2025 NFL Offseason - Veteran Quarterbacks On The Move

Dave Ventresca dives into which veteran NFL quarterbacks could be on the move this offseason when free agency begins on Wednesday, March 12.

Quarterback is arguably the most important position in all of professional sports. While that may be up for debate, it’s certainly the most important one in the NFL. If a team has an elite starting quarterback, it can mask a lot of flaws and still propel it to success.

Only a few teams are lucky enough to have such quarterbacks. The rest are forced to look for their answer in other ways. Every year, we see teams turn to veteran quarterbacks in a desperate attempt to fix the position. 2025 will be no different. We will see several veteran quarterbacks on the move as the offseason quarterback carousel is getting ready to heat up.

Make sure you’re following RotoBaller on X and check out RotoBaller.com for all your NFL and fantasy football needs. Let’s examine several veteran quarterbacks who could be on the move this offseason.

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Kirk Cousins - Atlanta Falcons

2024 was a roller-coaster year for Cousins. He signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons last March. Then, the Falcons pulled an about-face and drafted Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick in the NFL Draft a month later. Cousins would then lead the Falcons to a 6-3 start only to completely crumble down the stretch and be replaced by Penix.

RAIDERS PICK OFF KIRK COUSINS ON THE FIRST PLAY OF THE SECOND HALF 😤

That's Cousins' ninth INT in the last five games 🤯

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/txkxYDJp5j

— ESPN (@espn) December 17, 2024

Atlanta has been steadfast that it does not plan on moving Cousins this offseason and is fine entering the season with him as the backup. However, the team still owes Cousins $27.5 million in guaranteed money in 2025.

Atlanta will also have to pay Cousins an additional $10 million if he is still with the team on March 17. That means Atlanta could wind up paying Cousins a total of $37.5 million to be the QB2. That is a ridiculous sum of money to pay a backup quarterback.

Several teams need a veteran quarterback and could pull the trigger on a Cousins trade. It remains to be seen if Atlanta will pursue a trade or just outright cut the 13-year veteran. It could ultimately wind up keeping him, but this would be an extremely awkward situation.

Despite what the Falcons are saying publicly, it makes little sense for them to keep him on their roster. Either way, we should have our answer very soon as Atlanta will have to make a call with Cousins’ roster bonus due date quickly approaching.

Derek Carr - New Orleans Saints

After Kellen Moore was hired as New Orleans’ new head coach, there was some speculation that Carr may not be with the team much longer. However, recent comments from general manager Mickey Loomis seem to suggest otherwise. It’s still possible the Saints brass is merely posturing in an attempt to drive up the price for any team that wants to acquire Carr via a trade.

If the Saints decide to cut him, the move would incur a $50 million dead cap hit. This is a big number and would be the second-biggest dead cap hit of all time if New Orleans goes in this direction.

The New York Jets have been linked to Carr as a possible landing spot if his time in New Orleans is finished. We will have to see how all of this plays out, but cutting Carr doesn’t seem like the best option for a Saints team that is already loaded with salary-cap issues.

Update: New Orleans has restructured Carr's contract to keep him with the team for the 2025 season.

Sam Darnold - Free Agent

Darnold is coming off a career year in 2024. He threw for career highs in passing yards and passing touchdowns and led Minnesota to a 14-3 season.

Justin Jefferson 97 YARD TUDDY!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/0PJs9mheCK

— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024

However, he would implode during the season's final two games. Darnold had a disastrous outing when Minnesota was playing for the NFC’s top seed in Week 18 and followed it up with a complete dud in the Wild Card game against the Los Angeles Rams.

Cobie Durant with a DIVING interception off Sam Darnold 🤯pic.twitter.com/jNUOzX5Nfq

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 14, 2025

The end-of-season struggles seem to have cost Darnold the starting job in Minnesota as the Vikings appear lukewarm on bringing him back. They may prefer to roll with last year’s 10th overall pick, J.J. McCarthy. That means Darnold will be one of the top free-agent signal-callers available. He is reportedly drawing interest from several teams on the open market and should land a competitive deal as a starter.

Darnold has been linked to the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders; however, a recent report suggests the Las Vegas brass is not too high on Darnold. A return to Minnesota on a one-year deal could be in the cards depending on how things play out.

One thing is for sure, though, Darnold cost himself a lot of money with how he ended the 2024 season and questions about his ability have reemerged. Wherever he plays in 2025, Darnold will have to prove himself all over again.

