Tag: garrett gilbert

All-time high school QB rankings: Southwest region

For this group we pulled the all-time great high school quarterbacks from teams in the following states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

Today we continue our all-time high school quarterback rankings based on the regions they played in. Next up on the list is the Southwest region, which features a Hall of Famer and the greatest high school QB of all time, plus one of the top quarterbacks currently in the NFL.

For this group, we pulled the all-time great high school quarterbacks from teams in the following states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

More All-time HS QB rankings:

East region

Southeast region

Jacoby Brissett and Commanders’ Ron Rivera hope the sixth time is the charm

Six is the number for Ron Rivera and Jacoby Brissett.

Jacoby Brissett becomes number six for Ron Rivera.

Most recently with the Cleveland Browns, Brissett becomes the sixth veteran quarterback that Ron Rivera’s Commanders have obtained since his arrival in January 2020.

Brissett is certainly no stranger to change and the need to be flexible and adapt. The 30-year-old from West Palm Beach, Florida, has made NFL stops with the Patriots, Colts, Dolphins, Browns and now the Commanders.

Even more, Brissett was under center for the University of Florida in 2011 and 2012 before transferring to North Carolina State from 2013-15. He was a third-round choice of the Patriots (No. 91 overall) in the 2016 NFL draft.

Rivera has had plenty of adapting to do himself since coming to Washington. The quarterback position has been a rotating door for him for much of his three seasons.

Upon arrival, Rivera inherited Dwayne Haskins and Alex Smith. The first trade he made as head coach was for Kyle Allen. In December, he obtained Taylor Heinicke to be the quarantine quarterback.

The third and fourth quarterbacks Rivera obtained were Ryan Fitzpatrick and Garrett Gilbert for the 2021 season; however, each played in only one game.

A year ago, Carson Wentz became the fifth veteran quarterback Rivera brought to Washington. After his trade from Indianapolis, Wentz started seven games, but the team only won two of those. He was released after the season.

In summary, the pairing of Rivera and Brissett is of a coach and a quarterback for whom change has been the only constant. Both must be hoping for some stability — and soon.

List of Patriots practice squad players not signed to future contracts

These players were not signed to future contracts by the Patriots.

The New England Patriots are making the necessary preparations for a long offseason ahead, including the planning of their 2023 practice squad.

After the team signed 11 players to future contracts last week, that leaves at least five more pending free agents. Keep in mind, some of the names on the list are players that have been involved in at least some way with the Patriots organization off and on.

So there’s a chance they could be back at some point.

Granted, the Patriots are hopeful to have an overall healthier season to avoid leaning too heavily on their practice squad for help, which was often the case throughout the 2022 season.

But then again, it’s always a good thing to have options, and one of the players not signed to a future deal could prove to be an option to either the Patriots or another team down the road.

Injury-plagued Patriots missing nine players at Tuesday’s practice

Nine players were missing at Tuesday’s practice for the Patriots.

The New England Patriots returned to practice on Tuesday, following their disappointing loss to the Buffalo Bills, and there were more than just a few missing faces on the field.

A combination of injuries and sickness have decimated the team in the final stretch of the regular season.

The good news is they’ve had extra rest time with their upcoming Monday Night Football game against the Arizona Cardinals coming after their second consecutive Thursday Night Football appearance. So they’ve had all weekend to sit back, relax and begin implementing the necessary changes to hopefully bounce back from consecutive losses to the Bills and Minnesota Vikings.

Of course, a big indicator of that will be their ability to stay healthy, which has been increasingly hard for them to do lately. They were missing nine players at practice on Tuesday, including multiple standout players on both sides of the ball.

There’s still plenty of time for the Patriots to get right ahead of their showdown with the Cardinals.

Even with their 6-6 record, they are still very much in the AFC playoff hunt as the eighth seed behind a New York Jets team they’ve already beaten twice and own a tiebreaker against.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqby79hc76t2s390 player_id=none image=https://patriotswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=132265]

Injury-plagued Patriots signing QB to practice squad

The Patriots are adding to their quarterback room

It was expected that the New England Patriots would consider adding to their quarterback room with injuries to Mac Jones and Brian Hoyer. Well, make way for veteran quarterback Garrett Gilbert.

Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. the Patriots are expected to sign the former sixth-round draft pick out of SMU.

Jones is still on the mend from a high ankle sprain. He teased at the possibility of playing in Week 4 against the Green Bay Packers but was ultimately ruled out for the game ahead of the road trip. Meanwhile, Hoyer stepped in as a starter and suffered a head injury in the first quarter.

