The Broncos and Packers have their QB situations locked up, but what about the other teams who need a QB?

The NFL landscape changed drastically Tuesday afternoon once the Russell Wilson to Denver news broke. Wilson and the Broncos swooped in just hours after the announcement of Aaron Rodgers’ new mega $200 million deal ($153 million guaranteed) and hijacked the headlines. In one moment, the balance of power shifted from the NFC West over to the AFC West, with Wilson agreeing to be traded to Denver.

With the futures of Wilson and Rodgers having been decided, that leaves several other teams who thought they had a chance at either player somewhat in the lurch. Now those teams are left to fill the void they’d hoped Wilson or Rodgers would occupy next season.

Washington probably feels the sting more than most as they were rejected by Wilson just days before the deal that sent him to Denver. With everything the Commanders and owner Daniel Snyder have going on, no one should be shocked at Wilson swiftly rejecting a trade to the nation’s capital. Members of the franchise have been accused of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct (involving Snyder himself); there was the escort scandal where cheerleader’s on the team were forced to serve as escorts for sponsors on a trip to Costa Rica. So, I’m sure it was more of a HELL NO when Russ shot down the Commanders’ offer.

So, now after being turned down by Wilson, the Commanders look to option No. 2, which turns out to be Carson Wentz. This news came down while I was writing this column. Talk about hot off the press. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Indianapolis Colts are trading Wentz to Washington for a second-round pick and two third-round picks. I’m not sure how much this moves the needle, but the Commanders got their guy. They hope.

Much of the NFL world had Aaron Rodgers potentially heading to play for the Steelers and Mike Tomlin if he’d chosen to leave Green Bay which did not happen. Now Pittsburgh looks to regroup after the retirement (finally) of Ben Roethlisberger. The writing was on the wall for at least a couple of years in Pittsburgh with Ben’s injuries and overall decline. I don’t care what the numbers say, Roethlisberger struggled to get the ball downfield his last couple of years on the field.

The Steelers look to either Mason Rudolph or Dwayne Haskins to lead the offense into the 2022 season. I could also see Jameis Winston, Mitchell Trubisky, Tyrod Taylor, or maybe even Cam Newton coming in to compete for the starting job. I’ll admit that Newton is a long shot because I’m just not sure if he’s still a capable starter in this league. None of these options are taking Pittsburgh to the Super Bowl, but somebody has to be under center in Week 1.

Now that the Russell Wilson-Pete Carroll saga has wrapped up, the Seahawks find themselves in reset/rebuild mode. The team released linebacker Bobby Wagner hours after the announcement of the Wilson trade to Denver. But QB is the most crucial position on the football field, and the Seahawks now have a vacancy. With all the draft picks Seattle just acquired in the Wilson trade, they should be looking at QBs in the next couple of drafts in hopes of finding their next franchise guy. Until then, it’ll be journeymen free agent signings more than likely for Carroll and the Seahawks, along with a few more last-place finishes in the NFC West. But hey, there’s always Geno Smith.

Over the first few weeks of the 2021 NFL season, it looked as if the Panthers had found their man in QB Sam Darnold while also reviving his career after escaping the NY Jets. Well, that ended up being a mirage, as Darnold ended the year with a 4-7 record as a starter and barely completing 60% of his passes.

The Panthers would undoubtedly like an upgrade at QB and, like most teams, had reportedly shown interest in Rodgers should he hit the trade block. That never happened, and apparently, they never had a real shot at him anyway. The two options that could make just about any team a Super Bowl contender are entirely out of the picture now. Knowing the Panthers, they’ll probably end up with a Jacoby Brissett or Marcus Mariota. Both are solid, but neither makes any team a legit contender. Good luck, Panthers.

With Wentz out of the picture for sure now, the Colts need a new QB. They receive a wealth of mid-round picks from the Commanders in return for Wentz, but with this year’s QB class being less than stellar, they may need to wait a while to find their franchise QB of the future. I guess it’s right back into the retread market for Indy.

When the Lions traded Matthew Stafford for Jared Goff last offseason, everyone knew Goff wouldn’t be in Detroit for long. Many mock drafts have the Lions taking an edge rusher with the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft. Whether Detroit selects a QB later in the draft is up in the air, but they’ll need an upgrade in some shape from Goff. At the least, they’ll need to bring in one of the veteran free agents to compete with Goff. I would say it can’t get much worse for the Lions, but we know it can.

The Texans barely know where they stand at the QB position right now, so good luck to anyone else attempting to figure it out. Deshaun Watson still has 22 sexual misconduct allegations hanging over his head, so who knows if/when he’ll step onto an NFL field again. Several of Watson’s accusers will appear in front of a grand jury later this week, so we could know more by the end of the week.

Regardless of Watson’s football fate, he’s likely done in Houston no matter what happens. The Texans have Davis Mills on the roster, and he played well in his rookie season for Houston. Mills should at least have the opportunity to compete with whichever veteran the Texans decide to bring in via free agency.

I think it’s fair to say that Daniel Jones probably isn’t the guy in New York after three years. He showed flashes at times but ultimately has not put it altogether long enough to solidify his long-term spot moving forward. One of the hottest rumors is about the Giants’ interest in signing Trubisky to battle Jones for the starting job. Should this hold true, it guarantees nothing more than another year of mediocrity at best for the G-men.

Minnesota is in a tough spot. They’re stuck in a place where no organization wants to be. Smack dab in the middle. Kirk Cousins isn’t horrible by any means, but he isn’t good enough to get them over the hump. At least he hasn’t been thus far for the Vikings. So, do you pour more money into an above-average QB and hope to make the postseason? Or do you send him on his way and start over from scratch? Hey, the Colts just got multiple picks for Wentz, and I’d take Cousins over him all day every day. So, the Vikings do have options, but none of them will likely end up in Minnesota becoming a top contender in 2022.

The Browns aren’t necessarily in the market to replace Baker Mayfield at the moment, but it’s probably going to happen soon. Let’s give them the excuse of Mayfield being injured last year since he was for most of the season. But even when he’s 100% healthy, he’s still just an average to above-average NFL QB. Mayfield comes in ranked behind guys like Dak Prescott and Kirk Cousins. He’s somewhere in the middle of the pack regardless of health.

So, the Browns are giving Baker this last year to prove himself worthy of big bucks, whether that’s in Cleveland or elsewhere. But just because Mayfield is in town for at least one more campaign, that doesn’t mean Cleveland can’t kick the tires on someone else to come in and compete. I think there’s a good possibility of that happening, but it’s just a matter of who they can sign.