It’s Thanksgiving week in the NFL and a good time to take stock of the NFC’s quarterback outlook with a pinch of optimism. For every team. Even the New York Giants.
No need to beat the stuffing out of teams this week. So off we go with thankful thoughts …
I’m thankful that the 2025 NFL Draft is absolutely loaded with quality running backs, which is going to be a position Dallas needs to address in serious fashion to help balance out the offense and help quarterback Dak Prescott. Take a spin around the league and look at how much running backs have been making a difference for quarterbacks this season: Derrick Henry in Baltimore, Saquon Barkley in Philadelphia, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery in Detroit, Bucky Irving in Tampa, etc. The Cowboys haven’t scared anyone or pushed anyone around in the run game since the 2022 season. Dallas needs to get back to that baseline, and there is an array of running backs in this draft that can get that job done.
I’m thankful the Giants did two things with the release of quarterback Daniel Jones. First, they meaningfully committed to moving off a situation that was neither working nor getting better. Now they can focus on whatever veteran quarterback migration presents itself this offseason, as well as a shallow draft class that is going to require some very smart evaluation. The second thing the Giants did was free Jones up to move along with his career, rather than burying him on the bench and carrying out a selfish charade. Jones may not have worked out as the franchise centerpiece that New York was looking for, but he handled things with class and dignity. He earned the right to finish the 2024 season learning from someone else.
I’m thankful the Eagles found a way to balance out their scheme with a dynamic running back in Saquon Barkley, who has taken a significant amount of wear and tear (and risk) off Jalen Hurts’ body. As indispensable as Barkley and wideout A.J. Brown are in the short term, Hurts remains the centerpiece that the next decade will be built around. From the moment he started and had the ability call his own number in the run game, Hurts was cranking the odometer on his legs and incurring more punishment on his body than he or the Eagles were letting on. General manager Howie Roseman couldn’t let that continue, so he went and got Hurts the best running partner he could find. Hurts will be around far longer than Barkley will be, but Barkley will have helped make that longevity possible by taking some of the punishment off Hurts’ seasonal grind.
I’m thankful the Washington Commanders are going to have anywhere from $104 to $130 million in cap space next offseason to help fortify the offense — and most especially the offensive line — with some depth and talent around quarterback Jayden Daniels. That cash spent in free agency will help to balance out a set of draft picks that are bottom-heavy, with three of Washington’s seven 2025 picks sitting in the seventh round. There will also be some interesting options in the wide receiver group, helping the Commanders to find a higher-end talent to pair with Terry McLaurin. Daniels had the Commanders ahead of schedule the first half of the season, but you can feel the depth chart needs weighing right about now.
While I don’t want to celebrate a firing, I’m thankful the Bears made an aggressive move in favor of saving the rookie season of Caleb Williams, moving on from Shane Waldron and elevating Thomas Brown to the offensive coordinator position. Brown got caught in a Hunger Games situation with the Carolina Panthers, with a coaching staff that was pitted against itself and a roster that wasn’t very good. For the rest of this season, he’s the best thing that could have happened for Williams mentally. It has already shown as Brown has pushed Williams to get back to accessing the running part of his skill set. He’ll engineer confidence back into Williams. Just watch.
I’m thankful that when Sean McVay gave up on Jared Goff, the Los Angeles Rams sent Goff to a front office and general manager in Brad Holmes that built a monster around him. Consider the 2024 offensive pieces that were all added in the months or years after the Lions traded for Goff in March of 2021: offensive tackle Penei Sewell and offensive guard Kevin Zeitler, wideouts Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, and tight end Sam LaPorta. That’s seven high-level performers on offense. It’s no wonder Holmes swept the Pro Football Writers’ Association and Sporting News Executive of the Year honors in 2023.
I’m thankful Aaron Rodgers absolutely had to get himself out of Green Bay in 2023, clearing the way for Jordan Love to finally get his career moving. Looking back, this all could have gone very, very differently if Rodgers had simply decided that he was going to stick it out with the Packers through the 2023 season. If Rodgers had remained in the fold rather than pushing for a trade to the New York Jets, the Packers were not going to pick up Love’s fifth-year option for the 2024 season, and he likely would have left the franchise in that spring’s free agency cycle. Instead, Rodgers pushed his way out, Love and the Packers compromised on a two-year extension (rather than Green Bay picking up his fifth-year option) and the rest is history. But all it would have taken to sink the Packers at the quarterback spot was Rodgers sticking around just a little longer.
I’m thankful Sam Darnold chose his backup quarterback opportunity very carefully in March of 2023, when he was coming off a career-flattening two-year run with the Carolina Panthers. Despite Brock Purdy having the starting job and needing to beat out former No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance for backup duties, Darnold trusted his instincts and went to a place that historically had a strong run game commitment under Kyle Shanahan — not to mention a scheme that created a solid supply of open receivers and tight ends. Going to the 49ers and learning Shanahan’s offense resurrected Darnold’s career and made this 9-2 Minnesota Vikings season possible. The franchise couldn’t have asked for a better outcome following the season-ending knee injury to rookie J.J. McCarthy, who has spent his first season learning from a guy who has seen a lot of frustrating situations in his career.
I’m thankful Kirk Cousins and the Falcons got a bye week just before arguably the most important back-to-back of the season to kick off December — versus the Los Angeles Chargers and then on the road in an emotional return to Minnesota for Cousins. Cousins’ last two games for the Falcons stand as his worst two-game stretch so far in Atlanta, and falling flat in the next two could prove disastrous with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers getting Mike Evans back and looking like a different team in Sunday’s commanding win over the Giants. Having the bye to work with Cousins and also plenty of time to prepare for a playoff-contending Chargers team could end up being vital. Because if the next two games go in the same direction as the last two, it’s going to get tense in Atlanta.
