NFL Kickoff: Starting QB Decisions Loom for Two Teams
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00:00NFL kickoff is one week from Thursday and most teams in the
00:07National Football League have announced who their starting
00:09quarterback is going to be. It feels like there's two teams
00:12left that have yet to make that final determination unless
00:15there's a story we haven't heard of yet. Let's bring in Jacob
00:17Kamaker to see if we can get to the bottom of the final two.
00:20Jacob, do you think that's fair? Do you think Pittsburgh,
00:22New England, are those the two teams at this point? I think we
00:26are making an assumption on both at this point, but we don't
00:28have anything official, right? No, neither team has officially
00:33named their starter. We kind of think we know which direction
00:36both teams are going in, but you know, we've been known to
00:39see curveballs in the past. I know a handful of years ago
00:42when Cam Newton was with the Patriots, everyone thought he
00:45was going to be named the starter and Mack Jones was put
00:48ahead of him. So you never know. Sometimes coaches have a
00:51last-minute change apart, but until we hear the answers in
00:54Pittsburgh and New England, we're going to wonder, are they
00:57going to stick to their original plan? Are they going to
00:59go with maybe the flashier, more exciting option? Yeah, and
01:03it's interesting. We'll start with Pittsburgh because Mike
01:06Tomlin could have very easily put this to rest and say that
01:10you know, Russell Wilson is the starting quarterback and the
01:13fact that he hasn't done it tells you just how close this
01:15is. I mean, to me, that's the story here is that we're probably
01:18going to hear, I'm going to guess Jacob tomorrow or today
01:22that Russell's named the starter and he goes into the season
01:25as the starter, but make no mistake about it. I think Jacob
01:29Justin Fields going to play this year and I think the leash
01:32on Russ is probably as short as any quarterback in the NFL.
01:38I agree with you there. I think Russell Wilson will probably
01:41be named the starter. Mike Tomlin has been adamant throughout
01:44this whole process that his plan was always to start Russell
01:47Wilson after signing him in free agency to that minimum
01:51contract. The plan was we're going to start Russell Wilson
01:54this year. I thought trading for Justin Fields to back him
01:57up was a smart move because now you have two quarterbacks who
02:00if they can one live up to his potential and the other regain
02:04the form. He wants showed as a Super Bowl winning quarterback.
02:07You figure one of those guys might pan out and if not, you
02:10have to draft someone to replace them, but I thought both
02:13were good gambles, but the Steelers offense in the
02:15preseason really was not very good until that last game where
02:20both of them kind of had their flashes. I think the telling
02:23thing is Russell Wilson played one series in that finale
02:26against Detroit. He completed two passes both George Pickens
02:29on a touchdown drive came out of the game after that Justin
02:33Fields played three drives led one touchdown drive, but had
02:36a botched snap at one point. So I think Mike Tomlin is going
02:40to look at hey Russell Wilson led that clean drive. I think
02:43that separates him enough to give him the starting job, but
02:47I think you're right that the leash is going to be pretty
02:49short and if Russell Wilson doesn't look good Steelers fans
02:52pretty quickly are going to be calling for Justin Fields
02:55because of his scrambling ability.
02:57Yeah, and I will give Tomlin some credit. He usually does
03:00not have that quick hook. It's easy. So I don't think it'll
03:02be like immediately but two games, maybe three games will
03:06be the most for me.
03:07Okay. So Gerard Mayo last night final preseason game said
03:11that Jacoby Brissette the plan all along was for him to come
03:14out even though he was hurt and that you know, he's the
03:17starting quarterback and then this morning he went on a radio
03:20show Jacob saying that Drake May has clearly outplayed
03:23Jacoby Brissette. So I you know, I don't know which way
03:25they're going to go here.
03:27It seems to me that Drake May is the starter.
03:30The guys here we were talking about this before Jacob and
03:33my point was is that I do think that that's going to end
03:35up happening. But Jacoby Brissette Jacob as you know is
03:39a beloved player and a leader in the NFL for a long time.
