Future Patriots QB? Ranking Updated List Of Top Veteran Options

More than half of the 32 NFL teams could have a new starting quarterback next season with the draft, trades and free agency reshuffling depth charts throughout the league.

It seems like a new option is added to the growing list of available veteran signal-callers every day.

The Los Angeles Rams failed to commit to Jared Goff this week just days after Matthew Stafford requested a trade from the Detroit Lions. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers made some telling comments about his future after losing the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.

This is all to say the New England Patriots picked a pretty good year to need a new quarterback when the five signal-callers who could go in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Justin Fields, Trey Lance and Mac Jones, are thrown in as well.

So, add Goff, Rodgers and Stafford to that list of QBs who could change teams this offseason that already included Cam Newton, Deshaun Watson, Jimmy Garoppolo, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Teddy Bridgewater, Ben Roethlisberger, Alex Smith, Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, Jacoby Brissett, Sam Darnold and Mitchell Trubisky.

In an attempt to rank the available QBs, we averaged their season-to-season rankings in key advanced metrics over the last 10 years.

We broke it down by EPA+CPOE, EPA/play, success rate, CPOE and air yards (via RBSDM.com), QBR (an ESPN metric), PFF grade and adjusted completion percentage (via Pro Football Focus), and DYAR and DVOA (Football Outsiders metrics).

Here’s what all of those stats mean, via their respective sites:

EPA: expected points added
CPOE: completion percentage over expected
Success rate: percent of plays with positive EPA
Air yards: yards targeted
PFF grade: explained in full detail here
Adjusted completion percentage: completion percentage taking out dropped passes, passes thrown away, spiked balls, passes batted at the line of scrimmage and those passes in which a quarterback was hit as he threw
DYAR: Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement (explained here)
DVOA: Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (explained here)

First, though, let’s look at where these quarterbacks rank in EPA+CPOE, EPA/play, Success Rate, CPOE and air yards overall over the last 10 years.