I’m thankful some of the September reports after Bryce Young’s benching — which suggested he could have played his last snap for the Panthers and was headed for an offseason trade — will very likely turn out to be wrong. Those in the organization who still believed in him after this season’s rough start were adamant that Young just needed a mental pause to reset himself and regain some confidence. Since taking back the starting job and shedding two underwhelming wide receivers before the trade deadline, Young has gotten better with each passing week, culminating in one of the most encouraging performances of his career against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Young’s size is never going to change, but the skill set that made him the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft is still there. And the Panthers’ best-case scenario is turning in the right direction, and they can build around it in the offseason.
I’m thankful Arch Manning could be coming in the 2026 NFL Draft class, or potentially the 2027 class. The Saints feel like a franchise that is on the cusp of a total rebuild inside one of the next two seasons. It might not be in 2025, given that Derek Carr could still be the starting quarterback and keep the Saints from sinking into the total abyss. But 2026 could be bleak with the age of the backfield and injury history of some of the skill position pieces on offense and pillars on defense. There’s a very real likelihood that the Saints have another top-15 pick in the upcoming draft, start bottoming out in 2025 and have top-five picks in both the 2026 and 2027 drafts. If that’s the case, Manning — who starred at New Orleans’ Isidore Newman High School, and is the grandson of Saints royalty Archie Manning — could end up near the top at either of those drafts. And the Saints will likely have a quarterback need, barring Spencer Rattler blossoming.
I’m thankful Baker Mayfield’s 2023 “prove it” year didn’t turn out to be fool’s gold and he’s finally reaching the full potential that made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft. Interestingly, Mayfield’s first seven seasons and first 100 games stack up pretty solidly with the first seven seasons or first 100 games of Drew Brees when it comes to sheer production. While the three-game stretch without Mike Evans showcased how much he means to Tampa Bay’s offense, it also showed that Mayfield could still keep the Buccaneers competitive without Evans and Chris Godwin. Yes, the Bucs had a four-game losing streak from mid-October to mid-November. But no, they were never really an embarrassing offense in that span. Mayfield had everything to do with that — and the remaining schedule now looks extremely winnable when it comes to mounting a playoff run. A 5-1 or even a 4-2 finish could win the NFC South.
Despite it not being perfect, I’m thankful that Kyler Murray is through 11 games of the season and still playing healthy football for the first time since 2020. That has been one of the big priorities inside the franchise, to keep Murray healthy as the program pragmatically learns how to become a contender. While the Seahawks loss certainly toed the line of letting things get out of control — and that offensive line has to figure out how to reincorporate Jonah Williams — Murray remains upright. On top of that, the Cardinals have once again figured out how to consistently beat bad teams. Next, they need to learn how to consistently beat good teams down the stretch this season. Playoffs or not, that would be a step forward and momentum into a 2025 season where things can really turn a corner.
I’m thankful that the Rams have options at the quarterback spot moving into 2025. Coming into the season, with Matthew Stafford shrewdly dictating an adjustment to his contract in training camp, I wasn’t sure that would be the case. But several months later, Stafford is playing well enough to have sought some additional guaranteed money this season — and also well enough to make a return in 2025, at the age of 37, a real possibility. Stafford certainly hasn’t been a liability for the Rams this season, and has played at a fairly high level when Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua have both been on the field. Of course, the rub to all of this is that Stafford could still walk away after this season. A few months ago, there weren’t many enticing options on the table. Now? Sam Darnold is running McVay’s offense in Minnesota for former Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell. He’s slated to be a free agent in March. I refuse to believe a 27-year old Darnold would not be a serious topic of conversation for the Rams if Stafford departs.
I’m thankful the 49ers have some time to continue figuring things out with Brock Purdy before he gets his next extension. He’s already had one surgery on the elbow of his throwing arm, and now he’s feeling shoulder soreness. Maybe more than some of Purdy’s up-and-down games as a passer, the health of his arm — and not fully trusting everything the organization says about it — has me white-knuckling a little bit. Purdy’s next contract has the possibility to be an astronomical mistake if the health of his arm goes south or he simply levels off as a starting quarterback. Really, he needed a clean season with the arrow consistently pointed up to land the $60-million-per-season deal that is going to be sought by his representation. That has not happened thus far. But like Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys before them, the 49ers have a fourth year left on Purdy’s rookie deal to make sure the circumstances for an extension are ideal, not to mention franchise tags. Right now, there’s reason to lean into a continuation of the measurement.
I’m thankful the Seattle Seahawks have a trap door to get out of the final year of Geno Smith’s contract if his regression since his banner 2022 season continues. This is the second straight season Smith’s arrow has pointed a little further down. His interceptions have weighed on the Sehawks four straight weeks, with the defense being more responsible for keeping together a 2-2 record in that span. Smith turned 34 in October and it’s fair to wonder if there’s an upward reversal in the cards for him at this stage. The rest of the season will likely dictate the feeling about that. But if it’s looking like he is what he is … and likelier to get worse than better in 2025, the Seahawks can get out of his deal with a modest $13.5 million in dead salary cap. Given that Seattle can save some money walking away from Smith after this season — and given that Seattle is in rough cap shape if they keep him — it’s a useful option on the table.
