Tag: Gardner Minshew

Potential 2024 QB options for the Broncos (without Jarrett Stidham)

If the Broncos cut QB Jarrett Stidham, they would save $5 million in cap space. Here are five QB paths Denver could take in such a scenario.

Last week, we published a list of potential quarterback paths the Denver Broncos could take in 2024 and all of them included Jarrett Stidham.

Today, we’re going to take a quick look at QB paths for the Broncos without Stidham on the team. Denver seems likely to move on from Russell Wilson this offseason, but Stidham’s status with the club is harder to gauge.

It’s possible that the Broncos could go into 2024 with Stidham on the roster either as a starter or competing for the starting job. It’s also possible that Denver could part ways with both Wilson and Stidham this spring.

Stidham is set to have a salary cap hit of $7 million in 2024. If the Broncos release the quarterback, the team would create a $2 million “dead money” cap hit with a net savings of $5 million in salary cap space.

With Denver in desperate need of more cap space, the possibility of Stidham being cut can’t be ruled out. Here are five hypothetical QB scenarios the Broncos could consider this spring without Stidham on the team.

5 Colts’ free agents make PFF’s top 100 list for 2024

A quintet of Colts made PFF’s top 100 free agents list for 2024.

The Indianapolis Colts have an interesting offseason coming up starting with a group of players set to hit free agency when the 2024 new league year arrives in March.

Over at Pro Football Focus, a list of the top 100 free agents was put together by Brad Spielgerger and five Colts players wound up making the cut.

The five names won’t come as a shock as they are the five names most talked about in regard to the Colts’ upcoming free-agent class.

Here’s a look at the five Colts players who made the list, along with what Spielberger said and his projected contract:

Potential 2024 QB options for the Broncos with Jarrett Stidham included

If the Broncos move on from Russell Wilson, what happens at QB in 2024? Here are five options that include keeping Jarrett Stidham.

Assuming the Denver Broncos are going to move on from Russell Wilson this offseason, the team will need a new starting quarterback in 2024.

Right now, Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci are both under contract. It’s possible that Denver could also cut Stidham this spring, but today we’re going to explore several options that include keeping Stidham.

The first option would be to roll with Stidham in 2024, something Peter King thinks is a real possibility. A second option would be to sign a veteran free agent to compete with Stidham this summer.

A third option would be to draft a quarterback (perhaps 12th overall) to compete with Stidham. A fourth option would be to trade for a veteran (which doesn’t seem likely) and a fifth option would be to sign a veteran and draft a rookie.

So, what’s the best option for the Broncos in 2024? Let’s take a look at the five scenarios.

5 reasons the Colts missed the playoffs

Here are five reasons the Colts missed the playoffs in 2023.

Playoffs weren’t even a thought for those outside of the Indianapolis Colts organization heading into the 2023 season.

But thanks to Shane Steichen’s coaching, the team had a chance to crack into the postseason late in the campaign. However, they came up short in their Week 18 matchup against the Houston Texans.

The reasons why they missed a chance for a Super Bowl run aren’t as negative as it was for this franchise a year ago, but there are still factors on why they found themselves on the outside looking in.

Resolving these issues will be key for the Colts moving forward if they want to compete starting in 2024.

Here are five reasons why the Colts missed the playoffs in 2023:

10 free agent quarterbacks Broncos could consider in 2024

Here are 10 free agent quarterbacks the Broncos could consider this spring.

After benching quarterback Russell Wilson, the Denver Broncos turned their offense over to Jarrett Stidham for the final two games of the 2023 season.

Stidham didn’t look any better than Wilson, but he is cheaper. The Broncos are expected to release Wilson in March. Stidham’s future is less certain.

Stidham is scheduled to have a $7 million salary cap hit in 2024. It’s possible that Denver might opt to go into next season with Stidham and a rookie (the Broncos hold the 12th overall pick in the draft).

Alternatively, Denver could release Stidham and save $5 million in cap space. With that saved cap space, the Broncos might be able to afford a bargain free agent QB this spring such as Jameis Winston or Gardner Minshew.

It will come down to how much faith coach Sean Payton has in Stidham. After signing him last spring, Payton saw Stidham in training camp and practice all season leading up to the QB’s two starts in 2023. If the coach isn’t confident in Stidham going forward, the Broncos might be able to find an upgrade in free agency this spring.

Keeping in mind that Denver could pair a veteran with a rookie this offseason, here’s a quick look at the ten most notable QBs set to become free agents in March.

5 takeaways from Colts’ 23-19 loss to the Texans

Here are five takeaways from the Colts’ heartbreaking loss in Week 18.

The Indianapolis Colts’ 2023 season has officially ended after falling to their divisional rivals Houston Texans in a win and in game.

The Indy offense was led by Jonathan Taylor on the ground with the passing attack failing to find rhythm at any point in the contest. The defense had some moments but C.J. Stroud was the difference maker in this matchup. The rookie quarterback made some outstanding throws throughout the night.

