Niner Noise
FanSided

2018 NFL offseason quarterback carousel: Predicting who goes where

By Peter Panacy

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 04: Nick Foles #9 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates with his daughter Lily after defeating the New England Patriots 41-33 in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium on February 4, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 04: Nick Foles #9 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates with his daughter Lily after defeating the New England Patriots 41-33 in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium on February 4, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 10
Next
LANDOVER, MD – NOVEMBER 12: Quarterback Kirk Cousins #8 of the Washington Redskins talks with quarterback Sam Bradford #8 of the Minnesota Vikings after the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Washington Redskins 38-30 at FedExField on November 12, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD – NOVEMBER 12: Quarterback Kirk Cousins #8 of the Washington Redskins talks with quarterback Sam Bradford #8 of the Minnesota Vikings after the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Washington Redskins 38-30 at FedExField on November 12, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

With free agency and the NFL Draft just ahead, let’s look at some predictions where quarterbacks — both pro and prospect — wind up in 2018 based off the latest news and reports.

2018 is already shaping up to be a lucrative quarterback market across the league.

The San Francisco 49ers inked Jimmy Garoppolo to an NFL-record five-year, $137.5 million deal this offseason. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs moved veteran QB Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins, all but guaranteeing Kirk Cousins hits the open market after back-to-back franchise tags.

The Jacksonville Jaguars re-signed Blake Bortles, halting any speculation they’d be on the hunt for someone.

San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers /

San Francisco 49ers

Yet there are still a number of second-tier quarterbacks set to hit free agency this offseason. And with a relatively deep crop of prospective signal-callers in the 2018 NFL Draft, the offseason quarterback carousel figures to get even more provocative in coming weeks and months.

In this slideshow, we’ll look at some of the bigger names and try to predict which teams land their services this season.

Our predictions will be based off the following criteria:

  • Need
  • Fit
  • Value
  • Team landscape
  • NFL Draft positioning

We’ll also use the latest news, rumors and reports, which have grown in size since the conclusion of the NFL Scouting Combine and leading up to the official opening of free agency on Mar. 14.

And we’ll kick this predictive list off with a future Hall of Famer, Drew Brees.