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ESPN's Dan Graziano: "the majority of the people to whom I spoke with believe Jimmy Garoppolo will likely end up being released" sign with Carolina Panthers
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By BEASTfromdaEAST · Posted
COKE SZN! Now we just got to get a QB to get the best out him next season..... -
By kungfoodude · Posted
Aight, had to take a little break to deal with some non-arguing on the internet things. So this is what I came up with: Disclaimers: I am well aware that some of these guys will/may not become available. I am also well aware that some of these guys would never in a million years consider coming here. I am also well aware that not ALL of these guys are DEFINITIVELY better than Bryce, they may just have higher ceilings and are cheap, low risk roster gambles, especially in the scenario that Bryce is still on the roster in 2026. Also, I am not digging into the NFL Draft yet. Until the class is more clear(who is staying/going/etc) and I get a chance to actually look at some of the more fringe draft guys, it’s not really going to be worth my time nor very much accurate. Suffice to say, there aren’t likely to be many prospects that are unquestionably better than Bryce. Expiring Deal Free Agents Daniel Jones: He is unquestionably a better option than Bryce Young. The issues will be recovery from the injury, price and his interest in the Panthers. Aaron Rodgers: He is unquestionably a better option than Bryce Young. The issues will be if he wants to continue playing football and his interest in the Panthers. Russell Wilson: He is potentially better than Bryce Young, however his physical decline has removed his most effective weapon, his mobility. Depending on price, he would be an upgrade over Andy Dalton. The issues are age/physical decline and his interest in the Panthers. Zach Wilson: He is potentially better than Bryce Young. This is more of a pick for the “Sam Darnold/Geno Smith” crowd. I do not personally believe he will ever pan out but his physical gifts massively dwarf Bryce Young. At best, this is a 3rd string QB upgrade/flier. The issues are obviously him actually developing at all. Joe Flacco: He is potentially better than Bryce Young. At his advanced age, it’s hard to see him for wanting to continue to play but if he does, we are a far better option than the Bengals or Browns simply because he will not face that kind of pass rush pressure. The issues will be age/decline and his interest in the Panthers. Mitchell Trubisky: He is potentially better than Bryce Young. Trubisky is in the discussion for best backup QB in the NFL. Although he had an up and down career with Chicago, he is also a former Pro Bowler with a career winning record as a starter and been an accurate passer(64.4%). The issues will be price and his interest in the Panthers. Malik Willis: He is potentially better than Bryce Young. Willis has showed tremendous career progression from his time in Tennessee to Green Bay in 2025. However, his sample size is VERY small with 6 career starts. His physical gifts are tremendous and his accuracy has consistently improved. If you want a high ceiling, young field stretching QB, this is your guy. This is likely a 2nd string with potential to replace Bryce option. The issues will be price and his interest in the Panthers. Sam Howell: He is potentially better than Bryce Young. Calm down UNC homers and tuck your boners away. Howell is a dual threat, gunslinger with significantly more physical gifts than Bryce. However, he is also a “WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I THROW BALL” level, TO prone gunslinger. At best, this is a 3rd string upgrade/flier. The issues will be well…Sam Howell. Current NFL Backups That May Be Available Jameis Winston: See Howell, Sam +with more experience but also more age. Jacoby Brissett: He is potentially better than Bryce Young. Brissett is in the same “best backup in the NFL” discussion as Trubisky. With a sub-$6 mil 2026 salary and the probability that the Cardinals move on from Murray being relatively high, it is unlikely that he will be available. If he is, you will get a veteran NFL starter with 65 career NFL starts. What you won’t get is a massive upgrade over Bryce Young. I would call it a lateral plus move. Despite the fact that he outproduced Bryce in 2 less games played in 2025, he is ultimately a game managing QB. That’s not a bad thing because he also has a career 1.4% INT ratio and historically has been a very low TO QB. If nothing else, he would be a massive upgrade over Andy Dalton. The issues will be ceiling and price. Mac Jones: He is unquestionably better than Bryce Young. Yes, unquestionably. He has been a more accurate(66.5%) and more productive passer(202.2 YPG career, 212.3 in his longest starting stretch) his entire NFL career. He is also only 27 years old. Now, let’s not confuse this for a high ceiling pick. Historically, he averages 0.95 TO’s/GM and a 2.7% INT ratio. Compare this to Young at 0.91 TO’S/GM and a 2.2% INT ratio and you are going to see this is fairly similar. Jones is essentially Bryce Young’s ceiling, a middling game manager QB. While this may rustle the jimmies of the people wondering about the “unquestionable” part, this is what you all want from Bryce and he is already it. However, he is extremely cheap at basically $6 mil left on his contract(bunch of crazy void years out to 2030). I would be genuinely surprised if the 49ers were willing to part with him without significant compensation because they will have an exceedingly difficult time