This could be the most important year for the QB position since 2017, when Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson were drafted, and '18, when Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson entered the NFL. Three tenured Pro Bowl players on at least their second NFL contract—Matt Ryan, Watson and Russell Wilson—will be starting the year in different uniforms. Two stalwarts long believed to have eyes for the open market—Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers—will be returning to their former clubs.
All of these moves inevitably make the players’ respective teams better from a talent perspective. There is a reason teams sacrifice heaps of draft capital, guaranteed money and, in one particular case, personal morality, for one position in particular and a handful of players within that elite subgroup.
But which of these moves were the best of the best when considering all factors? What were the perceived risks and benefits? What were the ultimate costs versus the ultimate benefits? Which move gets a team that much closer to a Super Bowl, and which move edges the needle toward regime change?
We’re going to do our best to consider all of those factors in ranking the 2022 offseason quarterback movement. Let’s go!
1. BRADY UNRETIRES, RETURNS TO BUCS
Nowhere else on this list does a team get a quarterback for 75% off, who almost guarantees them a spot in the tournament’s final four. The greatest player in NFL history only takes up 5.78% of his team’s total salary cap space, which is less than 2% more space than Zach Wilson takes up on the Jets’ salary cap table. Brady has forever been the of elite quarterbacks, meaning he provides the same service at a fraction of the price. The only cost to the Buccaneers, it seems, was forcing the retirement of their head coach a year early, and handing the reins over to an obvious successor (Todd Bowles) who would have easily gotten a head coaching gig elsewhere. Bruce Arians also gets to remain in some capacity as a nebulous strategist. Minor organizational awkwardness aside (Arians said he was probably going to retire after the 2022 season, anyway), the Buccaneers are still title contenders. They have re-patched their offensive line, adding former Brady teammate Shaq Mason via trade, selecting Luke Goedeke out of Central Michigan in the second round of the draft, and replacing Ali Marpet (retired) and Alex Cappa, who joined the Bengals in free agency. There is no sound argument for anyone besides the Buccaneers to win the NFC South barring an unforeseen Brady injury and there is very little top-tier competition in the NFC other than the Super Bowl champion Rams and Packers.