Rk	QB	EPA + CPOE	Rk	EPA/play	Rk	Success Rate	Rk	CPOE	Rk	Air Yards
1	P.Mahomes	0.185	1	0.337	1	53.70%	7	3.1	20	8.6
2	A.Rodgers	0.153	2	0.243	7	50.70%	5	3.3	26	8.5
3	D.Brees	0.153	4	0.231	2	52.10%	2	4	61	7.5
4	P.Manning	0.145	5	0.212	5	50.90%	2	4	30	8.4
5	R.Wilson	0.141	13	0.176	14	49.00%	1	5.7	8	9.2
6	T.Brady	0.14	3	0.237	4	51.00%	17	1.3	30	8.4
7	D.Watson	0.136	8	0.191	6	50.80%	4	3.8	12	8.9
8	T.Romo	0.135	7	0.193	8	50.60%	5	3.3	35	8.3
9	J.Garoppolo	0.129	6	0.208	3	51.20%	16	1.4	63	7.3
10	M.Ryan	0.128	10	0.181	8	50.60%	9	3	35	8.3
11	P.Rivers	0.128	12	0.18	12	49.50%	7	3.1	43	8.1
12	B.Roethlisberger	0.126	10	0.181	11	49.90%	11	2.5	20	8.6
13	L.Jackson	0.117	9	0.19	17	48.50%	28	0.4	12	8.9
14	D.Prescott	0.113	14	0.167	10	50.20%	17	1.3	35	8.3
15	K.Cousins	0.109	16	0.136	15	48.90%	10	2.6	45	8
16	J.Winston	0.105	15	0.14	13	49.40%	13	1.7	1	10.4
17	C.Palmer	0.1	19	0.126	20	48.00%	13	1.7	3	9.5
18	J.Allen	0.096	18	0.132	16	48.80%	21	0.6	4	9.4
19	B.Mayfield	0.091	21	0.125	23	47.50%	31	0.1	17	8.7
20	M.Mariota	0.091	23	0.111	26	47.30%	19	1	11	9
21	R.Fitzpatrick	0.088	22	0.12	25	47.40%	32	-0.1	20	8.6
22	A.Luck	0.087	17	0.134	18	48.30%	45	-1.2	12	8.9
23	K.Murray	0.087	24	0.109	23	47.50%	25	0.5	53	7.7
24	A.Smith	0.085	29	0.104	32	46.40%	25	0.5	65	7
25	M.Schaub	0.085	24	0.109	22	47.60%	29	0.2	49	7.9
26	M.Stafford	0.084	19	0.126	19	48.20%	43	-1.1	43	8.1
27	R.Tannehill	0.084	32	0.087	21	47.70%	15	1.5	20	8.6
28	T.Bridgewater	0.082	35	0.073	35	45.80%	12	2	63	7.3
29	D.Carr	0.078	30	0.088	33	46.20%	29	0.2	53	7.7
30	C.Newton	0.077	26	0.107	26	47.30%	45	-1.2	8	9.2
31	C.Wentz	0.076	30	0.088	28	47.20%	32	-0.1	30	8.4
32	J.Goff	0.076	28	0.105	31	46.60%	47	-1.3	50	7.8
33	A.Dalton	0.074	33	0.082	30	46.90%	32	-0.1	35	8.3
34	C.Kaepernick	0.073	27	0.106	41	45.10%	49	-1.8	6	9.3
35	E.Manning	0.07	34	0.081	34	46.10%	38	-0.7	30	8.4
36	J.McCown	0.07	37	0.063	36	45.40%	21	0.6	26	8.5
37	T.Taylor	0.07	37	0.063	56	42.60%	25	0.5	6	9.3
38	N.Foles	0.069	42	0.056	53	43.30%	20	0.7	26	8.5
39	R.Griffin III	0.069	39	0.058	36	45.40%	21	0.6	35	8.3
40	J.Cutler	0.066	43	0.052	36	45.40%	21	0.6	17	8.7
41	J.Flacco	0.065	36	0.069	42	45.00%	39	-0.8	20	8.6
42	M.Hasselbeck	0.06	39	0.058	39	45.30%	40	-1	53	7.7
43	G.Minshew II	0.059	44	0.049	45	44.70%	37	-0.6	58	7.6
44	M.Trubisky	0.059	41	0.057	29	47.00%	40	-1	35	8.3
45	M.Vick	0.055	46	0.033	42	45.00%	36	-0.3	4	9.4
46	C.Keenum	0.048	45	0.034	39	45.30%	48	-1.6	58	7.6
47	T.Siemian	0.047	50	0.021	49	44.00%	40	-1	20	8.6
48	J.Locker	0.04	49	0.023	56	42.60%	53	-2.4	2	9.7
49	S.Bradford	0.039	52	0	47	44.40%	43	-1.1	61	7.5
50	D.Jones	0.037	51	0.011	46	44.60%	52	-2.1	50	7.8
51	M.Glennon	0.032	62	-0.046	60	42.40%	32	-0.1	15	8.8
52	J.Brissett	0.031	48	0.025	51	43.60%	61	-4.1	53	7.7
53	B.Bortles	0.03	47	0.03	44	44.90%	64	-4.6	45	8
54	S.Darnold	0.027	59	-0.029	55	42.70%	49	-1.8	17	8.7
55	B.Weeden	0.026	53	-0.005	58	42.50%	57	-3.2	45	8
56	C.McCoy	0.025	59	-0.029	61	42.30%	51	-2	58	7.6
57	C.Ponder	0.025	55	-0.008	58	42.50%	56	-3.1	45	8
58	G.Smith	0.024	56	-0.009	61	42.30%	59	-3.3	26	8.5
59	B.Osweiler	0.022	58	-0.016	47	44.40%	57	-3.2	35	8.3
60	J.Freeman	0.021	53	-0.005	51	43.60%	61	-4.1	15	8.8
61	B.Hoyer	0.019	57	-0.014	53	43.30%	60	-3.9	10	9.1
62	C.Henne	0.016	63	-0.049	64	42.00%	54	-2.9	53	7.7
63	M.Sanchez	0.013	61	-0.032	49	44.00%	61	-4.1	42	8.2
64	M.Cassel	0.012	64	-0.075	63	42.10%	54	-2.9	30	8.4
65	B.Gabbert	-0.016	65	-0.126	65	39.10%	65	-7.3	50	7.8

The first and most obvious takeaway is how high Garoppolo ranks on this list. Garoppolo has other concerns, like durability and inconsistency, but he could wind up being a good value depending on how the quarterback market shakes out. Jimmy G for a second-round pick is probably a better investment than Stafford for a first, for example.