03:43And so from a respect point of view, I think that that's
03:45probably what's going on right now as they're figuring out
03:47the right way to do this. But when you're so, you know,
03:50loved by your teammates and you're running the quarterback
03:52room, it's really hard all of a sudden just to go another
03:54direction. I'm going to guess they will. I don't know if
03:57it's going to be tomorrow or the next day, but a little
03:59bit people probably saying Craig, what are you crazy?
04:02It's Jacoby Brissette, but that's the way I view it.
04:05I view this, you know, quarterbacks like this.
04:08They just want to make sure the right way is handled.
04:11I think you have a good point there and I've kind of been
04:13in the camp all along that has thought Jacoby Brissette
04:16is going to open the season as a starter and I still think
04:20even despite what Mayo has said about Drake May and despite
04:24May really performing well and getting better as the preseason
04:27goes along. I think Brissette is going to open the season
04:30as a starter and I think there's a very specific reason
04:33for this and it has everything to do with the supporting
04:35cast around him. The Patriots offensive line is a mess
04:38right now and it will get better when David Andrews is
04:41putting the game, but they've got guys playing out of
04:44position because they want Vardarian Lowe. I think to be
04:47their left tackle, but when he's out, what they've had to
04:50do is move Chooks Okorafor from right tackle to left tackle
04:53move Michael NU from right guard to right tackle. Cole
04:57Strange is out. Sidney So has hurt his ankle in this last
05:01game and he exited the game in a walking boot. So we don't
05:04know if he's healthy. So this offensive line could be
05:07extremely problematic. So I think Gerard Mayo might be
05:10saying, yeah, may might give us the best chance of winning,
05:12but we have to be sure he can be protected well enough
05:16or he's going to turn into another Mac Jones or David
05:19Carr or someone of that ilk where you just don't want to
05:22stunt his development. So I think between that and the
05:25respect that you mentioned that Brissette has is a long-term
05:28veteran. I think he's going to be the starter at the beginning
05:31of the season. And then if the Patriots struggle in the first
05:34three to four games, then I think they make the switch
05:37when the offensive line is a little healthier and has more
05:39continuity. But this one's going to be fascinating to watch
05:42because Mayo is kind of flip-flopped on his opinion in
05:45the last 24 hours. So really could go either way. Yeah, fair
05:49points by you on the offensive line to you. Don't want to
05:51see your quarterback killed in the first couple of weeks.
05:54So the odds to win the rookie of the year have significantly
05:57shifted in the last week or so since the preseason with
06:00Jaden Daniels playing as well as he has. He's moved up to
06:03six to one to win the rookie of the year. We know he's going
06:05to be the starter. We knew that all along, but he's looked
06:07really good Jacob and so has Bo Nix. So he's moved up to 11
06:10to one and now this morning on FanDuel, Drake May is up to
06:1314 to one to win the rookie of the year. So look, Caleb
06:16Williams is the favorite. He was a top pick in the draft,
06:19but I'm here to tell you even Harrison. I think that this
06:23is a wide open contest. If I'm making a bet today, I'm not
06:25betting Caleb Williams. I wouldn't bet him at those odds
06:29either. I really like the idea of backing Jaden Daniels
06:32because you're getting six to one odds on a guy who's going
06:35to be an elite scrambler at the NFL level. We know he has
06:38arm talent and can make any throw too, but often you see
06:41the guys who are electric playmakers with their legs kind
06:45of become better players at the pro level quicker because
06:48they can be a dual threat quarterback. Williams is great
06:50on the move too, but I mean if you're talking about this
06:54competition now, I think it's more of a coin flip than these
06:57odds suggest. So give me Daniels all day.
07:00Yeah. No, I agree. I think it's going to be a fun competition
07:02this year and it may come down to the end Jacob. Great to see
07:05you catch up with you and we'll do it again soon and talk
07:07about the first week of the NFL season. Thanks for coming
07:09on. Thanks Greg. Take care.