins keep Flacco if he brings them to the post-season?
