FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, April 12th, 2021

PETER KING OUTLINES 20 QUARTERBACK DECISIONS SHAPING NFL OFFSEASON AS DRAFT APPROACHES IN THIS WEEK’S “FMIA” COLUMN

“There has never been an offseason like this one, which sets up a draft the likes of which we’ve never seen. Never has there been such a league-wide gold rush for quarterbacks.” – King on this offseason

“You need a really good quarterback to play the game that exists now. It leads to the need, and sometimes the desperation, of trying to find ‘that guy.’” – NFL Films’ Greg Cosell to King

“We’ve gone from wondering who would trade for Watson a month ago to…Will he play football at all in 2021?” – King on Deshaun Watson

STAMFORD, Conn. – April 12, 2021 – Peter King outlines 20 quarterback decisions across the league which are shaping the NFL offseason as the 2021 draft approaches in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also discusses Aaron Rodgers’ time as the host of Jeopardy! and speaks with Virginia Tech CB and potential first-round pick Caleb Farley about his recent medical check as he recovers from surgery.

Across NBC Sports, Peacock’s weekday block of NFL programming from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. ET, which provides extensive NFL coverage, includes PFT Live featuring Mike Florio and Chris Simms live at 7 a.m. ET, followed by The Dan Patrick Show at 9 a.m. ET, The Rich Eisen Show at Noon ET, Brother From Another, with Michael Holley and Michael Smith, at 3 p.m. ET, and PFT PM at 5 p.m. ET. Chris Simms Unbuttoned streams at 6 p.m. ET Tuesday-Friday. ProFootballTalk.com continues to provide the latest offseason news, NBC Sports EDGE’s A Good Football Show discusses offseason storylines. and the Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast continues to rank 2021 NFL Draft prospects by position group.

The following are highlights from this week’s edition of Football Morning in America:

QB DECISIONS

King on the offseason: “There has never been an offseason like this one, which sets up a draft the likes of which we’ve never seen. Never has there been such a league-wide gold rush for quarterbacks. Never has the draft gone 1-2-3-4 with quarterbacks at the top…And I doubt this will be the last time that so many quarterbacks go so high in a draft.”

NFL Films producer and analyst Greg Cosell to King on the increased demand of QBs: “In a league that has veered dramatically toward the passing game and toward three and four-receiver sets, it makes sense the quarterback becomes more in demand. You need a really good quarterback to play the game that exists now. It leads to the need, and sometimes the desperation, of trying to find ‘that guy.’”

King on teams becoming more willing to change QBs: “General managers are not risk-averse in this generation. They used to be, back in the eighties and nineties. I think Jimmy Johnson began to change that…In general, they have no fear about shaking up their roster, and quickly.”

King: “I’ve made a list of the 20 quarterback moves and prospective moves, just to show how much the market has been thrown into a tizzy in the last 10 weeks.”

1. Rams Jared Goff out, Matthew Stafford in.
2. Lions Stafford out, Goff in.
3. Cowboys Andy Dalton out, Dak Prescott in (through 2024).
4. Patriots Cam Newton in, but New England scouts rookie QBs hard.
5. Saints Drew Brees out, Taysom Hill or Jameis Winston the heir.
6 WFT Alex Smith out, Ryan Fitzpatrick in.
7. Texans Deshaun Watson status TBD, Tyrod Taylor in as a likely September starter.
8. Bears Mitchell Trubisky out, Andy Dalton in.
9. Colts Philip Rivers out, Carson Wentz in.
10. Eagles Carson Wentz out, Jalen Hurts in.
11. 49ers Jimmy Garoppolo more likely than not staying, TBD rookie quarterback in.
12a. Dolphins Tua Tagovailoa staying, likely getting solid shot in 2022 to be Miami’s long-term QB.
12b. Dolphins Jacoby Brissett in as a prime backup, and Brian Flores won’t be shy about playing him if Tua struggles.
13. Jaguars Gardner Minshew out, Trevor Lawrence in.
14. Panthers Teddy Bridgewater out, Sam Darnold in.
15. Jets Sam Darnold out, Zach Wilson (likely) in.
16. Falcons Do they commit to Ryan or do they draft his successor?
17. Steelers No one trustworthy is behind Roethlisberger. Best guess: Steelers will delay big decision till 2022.
18. Broncos Denver needs a QB of the future, but the Broncos might be able to trade back for draft capital they can’t refuse.
19. Seahawks Seattle, barring a mega-offer before August, enters 2021 with Wilson the starting quarterback.
20. Texans Tyrod Taylor likely to start the season as Houston’s starter. That’s all we can project right now.

