NFL free agency is several weeks old already, and while most of the big names are already off the market, there are a few notable players still available. Many teams have turned their attention to the upcoming NFL Draft, but there is still plenty of intrigue in the quarterbacks on the open market. Here are all the latest news and rumors you need to know.
Kaepernick looking for starting job
The biggest debate in the NFL right now centers around Colin Kaepernick and the fact that he still hasn't been signed yet. Some think he is being blackballed for his social stances, but ESPN's Dan Graziano reports that Kaepernick is simply seeking the opportunity to compete for a starting job.
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Further, we know from multiple sources that Kaepernick isn’t just looking for any job. Two people to whom I spoke last week say he’s looking for a place that offers him a chance to compete for a starting job and a salary befitting a high-end backup quarterback or a low-end starter. Think something like $9 million to $10 million.
The New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans are the only teams that figure to be in the market for a starting quarterback.
Kaepernick passed for 2,241 yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions while rushing for 468 yards and two more touchdowns in 12 games last season.
Browns still interested in Garoppolo trade
Speaking of the Browns, they are expected to continue to explore a possible trade for New England Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo at the NFL Annual Meetings early this week, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
The Browns' top brass, including the Haslams and coach Hue Jackson, will spend the next three days here at the NFL Annual meeting conducting business, attending meetings, voting on key issues, socializing and perhaps even inquiring about Jimmy Garoppolo or another veteran quarterback such as AJ McCarron.
The seeds for plenty of personnel moves are planted at the Annual Meetings, and the Browns might have preliminary discussions here about trading for Garoppolo or McCarron. They might also try to find a taker for their $16 million quarterback Brock Osweiler.
Garoppolo passed for 496 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in two starts this past season.
Osweiler to compete for Browns starting QB job?
Cleveland currently has Brock Osweiler on their roster after acquiring him in a trade with the Texans, and while they are expected to either trade or release him before the season starts, head coach Hue Jackson said Osweiler will compete for the starting job as long as he is with the team.
“Obviously, he’s a player on our team and we’re going to treat him just like we do all of our other quarterbacks until he’s not,” Jackson told the NFL Network. “He’s a guy that’s going to come in and compete. We haven’t had an opportunity to meet with him from a football standpoint because of the rules. But once we start our offseason program, Phase One, we’ll get a chance to know him and he’ll get to know us.”
Osweiler finished 2016 with 2,957 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and 16 interceptions while completing just 59 percent of his passes.
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