That forced rookie Bailey Zappe on the field without much of a Plan D option behind him. It would now seem as if Gilbert is the team’s Plan D option. He has played in eight regular season games with two career starts. His last start came with the Washington Commanders last season in a game where he threw for 194 yards and no touchdowns.

Longtime fans might remember him landing on the Patriots’ practice squad back in 2013. So this is another case of coach Bill Belichick leaning on the past to help make the process a smoother transition, if disaster strikes again.

Let’s all keep our fingers crossed that doesn’t happen.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqby79hc76t2s390 player_id=none image=https://patriotswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=128359]

Vikings not ruling out bringing in another backup QB

The Vikings might not be done at quarterback.

When the initial depth chart was released on Wednesday, the backup quarterback position stood out right away.

Kellen Mond and Sean Mannion have both been listed as the backup quarterbacks going into Sunday’s preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Unfortunately, neither player has had a good camp. Mannion has performed exactly as you would have expected after his start last season against Green Bay. Mond, after struggling all of last year, has not shown much improvement during training camp thus far.

Where does this leave the Vikings? It could have them searching for a new backup quarterback. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert said as much on KFAN Thursday morning.

The timing feels right, as the new regime hasn’t had an opportunity to get a sense of these players. Now that they have, this isn’t much of a surprise.

Who could they target? Outside of Jimmy Garoppolo and Sam Darnold, both of whom are firmly on the trade block, there aren’t many likely options via trade.

There are a few names on the free agent market that could be enticing, including Cam Newton, Mike Glennon, AJ McCarron, Garrett Gilbert and Kyle Sloter.

If Mond and Mannion both struggle to make a case, don’t be surprised if the team adds another veteran.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyjpbajmjvnqmj player_id=none image=https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=65701]

Raiders release QB Garrett Gilbert following trade for Jarrett Stidham

Garrett Gilbert out after trade for Jarrett Stidham

Garrett (clocking out, nods): Jarrett.

Jarrett (clocking in, nods): Garrett.

Reports today had the Raiders making a trade with the New England Patriots, sending a 6th round pick their way in exchange for QB Jarrett Stidham and a 7th round pick.

With one of Josh McDaniels’s guys now in the fold for backup QB, it was a pretty sure thing Garrett Gilbert’s most recent short stint with the Raiders had come to an end.

That’s because a little over a month ago the team signed former Browns and 49ers QB Nick Mullens, making him the immediate favorite over Gilbert to be Derek Carr’s backup.

Now Mullens has some legitimate competition for that spot with the former fourth round pick Stidham and the days of teams carry four camp arms on the offseason roster, or even three QB’s on the active roster are gone for the most part.

The team made the Garrett release official as a corresponding move with the addition of WR Keelan Cole.

Terry McLaurin’s value skyrocketed last week

Terry McLaurin’s price continues to go up.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbykgy681k112p8 player_id=none image=https://washingtonfootballwire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

It’s been musical chairs at quarterback for the first three years of Terry McLaurin’s NFL career. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Taylor Heinicke, Garrett Gilbert, Kyle Allen, Dwayne Haskins, Alex Smith, Case Keenum and Colt McCoy.

The former Ohio State Buckeye wide receiver drafted in the third round in the 2019 NFL Draft has been one of the few consistent performers for Washington over the last three seasons (2019-21). Those three seasons with unpredictable and unreliable quarterback play have resulted in 58, 87 and 77 receptions for McLaurin.

Speculation rose this past week, that with McLaurin not yet signed to a new deal, that perhaps he is frustrated with all of the uncertainty at quarterback and is going to play out his contract and become an unrestricted free agent following the completion of the 2022 season. More than a couple of radio segments in the DMV were heard to be devoted to whether the Commanders should go ahead and trade McLaurin now, rather than risk losing him to free agency.

This past week was also historic regarding the NFL wide receiver market being completely reset. Davante Adams was sent to the Raiders. with a new contract of $28.5 million per year. A few days later Tyreek Hill was sent to the Dolphins, who coughed up a mere $30 million.

Suddenly, Washington’s leading wide receiver’s value shot up at least $5 million dollars per year. Washington has already signed Curtis Samuel to his free-agent deal in 2021. Would it be wise for Washington to re-sign Terry and also draft a wide receiver in the first round? Might they draft a receiver in the first round only to not plan on McLaurin for 2023?

