Quarterback Musical Chairs

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Have you ever played musical chairs?

That’s when there are a bunch of chairs and one more person than the number of chairs.

The music starts to play and everyone keeps moving until the music stops.

Then the people stop and have to find a chair quickly and sit down.

But for one person there is no chair. That person is out of luck.

The NFL draft of collegians is this week, but the game of musical chairs involving quarterbacks, the most critical position on any football team, has been going on for a couple of months.
I have a feeling the one left standing is named Aaron Rodgers, but I’ll get back to that.

There already have been a ton of blockbuster moves and plenty of cash being thrown around to players of all positions during this free agent season.

But in football, it’s all about the quarterback. If you don’t have a good one, a real good one, you have little chance of success.

Musical chairs.

Sam Darnold, a journeyman who had a fantastic year for the Vikings before he turned into a pumpkin when it counted at the end is now with the Seahawks. He’s 27.

The guy they had, Geno Smith, who didn’t do a bad job with Seattle, but is 34, is now with the Las Vegas Raiders, rejoining head coach Pete Carroll. The Raiders were desperate for a QB and I guess he’s good enough for minority owner Tom Brady.

The Jets, who once had both Darnold and Smith, signed Justin Fields who had yet to prove himself with the Bears and Steelers.

New York’s other team, the Giants, went for Russell Wilson, the diminishing veteran who had his moments in Pittsburgh. But not enough of them, and not enough of them in the playoffs where they went out in the first round which has been their habit.

Those were basically the teams playing the musical chairs game for starting quarterbacks. Actually there have been 10 more NFL clubs who played the same tune for backups.  When you think of the injuries during the long, grueling season, the teams that have someone dependable coming off the bench are the smart ones.

It’s been said that the most important position on a team is the quarterback.

The second most important is the backup quarterback.

So there has been more than the usual movement in that department during this off-season.

The truth is, every one of those moves is a question mark.

There’s a lot of hope. A lot of fingers crossed.

Lately, I’ve seen teams make deals with veterans that are really fooling themselves.

Let’s zero in on the most prominent.

A couple of years ago the New York Jets thought signing 39-year old Aaron Rodgers, unquestionably a future Hall of Famer would bring them to the promised land.

I wrote at the time that Rodgers’ success was starting to wane in Green Bay, and at his age, leading a team that was in no way ready to seriously challenge for the playoffs, was pure folly. Well, we know the history. Rodgers was injured on the first series of the first game and was lost for the year. He came back at 40 last year, had some flashes, but the plan basically fizzled.

What was the upside for the Jets when they brought Rodgers in?

Oh, they got plenty of buzz, but how does that pay off in wins and riding the wave into the post season?

Now, as we return to the game of musical chairs, it appears that Mr. Rodgers is the one left standing as the music comes to a halt.

It appears he has had little interest around the league.  The Vikings, Giants, Raiders, 49ers, the leading possibilities all passed.

However, the Steelers have not. Yet.

Having rid themselves of their two signal callers of a year ago, it looked like the Black and Gold were clearing the decks for King Aaron. But now everything has been frozen in time. Is Rodgers holding the Steelers hostage, by his contract demands?

Are the Steelers not sold on him? We know their hard-core fans, among the greatest in the league, are dead set against his signing. They know.

If there was little upside for the Jets two years ago, what is the upside for any team now?

Then there is the problem of Rodgers himself. The things he says. The way he says them. Space prevents an enumeration, but take my word for it, this is a strange dude.

You can look it up. In his latest public declarations which he does on ESPN, he railed at the Jets for having him fly coast-to-coast just to tell him they were going in another direction (that’s been the easy way to say, “bye bye”).

If they had called, Rodgers would have complained the Jets didn’t have the decency to axe him in person.

To be fair, I’ve never met the man.  But everything I’ve heard from him and seeing everything played out on the field and off, makes me confident in my view.

The last time he spoke, Rodgers talked of personal issues with those close to him as one of the reasons he hasn’t made a decision. Will he retire? It’s a good possibility. But he shouldn’t if he still feels he can play and win. But with whom? And win what?

A Super Bowl?  Doubtful.

So, the Aaron Rodgers saga goes on.

Every team prays for a chance at the brass ring when it comes to quarterbacks.

The best way is usually through the draft. Select the right one who becomes a franchise QB who can lead you to years of winning and Super Bowl opportunities.

The Washington Commanders got it right when all the pieces came together when they snagged Jayden Daniels in last year’s draft. Now they’re just putting the pieces together around him and on the other side of the ball. They have a future, for sure, if Daniels stays healthy.

In this year’s draft, the blue chip quarterbacks were Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders.

Ward was set to go to the Tennessee Titans. Sanders? Who knows.

Of course, by Thursday night everyone has.

Don’t forget there are always those long-shots who come out of nowhere after being chosen in say, the sixth round. Sometimes those long-shots win seven Super Bowls, but that doesn’t happen very much.

So you either are fortunate enough to pick high in the draft when the real good prospects are there for the taking.

Or you play the game of musical chairs.

And hope.