Wilson to the Browns? Rodgers in Denver? A look at the quarterback merry-go-round

Last year the player empowerment movement that has swept across sports finally arrived in the huddle. Quarterbacks throughout the NFL started to flex their power. Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Matthew Stafford, and Deshaun Watson all suggested (or demanded) trades; all four were stars at the peak of their powers.

It will be much the same this summer. Rodgers, Wilson and Watson will be joined in trade discussions by Kirk Cousins and Matt Ryan, and the domino effect of any moves will be felt around the league.

Some decisions have already been reported. The Giants are intent on riding the Joe Judge-Daniel Jones partnership over the waterfall. The Dolphins have been the most active team in pursuit of Watson. If that plan comes to nothing, they will continue to build around Tua Tagovailoa. The Falcons should stick with Ryan, rather than jumping into a rebuild of their own.

So, let’s play pin the trade on the quarterback – a quick note that these are fun trades we think should happen rather than ones we think will happen.

Aaron Rodgers to the Denver Broncos

Who knows what Aaron Rodgers will do? He could stay with the Packers. He could walk away from the game altogether. Most likely: He pushes through a trade away from Green Bay.

Let’s take a step back to understand exactly how bonkers that is. Rodgers is on his way to winning back-to-back MVPs. He’s playing the best all-around football of his career, balancing his tap-dancing style with Matt LaFleur’s carefully choreographed system. And yet, there’s a chance that he may not play the sport next season. And there’s an even stronger chance that if he does play, it will not be in Green Bay. And this is because the Packers front office drafted Jordan Love in 2020 without consulting their Hall of Famer and refused to allow further roster input (this despite the Packers front office putting together an excellent roster and coaching staff around Rodgers). It has a whiff of Yoko sitting on the amp about it.

Related: Wilson or Carroll? The crucial choice facing Seattle after a disastrous 2021

The Broncos have the kind of supporting cast that could convince Rodgers to ditch the Packers, particularly if Green Bay fall short in the playoffs again. Plus, the Broncos are likely to have a head coach opening, which would allow Rodgers to handpick his own man in Colorado.

Denver also have the assets to further upgrade their roster. They hold five picks in the first three rounds and have bundles of cap room. Could Denver swing a double deal to pinch Davante Adams, the game’s top receiver, away from Green Bay, too? It’s plausible.

Russell Wilson to the Cleveland Browns

The Russell Wilson-Pete Carroll dynamic has reached breaking point. One of them will leave this offseason. Maybe both. There remains a scenario in which the Seahawks pick Wilson over Carroll, only for the quarterback to say he wants out regardless.

If Wilson opts to push for a trade, there’s no better fit than the Browns. Cleveland can mimic the style of offense that brought Wilson success early in his career, while releasing enough of the handbrake to allow Russ to – yes – cook.

Add to that, the Browns are loaded. Injuries and Covid issues have sapped the roster throughout this season, but there is star-level talent at every single position throughout the roster and they have as much depth as any team in the league, all under contract heading into next season.

Russell Wilson 2.0 – he of his last 25 starts – has developed into a similar kind of player to Baker Mayfield: he’s risk-averse and lacks the dynamism of his early years. But he’s also ruthlessly efficient, someone who can run the same style of run-centric offense but can do so at a higher level and with more out-of-structure upside. If it’s all about winning, Wilson to the Browns makes the most sense for both sides.

The Rams’ deal to send two first-round draft picks, a third round pick, and Jared Goff to the Lions in exchange for Matthew Stafford will likely send the benchmark for any future quarterback deals with potential MVP candidates. The Browns could look to recoup some value by moving Baker Mayfield elsewhere, or including him in the deal with Seattle to chip some draft picks off the overall price. And speaking of Mayfield …

Baker Mayfield to the New Orleans Saints

There exists a world in which the Browns and Mayfield find a compromise. We’ve yet to see a young quarterback play out a lame-duck fifth-year on his rookie-scale deal since the NFL moved to its new contract system.

Mayfield could be the first. Injuries comprised Mayfield’s prove-it year, and there’s little to no chance Cleveland opt to give him a long-term extension. Yet if the Browns are able to snag an upgrade, Mayfield will be out.

In that scenario, it will be fascinating to see what his market looks like. His impressive 2020 season is fresh enough in the memory that somebody will talk themselves into trading for Mayfield, perhaps with a long-term, affordable contract tied to the deal.

The Saints make sense. Sean Payton has squeezed all the juice out of the Saints’ talent-laden roster this season. One of the league’s best rosters has been hamstrung by brutal quarterback play. Mayfield may not be the long-term answer, but he would represent an upgrade over Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston at this stage in their careers.

Kirk Cousins to the Carolina Panthers

Cousins will account for (avert your eyes) $45m on the Vikings’ books next season. Forty-five! With just one year left on his free-agent deal, there’s little wiggle room for the Vikings to manipulate the cap number, unless, of course, they commit to the kind of long-term deal that would cause two-thirds of Minnesota to faint.

This year represented the final ride of the Mike Zimmer-Kirk Cousins axis. With the duo failing to make the playoffs, the Vikings are staring down a hard reset. If Minnesota can trade Cousins early in the offseason, they will reduce his gaudy cap hit to $10m.

Enter the Panthers. Carolina owner David Tepper is infamously impatient. Carolina took swings at all of the big available quarterbacks last offseason. They made a move for Stafford before the Rams blew their offer out of the water. They enquired about Wilson before he chose to return to Seattle. They were the front runner on a Watson deal before sexual assault allegations took him off the market.

Not to be deterred, Carolina dealt for Sam Darnold. Oops.

That was a bust. Now, they’re back on the merry-go-round, ready and willing to spend whatever draft capital it takes to land a high-level starter. Rodgers and Wilson will be at the top of the list. Beyond those two, Cousins seems like the top choice. Cousins playing on a one-year deal to prove if he can be anything more than Kirk Cousins would make sense for all parties.

Teddy Bridgewater to the Pittsburgh Steelers

It has been a vintage Bridgewater year. Little to get excited about; little to panic about. His lack of playmaking chops means that he can never be the kind of quarterback that elevates a good roster into a great one.

Still: teams will be queuing up for Bridgewater’s brand of don’t-get-me-fired ball, most likely one that will also be dipping into the draft for a young quarterback prospect.

The Steelers fit the bill. Pittsburgh will be looking for a long-term replacement for Ben Roethlisberger in the draft. But they also have the defense to win now, provided they can find a quarterback who can squeeze something out of the team’s ho-hum offense.

The Steelers will aim big. It’s possible that the allure of Mike Tomlin, a settled infrastructure, and a top-tier defense could be enough for Rodgers or Wilson to try to force their way to Pittsburgh. But the AFC North is a blood bath, and the Steelers’ offensive pieces — as presently constructed, pre-free agency and the draft — don’t exactly inspire a burning in the football loins.