We learned quite a bit about the potential free-agent quarterback landscape in Week 13 as Andy Dalton (Bengals) made his return to Cincinnati's starting lineup while Nick Foles (Jaguars) was benched in favor of Gardner Minshew in a move that may all but end his tenure as a Jaguar.
Foles' 2019 season hasn't gone the way he or the Jaguars planned when he signed a four-year, $88 million contract with the team last offseason. His dead-cap figure of nearly $34 million in 2020 makes the transaction even worse considering it's more than likely Minshew will be dubbed the quarterback of the future assuming he finishes this season with the same kind of fanfare he began it with.
Minshew started eight games for the Jaguars while Foles recovered from a collarbone injury and managed to keep the team at .500 during that stretch. He's thrown 14 touchdowns to just five interceptions and has greatly outplayed his sixth-round draft value. Plus, he's an extremely marketable personality who the team could (and should) build its identity around.
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As a result, the Jaguars will likely make Foles available on the discount trade market in an effort to rid their books of some of his cap hit, but has he shown anything in his limited action this season (or at any time other than his seemingly miraculous runs with the Eagles) to justify targeting him? In Week 13 against the Buccaneers, Foles completed just 50% of his passes for 93 yards and an interception. It was a brutal outing.
It's hard imagining a scenario where Ryan Pace would add Foles to the roster via trade this offseason unless it's simply to stoke the fire in Mitch Trubisky's belly with a smoke-and-mirrors quarterback battle in training camp.
Meanwhile, Dalton led the Bengals to their first win of 2019 and became Cincinnati's all-time leader in touchdown passes (198) last Sunday. He wasn't perfect, but he played exactly the way Matt Nagy needs his quarterback to perform in order to assist Chicago's defense in a winning effort. He threw for 243 yards and a touchdown (88.1 passer rating) against the Jets and was the game-manager he's become known to be. His performance was the kind Bears fans would welcome with open arms.
But here's where it gets really interesting: Trubisky had what may have been his best game as a Bear when he threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns against the Lions on Thanksgiving Day, including a 90-yard game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. He wasn't just a game-manager; he was a game-winner. He showed why Pace thought so highly of him in the 2017 NFL Draft and if he can continue to play on that level for the rest of this season, there won't be a quarterback big board to evaluate. Chicago will be Trubisky's city in 2020.
NFL
We aren't there yet, however. Trubisky's resume is littered with more downs than ups and he needs to flip that narrative around in what will be the most important four-game stretch in recent Bears history.
With all that in mind, here's the updated Bears QB Big Board entering Week 14:
Bears QB Big Board (Dec. 3, 2019)
1. Andy Dalton (Bengals)
previous: 1 (Nov. 27)
2. Mitch Trubisky (Bears)
previous: 3 (Nov. 27)
3. Ryan Tannehill (Titans)
previous: 2 (Nov. 27)
4. Jalen Hurts (Oklahoma)
previous: 5 (Nov. 27)
5. Marcus Mariota (Titans)
previous: 4 (Nov. 27)
6. Teddy Bridgewater (Saints)
previous: 6 (Nov. 27)
Outside looking in...
-Jake Fromm (Georgia)
previous: outside looking in (Nov. 27)
- Cam Newton (Panthers)
previous: outside looking in (Nov. 27)
-Jameis Winston (Buccaneers)
previous: outside looking in (Nov. 27)
-Anthony Gordon (Washington State)
previous: outside looking in (Nov. 27)
-Nick Foles (Eagles)
previous: outside looking in (Nov. 27)