It’s not shocking to see Rodgers and Watson ranked so highly. It’s ultimately unlikely that Rodgers will be traded, but he’d probably garner multiple first-round picks despite being 37 years old. The going rate for Watson starts at three first-round picks.

Winston might be the best value, and it’s pretty crazy to see him ranked in the top 15 in all of those metrics. He threw a ton of interceptions in 2019, his last year as a starter in Tampa Bay, but he’s still young, has upside and has been successful as an NFL starting quarterback. It really doesn’t make a ton of sense that he only earned a one-year contract for $1.1 million on the open market last offseason. If you’re looking to bring in a veteran quarterback to compete with a rookie, he’s the perfect choice.

Mariota could be available via trade, but his $10 million salary is a bit prohibitive for his value.

Why Jimmy Garoppolo Still Seems Like Patriots’ Best QB Option For 2021

Jan 25, 2021

Fitzpatrick is another decent option for teams looking for a potential bridge option, and it’s maybe slightly surprising to see that he’s been a more valuable quarterback than Smith, Stafford, Bridgewater, Newton and Goff over the last 10 years. You can’t commit to Fitzpatrick but he’s a solid option to start until a younger option can take over.

Goff has probably been worse than expected since he was drafted in 2016. He made a Super Bowl, but it’s pretty easy to see why the Rams aren’t ruling out the idea of moving on from him. They never should have given him a four-year, $134M contract.

There’s a significant drop-off before you get to Trubisky, Brissett and Darnold who should only be viewed as backup options. It seems like the Jets are going to give Darnold one more shot under new head coach Robert Saleh. We’ll see if that proves wise.

Now, let’s go quarterback-by-quarterback to see their average rankings over the years and throw in the ESPN, PFF and Football Outsiders metrics to see if anything changes.

The quarterbacks are ordered by their average ranking across years and statistics.

Aaron Rodgers

Year	EPA + CPOE	EPA/play	Success Rate	CPOE	Air Yards	QBR	PFF Grade	Adj. Comp. %	DYAR	DVOA	AVG
2020	1	1	3	2	19	1	1	2	2	1	3.3
2019	13	12	21	14	9	20	8	23	8	9	13.7
2018	19	18	23	25	10	17	6	27	9	12	16.6
2017	12	11	2	15	36	7	11	7	18	14	13.3
2016	4	4	6	10	8	4	3	16	6	8	6.9
2015	21	18	24	21	17	14	13	21	17	17	18.3
2014	2	2	1	8	24	2	1	8	2	1	5.1
2013	4	3	4	3	25	14	5	1	10	6	7.5
2012	5	6	4	3	27	6	3	2	4	4	6.4
2011	1	1	3	1	14	1	2	1	2	1	2.7
AVG	8.2	7.6	9.1	10.2	18.9	8.6	5.3	10.8	7.8	7.3	9.4

It’s tough to remember now that Rodgers went through a relative rough patch from 2015 to 2019. He turned it around in a big way this season.

Deshaun Watson

Year	EPA + CPOE	EPA/play	Success Rate	CPOE	Air Yards	QBR	PFF Grade	Adj. Comp. %	DYAR	DVOA	AVG.
2020	5	8	7	3	3	12	3	11	5	5	6.2
2019	10	10	10	10	11	7	9	12	12	12	10.3
2018	13	16	13	8	15	13	26	14	10	11	13.9
2017	2	1	7	11	1		24	40	14	7	11.9
AVG	7.5	8.8	9.3	8	7.5	10.7	15.5	19.3	10.3	8.8	10.6

It’s easy to see why Watson’s trade value is as high as it is. He’s worth it for a team already built to compete in 2021.

Ben Roethlisberger

Year	EPA + CPOE	EPA/play	Success Rate	CPOE	Air Yards	QBR	PFF Grade	Adj. Comp. %	DYAR	DVOA	AVG
2020	25	22	26	26	30	22	25	24	17	20	23.7
2018	7	4	5	16	22	4	16	29	5	8	11.6
2017	7	5	3	9	10	6	3	22	5	8	7.8
2016	7	7	11	14	12	11	12	21	8	9	11.2
2015	4	3	4	2	5	2	3	10	5	4	4.2
2014	3	3	3	2	13	7	3	10	1	3	4.8
2013	10	17	15	10	21	16	7	7	11	12	12.6
2012	10	10	9	10	22	5	5	10	9	11	10.1
2011	8	11	14	8	6	7	10	19	9	10	10.2
AVG	9	9.1	10	10.8	15.7	8.9	9.3	16.9	7.8	9.4	10.7

Buyer beware on Roethlisberger if the Pittsburgh Steelers decide to move on. He missed most of 2019 and didn’t come back as the same caliber of quarterback in 2020.