With the skyrocketing of wide receiver contracts in the last week, McLaurin could be looking at anywhere from $20-22 million per year. That is if Washington wants to pay that much to McLaurin.

What do I know? But hasn’t McLaurin proven himself where rookies have not? Hasn’t McLaurin shown himself not only to be talented but a team player, a captain on the field and in the locker room?

Here’s to hoping the Commanders management believes in paying their own proven leaders the large contracts. After all, they can always trade back in numerous drafts collecting more players earning the much more economical rookie contracts.

Former Washington QB Garrett Gilbert signs with Raiders

Garrett Gilbert signed with the Raiders Saturday.

The Washington Commanders signed quarterback Garrett Gilbert on Dec. 17, 2021. Gilbert was a member of the New England Patriots practice squad when Washington signed him, reuniting him with his former head coach with the Carolina Panthers, Ron Rivera.

Four days after Washington signed Gilbert, he started a critical road game at the Philadelphia Eagles. Why did Washington sign Gilbert to start such a pivotal game? At the time, the Commanders were facing the largest COVID-19 outbreak in the NFL, and both of Washington’s quarterbacks, Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen, were on the COVID list.

Despite the odds stacked against him, Gilbert played reasonably well. He had a big completion to Terry McLaurin early that set up a score, giving the Commanders the lead. While Washington would come up short, it wasn’t Gilbert’s fault. He completed 20 of 31 passes for 194 yards. He didn’t turn the ball over, and Washington was in the game until late.

Heinicke and Allen would return from the COVID list for the next game and Gilbert would return to the bench as Washington’s third quarterback. He would not take another snap and entered free agency after the season.

On Saturday, Gilbert signed a contract with the Las Vegas Raiders, again reuniting with an old coach. New Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels was New England’s offensive coordinator in both of Gilbert’s stints with the Patriots.

After signing with the Raiders, Gilbert, entering his ninth NFL season in 2022, Gilbert has played on eight different teams, including two stints each in New England and with the Raiders.

That’s not bad work if you can find it.

Where did Taylor Heinicke land on NFL.com’s QB rankings for 2021?

Where did Taylor Heinicke, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Garrett Gilbert rank among the 62 quarterbacks who started at least one game in 2021?

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbykgy681k112p8 player_id=none image=https://washingtonfootballwire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Three quarterbacks started at least one game for the Washington Commanders in 2021. Ryan Fitzpatrick was signed last March to be Washington’s starter for the 2021 season, but he was injured and lost for the year after only six passes.

That led to Taylor Heinicke taking over under center. After his performance in Washington’s playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Jan. 2021, some in the organization felt he was the better option in training camp.

Heinicke would end up starting 15 games for the Commanders in 2021. Last season, the other starting quarterback for Washington was an unlikely one in veteran Garrett Gilbert. Gilbert was just two days before Washington was scheduled to play Philadelphia after Heinicke and Kyle Allen were both placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

This week, Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com did his final quarterback index of the 2021 season, ranking every quarterback who started at least one game last season.

Heinicke came in at No. 27:

Heinicke probably won’t get another season with 15 starts. Then again, I never would have guessed Heinicke’s spiritual father, Ryan Fitzpatrick, would have three seasons as a primary starter after turning 33. Like Fitzpatrick, Heinicke’s self-belief creates a lot of big plays for both his team and the opposition.

Heinicke played well at times in 2021, but his limitations are often on display. The good news for Heinicke is that he’s proven to be a capable backup in the NFL. There’s nothing wrong with being a backup NFL passer. Ask Chase Daniel. Heinicke can win games for you off the bench, which some other backups cannot do.

Gilbert earned a ranking for his one start — ahead of Fitzpatrick at No. 56.

For the second straight year, Gilbert looked better than expected in an emergency start that he had little chance of winning.

Fitzpatrick, who completed three of six passes for 13 yards, came in at No. 59.

Fitzpatrick suffered a life-changing hip injury after throwing just six passes in Washington. It’s a huge bummer if his otherwise joyous career ends this way, although it hasn’t changed him too much. Nine teams and 17 seasons after breaking in as a seventh-round pick under Mike Martz in St. Louis, Fitzmagic left a legacy unlike any other quarterback of his generation.

It’s a shame Washington fans didn’t get the full Fitzpatrick experience in 2021. Hopefully, the hip injury doesn’t end Fitzpatrick’s career, and he has a chance to at least return as a backup for someone in 2022.

In case you were wondering, the legendary Tom Brady was ranked No. 1 on the 2021 QB index.