“The Stomach To Churn That Position”
April 3rd, 2024
Lots of NFL decision-makers pick up the phone when insider Albert Breer calls. And Breer is no stranger to the off-the-record nightlife mingling that goes on at large NFL events.
Joe has been a witness to the latter.
Breer hopped on The Rich Eisen Show and talked about how much hotter the chatter has gotten among team decision makers when it comes to clubs thinking about letting sub-elite quarterbacks walk in free agency in favor of rolling with a far cheaper QB.
The reason would be to maintain continuity on the roster rather than throw $50 or $60 million at a quarterback — a torpedo to any club’s salary cap.
Breer emphasized twice that he’s not referring to guys in the class of Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes, etc. He’s talking about quality starters that want cap-strangling money on a long-term deal.
“‘We’re going to find a way to just churn this position and we’re going to turn it over year-to-year.’ That discussion I heard — I’m just talking about like discussions I had casually out at night and that sort of thing — that discussion you’re hearing more and more now,” Breer said of his chats with NFL decision makers.
Breer also noted Baker Mayfield 2023 as a prime example of saving money to retain players with a viable quarterback option.
This got Joe thinking about the Bucs and the 2024 NFL Draft. Might the Bucs be more eager to draft a quarterback than they appear?
Eisen, who also is known to mingle in NFL circles when the sun goes down, said he could see a team going that route but only with an established head coach, a rock solid GM and ownership on board.
That sure sounds like the Bucs.
While Joe has no doubt the Bucs are happy with Mayfield and want him to thrive for the next five-plus years, Mayfield is not locked in for gargantuan money on a long-term deal. And the Bucs may have no desire to go there unless Mayfield looks like a dominant top-10 quarterback.
April 3rd, 2024 at 11:28 am
We don’t need another Kyle Trask situation, unless it’s a late round pick.
April 3rd, 2024 at 11:29 am
It’s not like whiffing on JTS was any better anyway.
If Mayfield gets hirt and Penix shines, now you have trade capital too.
Seriously wouldn’t surprise me at all if they take Penix.
I honestly think Joe would need to be checked into a mental hospital if they do and say even Chop was on the board LMAO.
April 3rd, 2024 at 11:35 am
Penix is not an NFL caliber QB. Overrated!!
April 3rd, 2024 at 11:45 am
Remember weapons for Winston? How about weapons for Mayfield? How about putting a receiver like Thomas from LSU on the field with Evans, and Godwin? Hell throw Palmer out there too, run some four receiver sets. Get IOL next, then add a good RB. Out score people. Get some leads, with hot starts it won’t matter as much missing a who, Chop Robinson? Boring. Weapons for Mayfield I say!
April 3rd, 2024 at 12:14 pm
If it isn’t broke don’t fix it
April 3rd, 2024 at 12:15 pm
@ Hodad….. BM has weapons. Much better than 90% of the league. You have a top 3 tandem with ME and CG. White out of the backfield is a beast. Palmer was a rookie and actually did ok for his role. We might be missing a TE, but I’m not the play calling looked to Otton all that much. What we do need is IOL. I’m also sure that RW would be a lot better RB if there was room to move up the middle. We didn’t have that the last two seasons. That’s why “playoff Lenny” didn’t look any good runner up the gut either. My son and I have conversations all the time about the IOL. It’s already proven that BM needs a complete team to help him. So addressing the IOL should do wonders for the ground game and the passing game.