 

King on the Falcons: “Do you believe (Matt) Ryan can take you to a Super Bowl? If so, you trade down from the fourth pick in the first round or sit at four and take the best player in the draft who’s not a quarterback. If you don’t believe it, you take the best quarterback available this year – because it may be years before you have a top-five pick in a quarterback-heavy draft again.”

King on the Steelers: “Pittsburgh has not fortified the position of heir to 39-year-old Ben Roethlisberger, unless you trust Mason Rudolph or Dwayne Haskins to be the heir – and I doubt sincerely the Steelers do.”

King on the Seahawks: “This is either crazy or logical, I don’t know which. But the Seahawks had more than one team inquire about trading for Russell Wilson, and nothing ever got close, and I don’t see the scenario of Wilson being dealt re-emerging till February 2022.”

UPDATES ON 11

King on Aaron Rodgers potentially hosting Jeopardy! long-term: “My feeling is the biggest hurdle for Rodgers is the show being on hiatus from July 20 to the end of January, give or take a couple of weeks, every year he continues playing football. Six-plus months, dark, is a potential issue, I would think. But if Sony loves Rodgers, anything’s possible.”

Jeopardy! executive producer Mike Richards to King: “It’s the ultimate compliment to Alex (Trebek) and to the franchise that Aaron is that forward with his thoughts, and so complimentary of the show…What I find fascinating about Aaron is his second career could be better than his first.”

King on Colts head coach Frank Reich’s foundation: “Colts coach Frank Reich and his wife Linda funded and founded a foundation called Knot Today to fight sex trafficking and child exploitation. As part of that, the Reichs spent $12,000 to buy a Labrador Retriever, Hunter, specially trained to sniff out SIM cards and other suspicious links to human traffickers…So many NFL players, coaches and teams do so many great things for the less fortunate. But I can’t think of a better charity for an NFL person than this one.”

King on the Falcons’ draft strategy at pick No. 4: “They will not force a quarterback…They’ll take a quarterback if they love one. Like, really love one. They understand that forcing a quarterback could lead to misery.”

King on the Falcons: “Do the Falcons truly NEED a quarterback? No. They’ve got a good one for, say, the next four years… If there’s a transcendent player they love, like Florida TE Kyle Pitts, they’ll take him.”

King on the upcoming NFL vote to give the Replay Official more power to influence calls: “The Competition Committee likes the power of suggestion inherent in giving the Replay Official more power. The Competition Committee does not like the Sky Judge concept – an eighth official in the crew, with the power to ‘throw flags’ from on high – because of the potential for a rash of fouls the NFL is trying to avoid.”

Virginia Tech CB prospect Caleb Farley to King on his medical check after recently undergoing a microdiscectomy: “I got a lot of positive feedback from the NFL doctors. The NFL doctors confirmed I would be ready for the season, and they told me this is definitely not a chronic thing.”

King on the Panthers and Sam Darnold: “I think it’s possible that the Panthers could still be in the Deshaun Watson derby, when/if his legal troubles go away…Darnold still has a chance to be good. He’ll play this year at 24 – he’s six months younger than Joe Burrow…But he’ll have to play well in 2021 for the Panthers to avoid looking for an upgrade next offseason.”

NEWS & NOTES

King on Deshaun Watson: “I think this past week revealed enough evidence in the Deshaun Watson case to suggest – suggest, I say – that there’s a good chance Watson will be suspended or put on the Commissioner’s Exempt List (rendering him ineligible to play) for at least part of the 2021 season. I can’t see another team trading for him until his legal situation is resolved.”

King on Watson: “We’ve gone from wondering who would trade for Watson a month ago to wondering two more dire things: Will he play football at all in 2021, and will he be found guilty of any charge of sexual assault, the kind of thing that would put a scarlet letter on Watson for the rest of his career?”

King on Florida QB Kyle Trask: “I’m starting to think Kyle Trask, the Florida quarterback, has a good chance to be the sixth first-round quarterback. Starting to think.”

Read the full FMIA column here and catch the weekly Peter King Podcast here.

The following are additional highlights of NBC Sports’ NFL coverage:

    • PFT Live with NBC Sports’ Mike Florio and Chris Simms streams live on Peacock from 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. ET on weekdays, followed by The Dan Patrick Show at 9 a.m. ET, The Rich Eisen Show at Noon ET, Brother From Another at 3 p.m. ET, PFT PM at 5 p.m. ET. At 6 p.m. ET, Chris Simms Unbuttoned streams Tuesday-Friday.
    • ProFootballTalk.com continues to provide the latest news and updates.
    • The Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast and NBC Sports EDGE’s A Good Football Show continue the NFL discussion.

 

A new “Football Morning in America” posts every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com through the NFL season. It was announced in May 2019 that King signed an exclusive agreement with NBC Sports Group that included writing a weekly Monday morning NFL column for NBCSports.com; making regular appearances on PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.

—NBC SPORTS—