Dak Prescott

Year	EPA + CPOE	EPA/play	Success Rate	CPOE	Air Yards	QBR	PFF Grade	Adj. Comp. %	DYAR	DVOA	AVG
2020	13	12	6	24	25		8	14	19	8	14.3
2019	9	5	3	15	6	4	11	14	1	6	7.4
2018	21	22	25	19	28	18	19	15	25	26	21.8
2017	20	21	23	20	23	4	18	12	17	17	17.5
2016	3	3	3	7	17	3	8	11	4	3	6.2
AVG	13.2	12.6	12	17	19.8	7.3	12.8	13.2	13.2	12	13.4

The Cowboys should either sign Prescott to a long-term contract or franchise him again. It’s shocking that they haven’t locked him up yet.

Jimmy Garoppolo

Year	EPA + CPOE	EPA/play	Success Rate	CPOE	Air Yards	QBR	PFF Grade	Adj. Comp. %	DYAR	DVOA	AVG
2020	13	12	17	26	39		32	29	23	17	23.1
2019	11	9	7	11	30	12	11	4	11	11	11.7
2017	1	1	1	1	13		3	13	13	2	5.3
AVG	8.3	7.3	8.3	12.7	27.3	12.0	15.3	15.3	15.7	10.0	13.4

Garoppolo has only played one full NFL season (2019). He tore his ACL in 2018 and dealt with ankle injuries in 2020. He’s a risk, but there’s value there.

Jameis Winston

Year	EPA + CPOE	EPA/play	Success Rate	CPOE	Air Yards	QBR	PFF Grade	Adj. Comp. %	DYAR	DVOA	AVG
2019	14	14	12	17	1	16	22	35	23	24	17.8
2018	8	10	6	14	1	8	26	35	16	15	13.9
2017	10	14	5	3	2	19	15	28	11	12	11.9
2016	16	15	15	15	3	12	19	33	15	16	15.9
2015	14	12	10	17	4	19	20	34	16	16	16.2
AVG	12.4	13	9.6	13.2	2.2	14.8	20.4	33	16.2	16.6	15.1

Is Winston, 27, the most underrated quarterback in the NFL? It’s interesting to see that his PFF grade and adjusted completion percentage doesn’t really line up with the rest of his metrics. Regardless, he should be a starting quarterback.

Matthew Stafford

Year	EPA + CPOE	EPA/play	Success Rate	CPOE	Air Yards	QBR	PFF Grade	Adj. Comp. %	DYAR	DVOA	AVG
2020	20	14	12	26	4	15	12	25	14	14	15.6
2019	7	4	9	10	2	6	7	37	9	4	9.5
2018	24	21	25	25	32	23	16	18	20	21	22.5
2017	13	12	11	13	17	8	11	12	10	11	11.8
2016	12	9	7	21	26	8	7	10	9	14	12.3
2015	20	19	6	14	33	15	21	10	9	10	15.7
2014	24	17	21	27	20	25	19	28	15	20	21.6
2013	19	15	15	27	19	21	8	21	12	15	17.2
2012	17	16	14	24	16	14	12	25	6	12	15.6
2011	10	9	6	12	21	12	11	6	5	9	10.1
AVG	16.6	13.6	12.6	19.9	19	14.7	12.4	19.2	10.9	13	15.2

A team will wind up trading a first-round pick or more for Stafford, and it makes sense because he’s a dependable, fairly consistent starter. There are bigger risks on this list who could wind up paying larger dividends, however.

