Tag: QB competition

Is there more to Justin Fields’ media absence and his Steelers future?

Justin Fields’ media absence raises questions about his Steelers future as the team faces key decisions ahead of the 2025 season.

There may be more than meets the eye regarding Steelers QB Justin Fields and his polite refusal to meet with media reporters this past Monday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers organization has been bombarded with questions about how the 2024 season ended, how the team will address several key players set to hit free agency in the coming months, and the team’s direction heading into 2025.

Steelers QB Russell Wilson hinted at what the team’s 2025 direction at signal-caller may look like, saying this about re-signing and playing with the Steelers for one more season: “That’s the plan.”

Was Fields part of this ‘plan’? And if he wasn’t, does the athletic QB see the writing on the wall regarding his future with the team?

HC Mike Tomlin may have been trying to do damage control over the situation when he stated on Tuesday that Fields had shown enough growth to be considered for the 2025 starting nod.

What do you all think about the situation? Is Fields’ lack of interest in speaking with reporters as simple as that, or does he truly envision his NFL future elsewhere?

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Mike Tomlin’s Justin Fields comments reignite Steelers 2025 QB debate

Mike Tomlin’s comments on Justin Fields spark questions about who the Steelers signal caller will be heading into the 2025 season.

Just when Pittsburgh Steelers QB Russell Wilson slammed the door shut on Justin Fields’ odds of being the team’s 2025 signal-caller, HC Mike Tomlin has kicked it wide open.

In reference to the opportunity to re-sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2025, Wilson boldly claimed that it was the “plan” to remain with the Black and Gold.

Contradicting this, however, Tomlin recently spoke during Tuesday’s press conference about Fields’ ability to take over the starting duties in 2025, answering a reporter’s question on what steps the young QB would need to take to earn the 17-game starting role:

“I think he took them. I thought the way he handled his professional circumstance was impressive. I thought he brought an urgency to his day-to-day work regardless of his role.”

Tomlin finished with a powerful compliment, inspiring confidence that Fields may indeed take over the 2025 signal calling duties:

“I thought the way he conducted himself makes that a legitimate thought or idea at this juncture.”

Has Tomlin truly committed to one QB at this time and is simply refusing to reveal the cards up his sleeve? Or is this QB competition still up for grabs heading into the 2025 season?

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Darren Rizzi offered funny response on Saints QB decision

Are the Saints keeping their QB decision a secret, or are they truly undecided between Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener? Darren Rizzi had a great response:

Derek Carr fractured his hand in the New Orleans Saints win over the New York Giants. While the team is still holding out hope of him playing, you shouldn’t expect to see Carr this week and maybe not for the rest of the season.

Either Jake Haener or Spencer Rattler will be the Saints’ starting quarterback against the Washington Commanders. Which one will it be? Don’t look to Darren Rizzi for any insight. When asked about which quarterback, Rizzi revealed Haener and Rattler will compete throughout the week.

An interested media member inquired if Rizzi was purposely keeping the decision a secret or if the team was genuinely unsure who would start. It was a two-part question that Rizzi answered with just one word: “Yes.”

When asked what part of the question that was responding to, Rizzi kept his response simple: “Yes, yes, yes, yes.”

So yes, the Saints are trying to keep the Commanders guessing on which quarterback they will have to face. It’s a smart strategic move to force the opponent into splitting time to watch more film. And yes, the Saints are still undecided on the starter themselves.

One of those yes’s are true, and one is the smokescreen. We won’t know which is which for a few days.

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Dennis Allen says no QB competition: ‘Derek Carr is our starting quarterback’

Dennis Allen says there’s no QB competition despite Jameis Winston’s effort in Minnesota: ‘Derek Carr is our quarterback’

Derek Carr exited the New Orleans Saints’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, leaving a 27-3 deficit behind. So it’s no wonder that Dennis Allen faced questions about the quarterback situation afterwards when Jameis Winston stepped into the lineup and led multiple scoring drives in the 27-19 defeat.

“We’re not in a competition there,” Allen said after the game. “Derek Carr is our starting quarterback.”

Winston ended the day going 13-of-25 for 122 yards with two touchdown passes and two interceptions, plus a sack; Carr went 13-of-18 for 110 yards with two sacks prior to his injury. Allen was complimentary of Winston’s effort but made it clear he won’t be challenging Carr for the starting job.

Carr left the game with a concussion and injured throwing shoulder; Allen declined to elaborate on his status in his postgame press conference. It’s a good thing the Saints have their bye week coming up, giving Carr more time to heal up, but it remains to be seen how long he’ll be out of action. He was injured earlier this season when he suffered an AC joint sprain in that same right shoulder. Keep an eye out for updates on his status.

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Michigan State WR Tre Mosley makes joke about QB competition

WR Tre Mosley has jokes about MSU’s QB competition:

Ahead of Friday’s season opener against Central Michigan, there are a lot of questions that fans want answered. One of those questions is the status of MSU’s QB situation.

With media availability this week, the Spartans coaching staff sent senior Tre Mosley to answer questions to the media. One question asked to Mosley was about the QB situation and his answer will make you laugh.

Mosley shared that he might have won the QB battle and could be lining up under center for the Spartans:

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.

WATCH: Michigan State football QBs compliment one another

MSU’s QBs complimented one another on BTN’s camp show in East Lansing on Tuesday:

One of the most covered topics surrounding Michigan State’s fall camp is the ongoing starting quarterback battle between Noah Kim and Katin Houser. That was a major piece of the conversation when the Big Ten Network crew joined the Spartans in East Lansing on Tuesday.

During Big Ten Network’s camp show, analyst Howard Griffith sat down with both quarterbacks vying for the job and discussed the competition, but started the conversation with the two complimenting one another.

