A Tale Of Three QBs

In my 12^th grade English class, one of the class assignments was to read Charles Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities.  In short, it was not nearly a pleasurable assignment; reading that book gave me an appreciation for the word “slog”; it was long, and it was difficult to understand, and I wanted it to be over much sooner than it was actually over.  Today, I want to produce a tale of three NFL QBs who are without a team as of this morning.  I know it will not be nearly as long or difficult to read as Dickens’ novel and I hope you do not find it to be a “slog”.

The first QB is Tom Brady.  Yes, he is still holding true to his retirement decision, but he still manages to stay in the news.  CBSSports.com reported that Brady is “in deep discussions to become a limited partner of the Las Vegas Raiders”.  The fact that Brady and Raiders’ owner, Mark Davis, are already partners in the ownership of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces lends credence to this report.  Even if these “deep discussions” lead Brady and Davis to common ground, it will still require a 75% positive vote of the NFL owners for the deal to close.

Assuming that no scandalous information related to Brady surfaces between now and the time he and Davis come to some sort of agreement, I cannot think of a reason why the owners would not support whatever deal came to their attention.  However, I am not so sure that the TV execs at FOX will be nearly as enthralled.

Starting in the 2024 NFL season, Brady will begin a 10-year deal with FOX to do color commentary on NFL regular season games.  That 10-year deal is reported to be worth $375M.  I am on record saying that I do not believe that Tom Brady is going to like the job of color analyst and that because he is not going to like the job, he will not do the job well.  That is not a knock on Brady; that is a statement that applies to most people who do not like their job.  But there is more to it than just liking the job.

If Brady is a limited partner in the Raiders, what might that do to his “credibility” calling a Raiders’ game?  Or how about games involving teams in the AFC West who compete directly with the Raiders for playoff positions?  It is difficult for a color analyst when he has to call a game involving one of his former teams; it is a higher hurdle to cross if a color analyst is calling a game involving a team he partially owns.  I can see the FOX execs squirming a bit here.

But that is not all the squirming that may be happening.  Longtime Raiders’ fans still harbor “less than positive feelings” toward Walt Coleman who officiated the infamous “Tuck Rule Game” and the beneficiary of the “Tuck Rule” was none other than Thomas Edward Patrick Brady, Jr.  Can/Will those fans now embrace the Tuck Rule Beneficiary and make him part of Raider Nation?

The second QB today is Matt Ryan.  Last year, Ryan was with the Colts; this year he has signed on with the team at CBS to become a studio analyst and a game analyst for that network.  CBS has multiple platforms that relate to the NFL and the plan is to work Ryan in on most if not all of them.  According to the announcement of Ryan’s signing on with CBS, he will appear on:

• CBS HQ
• NFL Monday QB
• The NFL Today
• That Other Pre-game Show – – and – –
• “Select NFL games on CBS”.

Listening to Ryan speak in post-game press conference settings, he is clearly articulate, and he comes across as a relaxed but serious speaker.  If he does not fall victim to either stage fright or to a hyperfocus on minutiae, I suspect he will be pretty good as he gains experience.  Good luck to him …

The third QB today is Carson Wentz.  The last couple of NFL seasons have not been kind to Carson Wentz; he went from the starting QB for the Eagles to the Colts and then to the Commanders.  After last year, the Commanders released him; and he still has no spot on any NFL roster.  Being released by the Commanders is a slap in the face because here is the Commanders’ depth chart at QB as of this morning:

1. Sam Howell – – has played exactly 1 game in the NFL
2. Jacoby Brissett – – excellent as a career backup QB over 7 seasons; his record as a starter, however, is 18-30-0
3. Jake Fromm – – started 2 NFL games in 2021 and lost both of them
4. Tim DeMorat – – undrafted free agent from Fordham

I just read a report that said Carson Wentz was “biding his time” and “considering all of his options” and that he was “open to” an offer to be a backup QB somewhere.  I have no idea what options he may or may not be considering or if he is actually biding his time, but if he is truly open to the idea that his role in the NFL for 2024 is as a backup QB, then he has achieved a measurable degree of self-awareness.  And that is important because the behavior and the profile of a starting QB in the NFL is markedly different from the behavior and profile of a backup QB.

If Carson Wentz is ever to become “the guy” for an NFL team down the road (remember, he was the overall #2 pick in the Draft and is only 30 years old), he will have to play his way back and the way for that to happen is for him to become a really good locker room presence who can support and assist the starter on the team.

Finally, obviously I will close today with words from Charles Dickens.  I think he has some life advice for Carson Wentz here:

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………