Quarterback Free Agency Preview

Photo: Imagn Images

This article will break down the quarterbacks scheduled to be free agents this offseason. The market has taken a turn with Daniel Jones, Derek Carr, and Geno Smith all agreeing to deals prior to entering free agency.

Likely 2023 Starters

Lamar Jackson

Lamar Jackson is the prized free agent this offseason. Baltimore has placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackon, which means he is free to negotiate with other teams. If Jackson agrees to a contract with another team, Baltimore can either match that contract or allow Jackson to leave for the price of two first-round picks. In his career, Jackson has an NFL MVP and a QB1 overall finish on his resume. He is a high-level fantasy producer, who could benefit from a trade to a more fantasy-friendly supporting cast of an offense. If he returns to Baltimore, he has a new offensive coordinator in Todd Monken, who should be a passing game improvement over former offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Tyler Huntley is a backup in Baltimore with starting experience. In Superflex and 2QB dynasty formats, Huntley warrants an addition outside the top 30 quarterbacks in dynasty value in the event Jackson is traded.

Potential 2023 Starters

Jimmy Garoppolo

Jimmy Garoppolo is the active leader in yards per attempt (8.3). Garoppolo is certainly the beneficiary of the Kyle Shanahan system and has a long injury history, so his market will fall below Daniel Jones and Derek Carr. Garoppolo is 31 years old and has had 55 career starts since he was traded to San Francisco in 2017. He only has 1632 attempts in those six years. By comparison, Geno Smith is 32 and has 51 career starts and 1578 career passing attempts, but he was a backup for six seasons and out of the league in another season. Garoppolo will be in the range of later QB2 or QB3 in dynasty formats and will likely be in the range of a one-year prove-it or super bridge-type quarterback at this stage of his career.

Jacoby Brissett

Jacoby Brissett had one of the best years of his career in 2022. Signed to start the season while Deshaun Watson was suspended, Brissett started 11 games and threw for 7.1 yards per attempt, his best performance of a season with or more starts. Brissett also ran for 15.2 yards per game, in line with 2017 (16.3) and 2019 (15.2) when Brissett was the starter in Indianapolis. Brissett is the type of quarterback who can perform as a QB2 if he starts and is an option for teams looking for competition for an unproven quarterback like Atlanta, Washington, or Tampa Bay.