You can watch the clip here:

One thing Spartan fans can be grateful for, the two quarterbacks within the competition are very supportive of each other and the competition is very healthy for the team.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.

Alabama fans have strong opinions on latest video of Crimson Tide QBs

Alabama football’s quarterback competition has fans examining every little detail. See what they had to say about the latest video

The Alabama quarterback competition is an ongoing three-man race for the starting job. With the start of the 2023 regular season just weeks away, fans are looking for any and all answers as to who might be in the lead at this point.

It was originally between Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson, but then the coaching staff landed a commit from Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner. Head coach Nick Saban has embraced the competition and said that his players have too. However, he refuses to give any clues regarding the status of the competition.

The Alabama football program recently distributed a video featuring a series of clips of the quarterbacks. Mike Rodak of 247Sports shared the video to X, formerly known as Twitter, and fans shared their thoughts.

ESPN predicts the outcome of Alabama’s QB competition

Alabama’s QB competition forecast by ESPN shares who they predict will be the Crimson Tide’s starter.

Alabama football is looking to return to the College Football Playoff after failing to make it in 2022. After losing a lot of last year’s starting talent, Nick Saban and his coaching staff will have to introduce a lot of young, inexperienced players.  The most pressing positional group that needs answers is the quarterback.

Currently, a three-man race for the starting job is underway. It was originally believed to be between Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson. However, after Alabama’s A-Day spring game, Notre Dame‘s Tyler Buchner entered the transfer portal and committed to Alabama.

Recently, at SEC media days, Saban stated that none of the quarterbacks have yet to separate themselves from the pack. There’s a good chance this battle bleeds into the regular season, much like the 2018 battle between Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa did.

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg attempted to tackle the top college football quarterback competitions heading into the 2023 season (subscription required).

Rittenberg discussed what Buchner’s transfer into the program meant for the competition.

“Buchner’s post-spring decision to transfer in, and his prior connection with new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees at Notre Dame, changed the outlook for Alabama’s competition. If Milroe or Simpson had distanced themselves with impressive play, Alabama wouldn’t have been in the market for an impact transfer.”

Finally, Rittenberg managed to put together somewhat of a prediction. Though Milroe appears to be poised to take it over, Buchner has the connections and capabilities to be the Tide’s QB1.

“Buchner [wins the starting job]. I could see Milroe getting the nod, but Buchner’s familiarity with Rees and his approach should give him the edge. Both players still need to show they can avoid interceptions — Buchner has eight on 118 career pass attempts, while Milroe was picked off three times on 53 attempts last season.”

Buchner is my pick to win it, as well. That being said, it would not shock me in the slightest to see Milroe win it either. In 2022, Milroe was the quarterback Saban trusted to take over against Arkansas when Young went down and Saban again trusted Milroe to fully take on Texas A&M when Young remained sidelined.

There’s a very small window that’s getting tighter by the day, As Alabama’s 2023 season will get underway on Sept. 2 against Middle Tennessee at home.

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Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on Twitter @SpurrFM. 

How does Alabama’s QB situation rank among all 133 FBS programs in 2023?

Alabama’s QB situation is an interesting one to watch. How does it compare to the 132 other programs out there?

As it stands, Alabama’s quarterback competition has been narrowed down to three contenders: Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson, and Tyler Buchner. Well, ‘narrowed down’ may not be the best phrase to use considering the competition grew from two players to three after Buchner transferred in from Notre Dame about a month ago.

Crimson Tide fans haven’t felt this unsure at quarterback since before Jalen Hurts got to campus. The last time there was a quarterback competition, it was between an incumbent starter that led the team to back-to-back national championship appearances and a young star who took the nation by storm by winning a national championship. The current situation for Nick Saban and his program is vastly different.

The ongoing competition has many fans worried that the uncertainty could lead to a disappointing season for the Crimson Tide.

David Hale of ESPN recently took a look at the quarterback situation for all 133 FBS programs as the 2023 season approaches. When putting it all into a broader perspective, Alabama’s situation may not be all too bad.

When examining all the different situations, Hale broke them all down into six tiers. Alabama falls under ‘Tier 3: Never Question the System.’

The Tide is joined by Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, Penn State and Tennessee. Not a terrible crowd to be involved with if you ask me.

“In Nick Saban’s tenure at Alabama, the Tide have entered seven offseasons without an incumbent starter before 2023,” writes Hale. “The eventual winners of the starting job in those seasons completed 67% of their throws, accounted for 192 touchdowns and just 53 turnovers and posted a combined 79-4 record, with Alabama winning four national championships.”

There are still a few months remaining in the offseason for players to separate themselves. However, for now, it seems to be a pretty even race all around.

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Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on Twitter @SpurrFM. 

Drew Lock returns to practice but Seahawks QB plan ‘has been adjusted’

After a bout with COVID-19, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock has returned to the field to compete with Geno Smith for the starting nod.

The Seattle Seahawks were without Drew Lock Thursday night against the Chicago Bears as the quarterback was sideline as he battled with COVID-19. His absence was short-lived, however, as Lock was able to return to the practice field on Sunday afternoon.

“He did okay today, yeah, he seemed to bounce back,” coach Pete Carroll told reporters. “He’s six, seven days into it now so he’s in good shape as far as getting back. But you never know until you get out there and start running around. He hung in there, tough, so that’s good.”

With just three games total in the preseason and a quarterback competition in full swing, any missed time could be a disadvantage for Lock, who has been trading first-team reps with Geno Smith.

Asked if things had changed over the last week, Carroll was short.

“The plan has been adjusted,” Carroll said. “I’ll talk to you more about it later in the week or I won’t. I’m not sure.”

The Seahawks return to practice on Monday morning when the QB competition will continue.

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