NFL Futures: Best Bets for Quarterback Next Team Specials (2020)
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As the spring drags on and a new normal settles in amongst the sports landscape, the NFL has done its best to maintain the status quo and not deviate from their highly commercialized offseason. For all teams, the current focus is on this week’s draft, which will kick off from commissioner Roger Goodell’s basement and be done completely via video-conferencing.
While free agency and the offseason always feature big-time players on the move, rarely do we have an offseason with three big-name quarterbacks’ futures as unknown heading into the draft. As we turn the page in the 2020 NFL offseason, three Pro Bowl quarterbacks have yet to solidify where they’ll end up this fall.
Let’s take a look at an offseason prop bet our friends over at DraftKings have posted for three high-profile guys to find new homes this spring.
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Andy Dalton
Every so often, we head into an NFL Draft, and the number one pick has been all but selected months before the event itself. This is one such season. After capping off a historic collegiate season with a National Championship in early January, LSU quarterback and Ohio native Joe Burrow was instantly slotted to be taken No. 1 overall by the Bengals this week.
With a new head coach who already benched Dalton once after an 0-8 start in 2019, the stars aligned perfectly in the eyes of Bengals fans, who have already crowned Burrow the incumbent starter for years to come. What this means for Dalton is a likely exit, but where remains to be seen.
With what I see as better options still available in Cam Newton and Jameis Winston, I think Dalton has a hard time finding a place to go to be a day one starter. With a new regime at the helm in Cincinnati, I can’t imagine the face of the old one in Dalton being welcomed back when the dust of COVID-19 ultimately settles.
Fundamentally sound, Dalton has never been put in a great position to succeed. I believe that wherever he goes, the Bengals and his agent will put him in such a position. As the purest passer of three quarterbacks available, I think Dalton is on the Patriots’ watch list, and they should scoop him as a bargain when no other takers come before camp begins (hopefully) this summer.
Pick: New England Patriots +500
Cam Newton
Easily the most accomplished quarterback in this group of three, Newton holds Carolina records in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and rushing touchdowns. Oh, he also took the team to a Super Bowl — and won the league MVP — back in 2015. Since then, however, Newton has been riddled with injuries, including a foot injury that has kept him off the field for the better part of the last two seasons.
Officially becoming a free agent in late March, Newton won’t be going back to Carolina, and Jacksonville appears off the table as running back Leonard Fournette was immediately mentioned in trade talks when he campaigned for Newton late last week.
The consensus around the league is that Newton will wait for a starting quarterback to get injured before signing with a team in late summer, but this week’s draft could prove to be the key. If the Chargers swing and miss on a quarterback of their choosing, I don’t believe Anthony Lynn will be betting his future on Tyrod Taylor in a must-win season in Los Angeles.
With the next two highest odds on the board in the Patriots (+400) and Redskins (+800), I’m taking the Chargers at the shortest odds on the board to snag Newton at some point over the summer.
Jameis Winston
Probably the most volatile quarterback of the three, both on and off the field, Winston led the league in both yards (5,109) and interceptions (30) in 2019. With the biggest offseason signing in recent memory now complete with Tom Brady heading to Tampa, Winston’s departure has been all but cemented.
Having not left the state of Florida since arriving at Florida State as a freshman, Jameis to the Jaguars and his desire to remain close to family makes sense. He would at least compete for a job with Gardner Minshew. Despite the reports that Minshew is their guy, Winston would provide a spark in the quarterback room. Even with his off-the-field issues, Winston’s locker room respect has never waivered.
Pick: Jacksonville Jaguars +250
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TJ Perun is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from TJ, check out his archive and follow him @JohnnyCovers.