Ryan Fitzpatrick

Year	EPA + CPOE	EPA/play	Success Rate	CPOE	Air Yards	QBR	PFF Grade	Adj. Comp. %	DYAR	DVOA	AVG
2020	7	6	2	9	24	5	19	12	21	16	12.1
2019	16	17	14	20	8	8	14	22	18	19	15.6
2018	4	5	7	3	3	14	10	23	15	6	9.0
2016	27	24	26	31	7	29	34	35	32	32	27.7
2015	12	9	21	25	10	10	29	31	8	12	16.7
2014	13	12	13	15	20	15	14	26	17	12	15.7
2013	9	10	20	16	17	15	22	11	21	20	16.1
2012	21	20	26	22	32	25	33	23	23	23	24.8
2011	18	20	15	15	33	19	21	24	18	23	20.6
AVG	14.1	13.7	16.0	17.3	17.1	15.6	21.8	23.0	19.2	18.1	17.6

Did you know Fitzpatrick has been a top-15 quarterback over the last three years? Fitzpatrick deserves to start again in 2021. A team can’t head into the season with him as their only option, however.

Alex Smith

Year	EPA + CPOE	EPA/play	Success Rate	CPOE	Air Yards	QBR	PFF Grade	Adj. Comp. %	DYAR	DVOA	AVG
2020	33	36	34	28	38	34	31	9	34	35	31.2
2018	28	26	24	28	16	27	24	31	28	29	26.1
2017	5	9	12	2	25	9	10	2	9	10	9.3
2016	19	16	19	16	34	10	14	6	12	11	15.7
2015	17	15	16	16	36	12	21	14	15	15	17.7
2014	17	13	17	24	38	22	16	2	14	18	18.1
2013	20	19	21	26	39	27	20	13	20	21	22.6
2012	8	13	7	4	34		21	1	15	9	12.4
2011	20	18	28	25	34	16	4	5	13	13	17.6
AVG	18.6	18.3	19.8	18.8	32.7	19.6	17.9	9.2	17.8	17.9	19.0

Smith is a great story but didn’t come back looking like the same quarterback in 2021.

Teddy Bridgewater

Year	EPA + CPOE	EPA/play	Success Rate	CPOE	Air Yards	QBR	PFF Grade	Adj. Comp. %	DYAR	DVOA	AVG
2020	18	21	18	8	28	17	31	3	18	19	18.1
2019	17	21	22	18	37		19	3	20	9	18.4
2015	16	21	28	6	34	17	17	1	21	22	18.3
2014	22	26	24	19	29	20	12	4	34	34	22.4
AVG	18.3	22.3	23.0	12.8	32.0	18.0	19.8	2.8	23.3	21.0	19.3

It really doesn’t make sense that Bridgewater signed a three-year contract worth $63 million while Winston made $1.1 million and Newton earned less than $4 million in 2020.

Cam Newton

Year	EPA + CPOE	EPA/play	Success Rate	CPOE	Air Yards	QBR	PFF Grade	Adj. Comp. %	DYAR	DVOA	AVG
2020	27	28	24	29	32	30	23	13	31	31	26.8
2018	17	20	14	11	31	20	23	9	23	23	19.1
2017	22	19	22	27	13	20	27	34	21	21	22.6
2016	31	29	31	34	2	25	24	39	28	28	27.1
2015	9	7	7	19	3	11	5	24	11	12	10.8
2014	25	22	13	31	7	19	11	40	32	32	23.2
2013	12	11	8	15	11	10	17	18	17	19	13.8
2012	14	9	16	23	9	13	15	31	14	15	15.9
2011	12	10	16	17	5	14	19	30	15	15	15.3
AVG	18.8	17.2	16.8	22.9	12.6	18.0	18.2	26.4	21.3	21.8	19.4

Newton is in a similar boat as Winston and Fitzpatrick as a quarterback who still has starting potential but can’t be counted on as the only option.

Marcus Mariota

Year	EPA + CPOE	EPA/play	Success Rate	CPOE	Air Yards	QBR	PFF Grade	Adj. Comp. %	DYAR	DVOA	AVG
2019	33	29	35	32	31		30	23	29	29	30.1
2018	18	25	17	9	26	21	18	12	27	27	20.0
2017	17	17	15	14	8	14	14	27	19	20	16.5
2016	8	8	12	17	4	13	25	32	13	10	14.2
2015	19	20	20	12	8	26	31	26	30	28	22.0
AVG	19	19.8	19.8	16.8	15.4	18.5	23.6	24	23.6	22.8	20.6

There are better values than Mariota. There are also worse options.