It was because of him that the Texans were able to move the ball with ease on their three touchdown drives. This game did come down to the final minutes but a slightly questionable sequence by Shane Steichen led to Houston coming away with a victory.

On a fourth-and-one inside the red zone, he elected to try to draw the defense offsides and burned a timeout. Steichen did dial up a great play call but Gardner Minshew had poor ball placement to a wide-open Tyler Goodson and he dropped the ball.

It wasn’t a great throw but it was still a ball Goodson should have caught. It’s puzzling that JT or Zack Moss weren’t the back in that situation with the season on the line.

Because of the timeout, the Colts weren’t able to get the ball back with time to work with for one last comeback attempt. This is a brutal loss in this moment but the future is bright for Indianapolis.

Before looking ahead to the 2024 offseason, here are five takeaways from the game:

What was Shane Steichen thinking on the Colts’ last offensive play?

The Colts are out of the playoff picture after their loss to the Texans, and everybody wants to know about Shane Steichen’s final play call.

Shane Steichen has been great for the most part in his first season as the Indianapolis Colts’ head coach, but it’s tough not to wonder what Steichen, who’s the Colts’ offensive shot-caller as well, was thinking on what turned out to be his team’s final offensive play of the 2023 NFL season.

With 1:06 left in the game, and the Colts down 23-17, Indianapolis had the ball on the Houston 15-yard line on fourth-and-1. Quarterback Gardner Minshew tried to drive the defense offside before calling a time out, and then, THIS happened. A bad throw from Minshew, and a bad catch attempt from undrafted rookie running back Tyler Goodson, and the Colts’ postseason hopes went right down the drain.

Having Taylor off the field in that instance was certainly… interesting. The star back had left the field earlier in the game with a heel injury, but on the drive that led to that last failed play, he carried the ball nine times for 23 yards. Maybe Steichen thought Taylor needed a breather, or perhaps Taylor re-aggravated his injury, but that put the Colts at a personnel disadvantage. Taylor had run 30 times for 188 yards and a touchdown in the game.

“Yeah, he was all right,” Steichen said of Taylor. “The play we had up, we had to look for it. It was man-to-man coverage and just it didn’t work out.

“Obviously we called time out there. It was fourth-and-one, we saw the front they were in and we liked the look for that play in that situation.

“Felt good about Goodson in that situation. He’s a pass-catcher for us in the backfield. and it is what it is.”

Welp.

Secondly, while the Colts throw the ball frequently on fourth down — Minshew had 20 fourth-down attempts coming into this game — and while 17 of those passes came out of shotgun, by rolling with shotgun and taking Taylor out of the game, the Colts were telegraphing their intent to Houston’s defense. Maybe the play call would have worked had Goodson caught the ball, and we’d prefer to deal with process over outcome, but when the outcome takes you out of the playoffs, that’s a tough one.

Third, Minshew had completed 13 of 24 passes for 141 yards in this game, and he was inaccurate more than he was accurate. So again, the play call was fine. But the circumstances surrounding it will draw questions through a long offseason for the Colts.

“Man, I thought it was a great call — a perfect look.” Minshew said after the game. “It was just one of those plays.”

Fantasy football sleepers to play in Week 18

Taking a look at some sleepers to play in Week 18.

While the majority of fantasy football leagues have concluded, there are still some leagues that partake in a Week 18 championship, and we’re still here to help those who need it.

And, even though the vast majority of fantasy managers are no longer competing, we can use these sleepers for prop betting and DFS plays.

We will be using The Huddle’s weekly PPR projections and rankings as a reference to find some potential boom games this week.

Mic’d-up Gardner Minshew turned Maxx Crosby’s repetitive trash talk into a punchline on the sidelines

Gardner was so excited to deliver that joke.

There aren’t many defensive players who quarterbacks dread going up against more than the Raiders’ Maxx Crosby. He’s locked up his second straight season of double-digit sacks and will probably lead the league in tackles for loss for a second straight year. He also knows how to get into a quarterback’s head.

Gardner Minshew may have been the exception to that.

Mic’d-up footage from NFL Films showed the Raiders defensive end repeatedly calling Minshew a “little ass boy” during Sunday’s game. Every time Crosby hurried, hit or ended up near Minshew, it was the same trash talk.

Let’s just say that Minshew had some jokes when he returned to the Colts bench.

At first, Minshew was a bit taken aback by how angry Crosby seemed. A teammate off screen told Minshew that it was all an act, which set up Minshew’s punchline.

The Colts quarterback said:

“He just keeps calling everybody ‘little ass boy.’ ‘Hey, little ass boy.’ I’m like, ‘I’m little out here, but not always — you know.'”

Gardner, there are children watching! Solid delivery, though. Needless to say, fans enjoyed that mic’d-up clip.

Ranking the NFL’s top 32 QBs by EPA/play + CPOE composite

Here’s how the top 32 QBs stack up in this stat going into Week 18.

All season long we have been ranking quarterbacks around the NFL based on different stats each week. Heading into the last week of the season, we decided to use a combination of EPA/play and CPOE.

Here’s how the top 32 QBs stack up in this stat going into Week 18.