Update: Darnold has signed a three-year, $110.5 million deal with the Seattle Seahawks.

Justin Fields - Free Agent

Fields began 2024 as the Steelers starting quarterback. He played well and led the team to a 4-2 record as a starter.

JUSTIN FIELDS TO Calvin Austin III. 55-YARD TD.

📺: #LACvsPIT on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/IyvXrXm1pU

— NFL (@NFL) September 22, 2024

Despite the success, Fields would be benched in favor of Russell Wilson. He would end up sitting behind the 13-year veteran for the rest of the season. While the move initially seemed like a home run, Wilson and the offense fizzled out down the stretch. Pittsburgh went 2-5 to close the regular season and lost to the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs.

Fields hits the open market this offseason. Pittsburgh has expressed some interest in re-signing him. This seems a bit odd as it benched him despite posting a winning record as its starter. Maybe this is Pittsburgh admitting it made a mistake benching him.

The Las Vegas Raiders have also expressed interest in signing Fields to a contract. It’s been reported that Las Vegas is looking to add multiple quarterbacks this offseason, so it sounds like Fields won’t be guaranteed anything should he join the Silver and Black.

That might be the case wherever he lands. He is an incredibly gifted athlete but continues to struggle as a passer. That probably means Fields is destined for some kind of quarterback competition in 2025, but maybe he lands in the right situation that unlocks the next level of his game.

Update: Fields has signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the New York Jets.

Russell Wilson - Free Agent

It looked as though Wilson had turned back the clock after taking over as the Steelers QB1 in 2024.

RUSSELL WILSON TO Mike Williams! @STEELERS LEAD!

📺: #PITvsWAS on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/zM3oWDIj95

— NFL (@NFL) November 10, 2024

However, he would cool off considerably down the homestretch and began to resemble the declining player we have seen the last few seasons. Several teams have expressed interest in signing Wilson as a bridge type of quarterback.

The Las Vegas Raiders seem to make the most sense. Wilson and Raiders head coach Pete Carroll have reportedly mended fences, and this could make Las Vegas an ideal landing spot for the 13-year veteran.

Even if he does sign with the team, we should expect Las Vegas to acquire multiple signal-callers this offseason and take an approach similar to the one Carroll used in 2012 when he was with the Seattle Seahawks.

Aaron Rodgers - Free Agent

Rodgers is the biggest name on this list. The New York Jets have informed the future Hall of Famer that they intend to move on from this offseason. Rodgers did not look like the same player we have seen in years past. New York moving on is understandable.

Part of his struggles could be blamed on the Jets’ poor offensive line as Rodgers was sacked 40 times in 2024. He did not appear to trust his pass protection and often looked for checkdowns and underneath routes. However, he did only finish 38th in Fantasy Points Data Suite’s adjusted completion percentage, so there is clearly some skill deterioration here as well.

Despite that, Rodgers is still an attractive option for quarterback-needy teams whose coaches/general managers want to keep their jobs. It’s been reported that Rodgers wants to keep playing and doesn’t want 2024 to be his lasting image as a player. It sure sounds like we will get to see Rodgers play one last season in 2025. Wherever he lands, let's hope he gets better results this time around.

Zach Wilson - Free Agent

Wilson is a confirmed bust and struggled mightly during his time as the New York Jets starter. He spent this past season with the Denver Broncos where he sat behind Bo Nix. Wilson’s rookie contract has now expired, and he’s a free agent this offseason.

There’s been some talk in league circles that the Raiders are interested in signing Wilson and having him compete for the starting job. This would make sense as Las Vegas is reportedly planning to attack the quarterback position in a variety of ways.

Wilson probably won’t emerge as a starter, but it wouldn’t be the first time a failed New York Jets quarterback made a career resurgence (see Geno Smith and Sam Darnold). Maybe Wilson learned a few things from Broncos head coach Sean Payton that can help him turn around his career.

Update: Wilson has signed a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins.

Daniel Jones - Free Agent

Jones is another failed franchise quarterback available this offseason. He joined the Minnesota Vikings last year after being released by the New York Giants. His days as a starter are all but finished for now.

The likely path for him to reemerge is to sign as a backup quarterback with a strong coaching staff who can help rehabilitate him similar to what Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers did for Sam Darnold in 2023. Hopefully, Jones has similar success and we eventually see him hit his ceiling a few years down the road.

Update: Jones has signed a one-year, $14 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts.

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