Jared Goff

Year	EPA + CPOE	EPA/play	Success Rate	CPOE	Air Yards	QBR	PFF Grade	Adj. Comp. %	DYAR	DVOA	AVG
2020	26	25	22	19	33	23	22	7	20	22	21.9
2019	19	16	21	26	23	23	20	27	15	18	20.8
2018	15	11	12	24	12	10	8	19	6	5	12.2
2017	14	8	21	25	21	17	15	23	6	5	15.5
2016	36	36	36	36	35		39	37	34	34	35.9
AVG	22.0	19.2	22.4	26.0	24.8	18.3	20.8	22.6	16.2	16.8	21.3

Goff’s four-year extension hasn’t even kicked in yet. He has a $34.6M cap hit in 2021.

Mitchell Trubisky

Year	EPA + CPOE	EPA/play	Success Rate	CPOE	Air Yards	QBR	PFF Grade	Adj. Comp. %	DYAR	DVOA	AVG
2020	24	23	9	18	18	20	36	36	24	24	23.2
2019	35	33	25	29	24	30	27	33	27	27	29.0
2018	9	9	8	16	8	3	33	34	17	19	15.6
2017	34	33	34	33	27	31	28	30	29	29	30.8
AVG	25.5	24.5	19.0	24.0	19.3	21.0	31.0	33.3	24.3	24.8	24.7

Trubisky is nothing more than a backup.

Jacoby Brissett

Year	EPA + CPOE	EPA/play	Success Rate	CPOE	Air Yards	QBR	PFF Grade	Adj. Comp. %	DYAR	DVOA	AVG
2019	21	18	18	33	25	21	33	23	19	16	22.7
2017	29	27	32	32	32	28	32	16	28	27	28.3
AVG	25	22.5	25	32.5	28.5	24.5	32.5	19.5	23.5	21.5	25.5

Brissett is a low-end potential bridge starter. He’s best viewed as a backup.

Sam Darnold

Year	EPA + CPOE	EPA/play	Success Rate	CPOE	Air Yards	QBR	PFF Grade	Adj. Comp. %	DYAR	DVOA	AVG
2020	36	38	36	32	23	33	37	34	35	33	33.7
2019	26	32	32	16	16	26	31	16	32	31	25.8
2018	32	30	33	33	5	29	29	36	30	30	28.7
AVG	31.3	33.3	33.7	27	14.7	29.3	32.3	28.7	32.3	31.3	29.4

If the Jets are willing to be patient and wait another year on Darnold, then that’s their prerogative, but it probably makes more sense to take a quarterback with the second overall pick.

So, what should the Patriots do? That’s really tough to say. It’s no guarantee that they’ll be able to take a quarterback with the 15th overall pick. Lawrence, Fields, Wilson and Lance will likely be gone. Do they view Jones as a first-round option?

If it was guaranteed that the Patriots could draft a quarterback, they should also sign Fitzpatrick or Winston. Those are the most cost-efficient options with the highest upside as bridge starters.

If New England doesn’t like its quarterback options at No. 15 overall, trading a first-round pick for Stafford or a second-round pick for Garoppolo are worthy considerations. The Patriots would know what they’re getting in Stafford, and Garoppolo is the better value who carries more uncertainty.

Obviously, Rodgers, Watson and Prescott are the best quarterbacks available. But they’re simply pipe dreams at this point. Rodgers might not even come available, the Patriots don’t have the right package to offer for Watson, and the Cowboys would be crazy to let Prescott walk.

Roethlisberger, Mariota, Smith, Bridgewater, Goff, Trubisky, Brissett and Darnold aren’t worthy of much serious consideration.

Newton is the biggest remaining question mark. His and the Patriots’ lack of success in 2020 is a tough sell. Could he improve with a full offseason in New England’s system? Maybe. But there weren’t dramatic consistent improvements from Newton in 2020. If the Patriots draft a quarterback in April, they could pair him with Newton for a year or two until he’s ready. It feels like that would be treading water to some extent, however. Newton would probably be best suited to sign with a team like Washington for a fresh start in 2021.

There’s simply not an easy answer to the question, but the rookies, Stafford, Garoppolo, Winston, Fitzpatrick and Newton should all be on the table.