That sound you hear, off within the distance?
Training camp.
NFL coaching camps are about to start, and in simply two days rookies will report back to Owings Mills, Maryland, because the Baltimore Ravens are the primary workforce to start camp. While Baltimore’s veterans is not going to report till subsequent week, soccer is slowly coming again.
Which means coaching camp battles can be heating up.
There are battles to observe this summer time on each workforce, and at virtually each place. But let’s be sincere: Quarterbacks transfer the needle.
Here are 5 vital QB battles that may play out over the remainder of the summer time, and the way we might handicap every battle heading into the 2024 NFL season.
Bo Nix vs. Jarrett Stidham
There is an argument to be made that Bo Nix was placed on this planet to play quarterback for Sean Payton.
The strengths highlighted in Nix’s scouting report mirror what Payton needs from his quarterbacks: Traits corresponding to his expertise, fast decision-making, and the flexibility to unravel issues on the fly, it doesn’t matter what the protection throws at him.
While he is likely to be the final of the quarterbacks taken within the first spherical, the slot in Denver is near excellent. That was the argument superior by Tim Lynch lately, that the coach and rookie “appeared to be an ideal match for what Nix excels at and what Payton needs to do in his offense.”
And that offers the rookie the sting on this battle.
Edge: Nix
Aidan O’Connell vs. Gardner Minshew
The coaching camp battle in Pittsburgh might get nearly all of headlines, however the battle for the Las Vegas Raiders’ beginning quarterback spot is likely to be essentially the most fascinating to observe this summer time.
Sitting at No. 13 within the 2024 NFL Draft the Raiders had been probably in vary for one of many rookie passers, and had been linked to quarterbacks all through the method, most notably Michael Penix Jr. But that choice was eliminated when the Atlanta Falcons shocked the NFL world and drafted Penix at No. 8, and when Bo Nix got here off the board to the Denver Broncos proper forward of them, Las Vegas pivoted to Brock Bowers.
This means Aidan O’Connell — their fourth-round choice a 12 months in the past — and free agent Gardner Minshew are their two prime choices.
Minshew brings expertise to the place, which head coach Antonio Pierce might worth. But O’Connell held his personal over 11 video games final 12 months, by means of 12 landing passes in opposition to seven interceptions.
He additionally acquired a lift lately from huge receiver Davante Adams.
“I feel proper now, if I needed to say, I feel Aidan has the job as a result of, , clearly he was right here earlier than and that’s the best way that it was,” Adams said recently. “He was working with those (starters) extra, and till Gardner is available in and takes the job away from him, I feel it’s Aidan’s job proper now. He doing what he’s acquired to to do to carry onto it. We nonetheless gotta maintain working and do what we gotta do to get higher.”
Ultimately, the Raiders know precisely what Minshew is able to. But discovering out precisely what they’ve in O’Connell is likely to be a wise method to begin the season.
Edge: O’Connell
Drake Maye vs. Jacoby Brissett
By the time Thanksgiving rolls round, Drake Maye will probably be entrenched because the New England Patriots beginning quarterback.
Whether he’s their starter for Week 1 is the larger query.
While Maye entered the 2024 school soccer season within the combine for the highest spot on the quarterback board, a Heisman-winning marketing campaign from Jayden Daniels noticed the LSU passer transfer up boards, whereas Maye slid down a bit.
That made the Patriots — and their followers — slightly glad on draft evening after they noticed a QB as soon as mentioned because the potential No. 1 general choice slide to them at No. 3.
There are definitely areas the place Maye wants to enhance, and adjusting to the NFL recreation takes time for all younger quarterbacks. But the Patriots have to see what they’ve in him this 12 months. The sooner New England confirms that Maye is their QB of the long run the faster they’ll begin to construct round him, just like what the Houston Texans did over the previous season-plus with C.J. Stroud.
In Jacoby Brissett, New England has a quarterback they’ll depend on to offer them stable play, and Brissett permits the Patriots time to verify Maye is in control and able to deal with life underneath heart within the NFL. They drafted Maye to be the quarterback for the following ten years, and never simply the following ten weeks. So they are going to most likely take their time with him.
But finally, he can be within the huddle.
Edge: Brissett
J.J. McCarthy vs. Sam Darnold
In some ways, this dialogue mirrors the talk in New England.
The Kirk Cousins Era in Minnesota got here to an finish, with the Vikings transferring on from the veteran quarterback this offseason. They signed Sam Darnold to offer them a veteran choice, and whereas Darnold has by no means fairly lived as much as the billing because the third-overall choice within the 2018 NFL Draft, he offers head coach Kevin O’Connell a stable choice underneath heart. And in O’Connell’s offense — and with Justin Jefferson on the surface — Darnold might have success.
As for McCarthy, one of many knocks on the Michigan quarterback was that in that offense, he was not requested to do a lot. The Wolverines relied on their run recreation and their protection and there have been stretches — notably late within the season when McCarthy was battling an ankle damage — when he was extra alongside for the journey than anything.
Now, there are causes to imagine that McCarthy will reside as much as his personal first-round standing, and transcend the Michigan state of affairs that led to questions on his NFL viability. But with Darnold in place, the Vikings don’t have to hurry.
So they won’t.
Edge: Darnold
Russell Wilson vs. Justin Fields
This is likely to be the “predominant occasion” of the quarterback coaching camp battles.
Two veteran passers. One a Super Bowl winner on the tail finish of his profession, in search of redemption after a failed stint in Denver. The different a former first-round NFL choice, in search of some redemption of his personal after dropping favor within the Windy City. Football followers love redemption tales, and one can be written in Pittsburgh this summer time.
But which redemption story will reign supreme?
Head coach Mike Tomlin indicated that Wilson begins on pole place on this battle, given his expertise. “I simply assume that gives readability for all events concerned. Russell is a veteran, man. He’s acquired a confirmed technique of readiness,” said Tomlin on the NFL’s Winter Meetings. “He’s been on this league a very long time. He’s able to rallying troops, receivers, tight ends, working backs, et cetera. He’s simply acquired a number of expertise when it comes to what it takes to be the man over the course of a 12-month calendar and I simply assume that that’s one thing {that a} youthful man like Justin might study from.”
However, Fields could have an “alternative” to win the job.
“Rest assured when it’s time to compete,” added Tomlin, “Justin can be given a chance to compete, and we’ll enable these guys to kind themselves out.”
Wilson may very well be a stable match within the offense underneath incoming offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, on condition that we anticipate Pittsburgh to depend on the run recreation and play-action passing ideas, each of which may very well be supreme for Wilson at this level in his profession.
However, Fields’ capability to create along with his legs — one thing that’s changing into extra of a prerequisite within the fashionable NFL — might give him an edge relating to producing explosive performs, each as a passer and a runner.
The verdict? Wilson begins on pole place and is an efficient slot in what we anticipate to see from Smith’s offense, so he begins with a slight lead.
But Fields can nonetheless win this battle.
Edge: Wilson