April 3rd, 2024 at 12:20 pm
It would be a complete waste of a pick to get a quarterback after they signed Mayfield and Wolford. They picked Trask in the second round and won’t play him with the starters so why do it again when we have trench needs. Makes zero sense kinda like drafting a kicker before round 6. Mayfield is the starter while Trask will be ready to step up if he gets injured, and Wolford will be the practice squad quarterback that don’t dress up or even attend the games. Would be stupid to draft a qb
April 3rd, 2024 at 12:30 pm
Oh Conner50….. You just brought up two big no noes! Don’t ever mention KT and JW in the same sentence. Though KT is a nobody that has never really seen the field and JW who absolutely sucks out loud! You are asking for the BM bois to come for you! You do know that JW “Who sucks out loud” is going to be the QB2, don’t you? What you just wrote makes you a Traskie, a Trask Mob member, and whatever else the BM bois come up with. Oh that’s right…. That includes a certain Joe lol
April 3rd, 2024 at 1:23 pm
Mayfield will end his career 10 years from now as a Tampa Bay Buc. His numbers will look a lot like Drew Brees when his career has concluded. Baker doesn’t get the credit he deserves for taking over for Tom Brady. Few could have pulled it off as well as Baker. Just give him a mediocre running game and some stronger up front protection and 2023 will be his floor.
April 3rd, 2024 at 1:31 pm
I agree with OR Buc. Maybe in the late round for another QB. There are good QBs late in the draft. Brady was one of them.
Well said – Gipper! Very nice and accurate comment.
April 3rd, 2024 at 1:50 pm
@NCBuc
Yea the baker mafia hates me already so idc lol the fact of the matter is Trask is gonna be the second string regardless of what they think. He’s in his final year and if he comes in and does good Tampa can resign or try to trade him within the deadlines, there’s no upside with Wolford period.
April 3rd, 2024 at 1:53 pm
No matter the QB, they will benefit from a good IOL. No pass rushers in your face and maybe even a run game that will allow play-action effectiveness. IOL, edge, rb1.
April 3rd, 2024 at 2:13 pm
Edge rusher, O-line and a 3rd down RB that’ll get us 2 or 3 yards every time. I’m very confident with the Bake-man & Trask as our backup. Yes I’m a Gator fan, and there’s a lot of Gator haters on this sight. Unless Joe knows something I don’t, he sounds like one himself.
Best I know, no one knew who the heck Purdy was either till his number got called.
Just sayin
Go Bucs! Bake me a winner!
April 3rd, 2024 at 2:27 pm
Was glad to see him get a good paycheck without wringing every last $ out. If you noticed, Brady was famous for that, got paid mid-tier when he was at the top of his game so the Patriots could surround him with more talent. Smart move
April 3rd, 2024 at 2:46 pm
It’s going to be wr in the first round.
April 3rd, 2024 at 3:55 pm
Weapons for Baker!!
April 3rd, 2024 at 4:40 pm
“‘We’re going to find a way to just churn this position and we’re going to turn it over year-to-year.’”
Nah. You are not. This is al just talk which is why its all off the record.
See talk doesn’t have to deal with consequences of reality. Real life does. Go ahead and churn the position throughout the league. That will last for as long as it takes ( less than a season or two) for the result to be a losing season and a GM getting fired as the scape goat.
Then i’d give it max a 3rd season before another GM in the league torches his entire career by being the guy that let a Qb go , so he could “churn the position”, and ate a losing season while watching that released Qb blow up elsewhere.
Hot talk will give way to reality real quick.
April 3rd, 2024 at 6:40 pm
BillyBucco – the problem with that assessment is we still have Trask on our team. We don’t need a 1st AND 2nd rounder riding the bench. Penix won’t make it to us in Round 2. If Baker gets hurt and Kyle Trask plays well, then we have a trade candidate.
April 3rd, 2024 at 8:23 pm
Rarely disagree with Joe, but TB knows they have their stud and knew they could get a hometown deal because they know that Baker wants to win. Period. End of story.
April 3rd, 2024 at 8:23 pm
Penis is fragile. Pass.
April 3rd, 2024 at 8:35 pm
Cobraboy: Are you referring to me? I’m a total badass lifelong wrestler and wrestling coach. I certainly hope not. This is the reason why I don’t use aliases.
April 3rd, 2024 at 11:18 pm
Shane, I think he was referring to Penix. Hahaha
April 4th, 2024 at 6:50 am
Hahaha guilty conscience perhaps?
April 4th, 2024 at 7:00 am
They should take the qb out of the cap the way the cfl does.