ever replacing him at the price tag he is at. The issues will be price and ceiling. Davis Mills: He is potentially better than Bryce Young. Mills has one of the weakest of any argument to the “better than” statement. Although he was 3-0 in starts in 2025, he was 5-19-1 in his first two years in the NFL. In 2025, he did throw for 239 YPG, 5 TD and 1 INT in those starts. There are significant downsides. He is a 61.8% career passer and while that may seem similar to Bryce, he has only actually had one season where he finished above 61% and it was his rookie season of 66.8%. Even in his two seasons of starting he averaged around 205 YPG passing. But his TD and INT percentages are eerily similar to Bryce. Ultimately this would be a bet on an upward career trend or possibly just an upgrade over Dalton. He is still under contract at a very reasonable $8.125 mil($6.45 mil to the team he would be traded to) so it’s unlikely that an effective backup QB would be available. The issues will be price and ceiling. Will Levis: He is potentially better than Bryce Young. This is another very weak argument for “better.” Levis is physically much more gifted than Bryce and is only 26. But after two seasons in the NFL and 21 total starts, the Titans moved on to draft Cam Ward. Levis made a substantial jump in accuracy from 2023 to 2024(58.4 to 63.1) but also proved to be on the TO prone gunslinger end of the scale with a 2.9% INT percentage. He is still under contract for 2026(last year of his rookie contract) and the Titans have indicated they have no plans to move/release him. The issues will be price and ceiling. Kirk Cousins: He is potentially better than Bryce Young. This is another very weak argument for “better.” Cousins has never looked the same after the Achilles injury in 2023. His statistics are at near career lows almost across the board in his two years in Atlanta. The drop off from 2024 to 2025 alone was precipitous. However, despite near career lows in 2025 they looked pretty similar to….Bryce Young. He should become available after the contract restructure that will force Atlanta to release him before March 13(making $67.9 mil fully guaranteed for 2027). At worst, he is a mild upgrade from Andy Dalton. The issues will be price, age/decline and his interest in the Panthers. Current NFL Starters That May Be Available Tua Tagovailoa: He is potentially better than Bryce Young. I know, he was statistically worse than Bryce this season, calm down. However, he is an unbelievably accurate passer for his career, with a 68.0% completion percentage. Furthermore, he can be tremendously productive in a high volume passing offense with 3 of his 6 seasons at 260+ YPG passing. The biggest issue is obviously his health and in fact he has missed 23% of his career starts with injuries. Trading for Tua should be a nonstarter as his contract is extremely onerous. The issues will be price, injuries and his interest in the Panthers. Geno Smith: He is unquestionably better than Bryce Young. Despite the performance this past season on a very, very bad team Geno is a highly productive gunslinger at his peak. He is also a very accurate career passer at 65.2%(Since he started in Seattle it has only been below 67% once). However, it is fair to question if age is becoming a factor(he turns 36 in Oct.). Trading for Geno is unlikely but possible. He is due $8 mil on March 8th making $18.5 mil of his $26.5 mil(sound familiar) contract fully guaranteed. His remaining year is a whopping $39.5 mil but none of this is guaranteed. It’s also likely with the changes in Las Vegas and the #1 overall pick that he could get cut if no team is interested in trading for him. In that scenario, he could become a highly sought after bridge QB for the many QB needy teams. The issues are age, price and his interest in the Panthers(if cut). Kyler Murray: He is unquestionably better than Bryce Young. Oh, may the poo storm rain down upon me from certain posters. I am aware that he definitely had a worse season statistically than Bryce. That being said, there is no equivocation about the fact that he has been tremendously more effective and productive in his career than Bryce Young. He is a career 67.1% passer and has averaged over 270 yards of total offense for his career. Nor is there any question about physical abilities. He is a true dual threat QB with almost 3200 yards rushing and 32 TD’s on the ground in his career. However, his motivation to be an NFL elite QB is certainly questionable. It may not be XL caliber lack of dedication but when your team is having to insert clauses about “independent film study” into your massive contract extension, that’s an equally massive red flag. He has spent his entire career in Arizona so perhaps a change of scenery for a 28 year old QB wouldn’t be the worst idea. The final red flag is injuries. He has missed a total of 21 games over the past three seasons. Trading for him is a nonstarter, as his remaining contract is massive and includes yearly guaranteed clauses in 2026 and 2027, which could lead to his release prior to March 22nd when his 2027 base salary becomes fully guaranteed. The issues will be motivation, health, price and his interest in the Panthers. -
By kungfoodude · Posted
I mean what leverage could he possibly have if he plays like he has for the past three years in 2026? I'm gonna hold out and....help you move on? That's just it. He basically confirmed that he is far closer to his floor than his ceiling. His ceiling of being a middling game manager doesn't seem achievable.
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