The NFL trade deadline has come and gone. Last Tuesday was the final chance for contenders or pretenders to make a real play to improve by the end of the season. Yes, I am the guy who wrote about possible free agent pickups, most of whom are still available, but the vast majority of those players aren't starting-caliber, especially at the quarterback position.
Each and every week offers quarterbacks who aren't playing up to their job title. None of this is new. However, considering the trade deadline was just a few days ago, the magnitude of the moment is highlighted. If your team's starting quarterback struggled, it's tough not to wonder what if. There were replacements available, yet few quarterbacks were traded on Tuesday, That's because the importance of the position is greater than ever before. The signal-callers listed below not only should be benched this week, but the organization they represent missed an opportunity to replace them on the fly.
Dillon Gabriel, Cleveland Browns
Hear me out on this one. Gabriel's stat line was just fine on Sunday. He had over 200 yards passing, two touchdowns and no interceptions. The Browns beat the lowly New York Jets (who I will get to, I assure you), but Gabriel relies heavily on the short passing game and has proven several times over he isn't the long-term answer in Cleveland. What makes matters even more frustrating for Browns fans is that Shedeur Sanders is sitting on the bench as a relative unknown, and Kevin Stefanski has no intention of giving him the reigns.
I'm going to cheat a bit on replacing Gabriel, as I don't believe he should've been given the starting job in the first place. The Browns had a perfectly-capable starting quarterback in Joe Flacco, but they chose to trade him to the Cincinnati Bengals, where he's performed quite well since. Had the Browns stuck with Flacco, they could've given Gabriel the job when he was ready. Instead, they did so well before the offense showed much indication of struggling, and it's been even worse since.
Cleveland has one of the best defenses in football. Had they stood pat with Flacco, they would've put Gabriel in a better position, and avoided the Sanders discussion altogether. We hope that fifth-round pick is worth it.
NFL trade deadline replacement: Joe Flacco
JJ McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings
Sign me up for the JJ McCarthy slander. The Vikings drafted McCarthy over a year ago, but he missed the entire season with an injury. Sam Darnold started in his place and excelled. Darnold has since moved on to the Seattle Seahawks and proven himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFC.
McCarthy had two interceptions on Sunday and a QB rating well under 100. While it's important to give young quarterbacks time to develop, McCarthy is injury prone and there's little doubt the Vikings are a better team with a veteran Kevin O'Connell can trust. But, here we are, and Minnesota is stuck playing McCarthy on a team that should (but probably won't) make the postseason.
Madden is not real life, but the Vikings could've traded for Kirk Cousins at the deadline. Carson Wentz is injured, and Cousins has history with O'Connell and probably could've been had for a fourth-round pick or worse.
NFL trade deadline replacement: Kirk Cousins
Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Nix was selected in the same draft class as McCarthy. Unlike the latter, Nix has shown flashes of brilliance as Denver's quarterback, but he's far too inconsistent. Against the lowly Las Vegas Raiders defense, Nix had just one touchdown, two interceptions and a QB rating of 54.2. That's about as bad as it gets for him, and Denver's defense had to carry the Broncos to a victory on Thursday Night Football.
The Broncos will not bench Nix, as Sean Payton has far too much invested in him. Heck, Payton has banked his reputation on Nix. He's stated publicly that he believes Nix was the best quarterback in his class. Sure, the young quarterback will run into some challenges along the way, but he has the head coach on his side. That's all it takes.
If we had to pick one veteran who could've performed better than Nix on Thursday, I'd lean Jimmy Garoppolo. Sure, Jimmy G is past his prime and no longer the player the Patriots once assumed him to be, but he made it known this week that he plans on starting again sometime soon. Heck, if Tua Tagovailoa was indeed available, he'd be a better fit in the Broncos system. Needless to say, Denver is by no means stuck with Nix. If he continues to struggle, Payton ought to consider eating an L.
NFL trade deadline replacement: Jimmy Garoppolo
Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders
Where do I begin with Geno? Just one game removed from somewhat proving the Raiders right for acquiring him in the first place, Smith put up the dud of all duds against a great Broncos defense. Pete Carroll seems committed to Smith to a fault. He's just a few weeks removed from leading the NFL in interceptions, and added another to his total on Thursday.
What makes matters even worse for the Raiders is that they traded for the wrong Browns quarterback. Vegas added Kenny Pickett back in training camp for draft capital. Pickett has appeared in a few games since, but isn't a long-term solution for Carroll and Co. I don't blame them for playing Geno over Kenny, and I say this as a lifelong Pitt football fan.
Again, I'm going to cheat a bit. If the Raiders were enamored with what Pickett brought to the table, they should've offered just a bit more for Flacco, who has performed well in Cincinnati. Next question.
NFL trade deadline replacement: Joe Flacco
Justin Fields, New York Jets
The Jets offloaded everyone of value at the NFL trade deadline, minus Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson. They've benched Justin Fields a few times over in favor of Tyrod Taylor, who hasn't played much better. On Sunday, Fields threw for just 54 yards and a touchdown. It was one of the worst performance I've seen of late for a quarterback who still won the game. Fields had 28 rushing yards to boot, but the Jets won in large part thanks to their defense and the simple fact that they were facing Gabriel and the Browns.
The Jets were not in a position to buy at the deadline. Still, given their war chest of draft picks, it would've made far more sense to part with some of that draft capital in favor of a young quarterback who can't seem to earn a chance elsewhere. Yes, I'm talking about Shedeur Sanders.
Sanders may not be the answer anywhere, but he would've gotten a chance to start in the Meadowlands. He deserves that, whether it be in Cleveland or elsewhere, and he can't be much worse than Fields was on Sunday.
NFL trade deadline replacement: Shedeur Sanders
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
Tua's Dolphins pulled off the upset of the week by defeating the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. The Bills have a lot of questions to answer, as their loss put them a full 1.5 games behind the New England Patriots. That being said, the Dolphins victory had little to do with Tua Tagovailoa, who turned the ball over two times and threw for under 200 yards. Something is off with Tagovailoa, Mike McDaniel and this offense, and he'd be better off getting a fresh start elsewhere if another team is willing to take on the remainder of his contract.
Tagovailoa's first drive of the game included a penalty, a timeout with no time taken off the clock and an interception. Nothing better describes the Dolphins ineptitude from the top-down than that. Heck, it makes this writer feel back for Tua, a quarterback who was a first-round talent and former Pro Bowler for a reason.
As for who could play better than Tua in this Dolphins offense, your guess is as good as mine. However, the Dolphins should've at least tried to send Tua and their weapons elsewhere. There were rumblings that the Giants were interested in Jaylen Waddle, for example. Why not try Russell Wilson or Jameis Winston on for size? Again, it can't get much worse, and this is a team that needs to start over rather than losing ground in the race for the No. 1 pick by beating the Bills.
NFL trade deadline replacement: Russell Wilson