Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Colts miss out on Stafford, so what's next? The five most realistic QB scenarios for Indy

Episode Date: February 2, 2021

On today's episode, Evan and Stampede Blue's Stephen Reed go over the Colts' latest update in their quarterback search. With Matthew Stafford traded to the Rams, where does Indy go from here? The Colts reportedly were in on Stafford the whole way, but were beaten out by LA plus a few other offers as well.What are the five most realistic scenarios for Indy now? Evan and Stephen go through their lists. Which option makes the most sense for the Colts to address QB1 in 2021?All of this, plus so much more, in a jam-packed episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello everybody, welcome back to the latest episode of Locked On, the Colts Party Locked On Podcast Network. Today as always, your host Evan Setter, joined by Stephen Reed of Stampede Blue. Here to recap a crazy weekend in the NFL as far as quarterback movement goes. The first big dom of the offseason has fallen, Stephen. Matthew Stafford is not the Indianapolis Colts quarterback. He is the new Los Angeles Rams quarterback. After the Rams threw the kitchen sink at the Detroit Lions,

gave up two future first-round picks in 2022 and 2023, as well as a third-round pick in 2021, as well as Jared Goff, their quarterback, who very much fell out of favor in Los Angeles over this year. It seemed like Sean McVay really wanted to wipe his hands clean of golfing with that big contract. So in total, two first-round picks, a third-round pick, and Jared Goff to Detroit for Matthew Stafford. According to Albert Breer and Peter King over at the NBC and MMQB, it sounded like there's a lot of teams out on Stafford. You heard even Carolina offer the eighth overall pick,

which shocked me as to why the Lions wouldn't accept that one. You also heard about the Washington football team offering the 19th overall pick in this draft as well as a third round pick. The Colts were in it as well. Let's talk about the Colts for a moment, Stephen, because it seems like from Breer's reporting and Peter King's reporting that the Colts were in talks with Matthew Stafford. They were in on the discussions with Stafford with the Lions management, but it sounds like from all indications that they really weren't trying to bend the high for Stafford. They're trying to really get a bargain basement price for Matthew Stafford.

I don't blame them for trying to do that to see what the value was. But according to Albert Breer, the Colts were reluctant to give the 21st pick in the 2020 NFL draft to get Matthew Stafford, which kind of raised alarm bells to me, Stephen, as to what their future plans could be. So what was your thoughts on Stafford as well as them really not wanting to get the 21st pick in this draft for future plans? So my thoughts on Matthew Stafford trade was good for Detroit to get two first-round picks, the third-round pick,

two future first-round picks, not ones this year, but in 22 and 23, third-round pick and Jared Goff. The interesting thing with that is that the new GM for the Lions has a prior relationship with the Rams being, I mean, he was hired from the Rams to the Lions. So you already had that built-in relationship there. What people need to understand is in reality, and this was widely reported by different NFL people quoting their sources. Matthew Stafford was traded for a future first round pick and a third round pick. And then Detroit went ahead and took Jared Goff. And in to take Jared Goff,

they also got an extra first round pick from the Rams. So that's the big thing takeaway. I think that we all need to kind of look at this is Matt Ryan realistically was traded for a first round pick, a third round pick and Detroit for whatever reason went ahead and, and took Jared Goff's, you know, just albatross of a contract to get that extra first round pick to me after hearing, you know, Albert, Albert Beer on the Monday morning quarterback article over at si.com mentioned that Carolina offered the eighth pick plus some

that blew my mind that Detroit didn't jump at that because that's, that's the deal. Like Detroit then at that point has picked seven and eight in the draft and can get their quarterback they could trade up if they really wanted to go up and get the quarterback that they that they really coveted in this draft they could get their quarterback at seven potentially and if they didn't then you know you go through the year you you're probably not going to be very good you just traded away your franchise quarterback anyway so you're probably not going to be very good.

You take seven and eight. You give yourself a top offensive tackle, top left tackle. You give yourself a top edge rusher. You give yourself one of the top receivers. You really load up on talent. So to me, I looked at that and I go, wow, that's really – that was really surprising to me when it was reported that Carolina offered the eighth overall pick and Detroit turned it down. Because to me, that just was a no-brainer there to take the eighth overall pick.

The fact that the Colts didn't offer 21 is a little surprising in that we kind of all assumed that the Colts would offer but you know if we remember you know when we've talked about this trade before I've said you know on here and on Twitter that I kind of think that Chris Ballard is going to try to offer at the second or the fifth round or the pick 54 the second round pick and then potentially a first rounder next year or the 54 and a future two that could you know it's a conditional two that pops up to a first round pick if they make the playoffs um something along those lines and so it sounds like that's probably about where chris ballard was uh in his thinking and where he thought the value was and if you look at the trade itself when when it is a future first round pick and the current third round pick for Matt Stafford, then it's kind of the same value range. The interesting part about Albert Beer's reporting was that Chris Ballard was talking about some picks that weren't the first round pick, but also included some players. And so my question obviously is, okay,

what players was Chris Ballard really considering to tossing in here? And so that's really was what perked my interest in it. And it shows me a couple of things. It shows me that Chris Ballard is willing to make a deal. You know, he was in it till the end from everything we heard until the Rams just came in and what Chris Ballard had said on the Pat McAfee show when, when Pat McAfee went ahead and texted Chris Ballard about it and Chris

Ballard said, you know, we were competitive in there until the Rams came in and dropped the bomb on it and offered that. And so what was Chris Ballard going to do? Chris Ballard is very, very methodical. He's very logical in his approach. He doesn't take any unnecessary risks. And he's very steadfast in what he believes a player is worth. And I'm very, I'm happy about that as a Colts fan, because it means that he's not going to just grossly overpay for a player is worth. And I'm very, I'm happy about that as a Colts fan, because it means that he's not going to just grossly overpay for a player. But also it kind of gets frustrating at times because you really want those

guys with your, with the roster right now. So I think the interesting part about it is, is Chris Ballard, or what's telling to me is, is Chris Ballard is willing to trade draft picks for the right player. And he's also willing to include players from the roster if that's necessary to get a deal done, which I think opens up some other trade options for the Colts here coming up. So at least for possible future veteran quarterbacks or for draft picks coming up here in the 2021 draft. I'm going to toss out some names here, Stephen, because like you mentioned, Breer reported,

there was discussion with a package of picks and players for Stafford never actually offered their first-round pick, according to Albert Breer. Some players that came to mind when I saw the report, we talked about these two names before on the show. I think they're pretty unrealistic unless they get, like, a lower pick alongside these players. Maybe, like, a Kari Willer, some Bobby Okereke.

But I think the more realistic ones probably, honestly, Jacob Eason, Rakia Sin, Marvell Tell. I could also see Paris Campbell being involved and maybe not a deal. I mean, those are some names that immediately came to my head when I saw that, Steve. I mean, what do some names out that immediately came to my head when I saw that Steve. I mean, what do you think about those,

those players? I think those might be the most realistic ones. Maybe toss in Kamoko, Terry or Ben Banigou into that as well. Yeah, that's honestly the, I would throw in Taekwon Lewis as well into that group. Depending on what Chris Ballard wants to do in free agency,

because the reports are that he really wants to, to re-sign Justin Houston, Inigo Autry, and Al-Qaidi Mohammed. And so I think Eason could have been a part of that deal. But I honestly, throwing out there Paris Campbell is something that I've thought about. I've not said it publicly, but I was like, you know, maybe that was one that he thought about moving. Kyrie Willis makes a lot of sense.

I feel like with the likelihood that they move on from Anthony Walker at the middle linebacker spot, I think Bobby Okereke is a guy that Chris Ballard is less likely to trade. However, Ben Banigou is a guy that he was a healthy scratch for a lot of the season. And even when he did get to play, he wasn't as effective as he was in his rookie year. And so that's a little concerning.

So you really kind of hope that that comes along. And Chris Ballard has taken the standpoint of, especially with edge rushers, that it normally takes them about three years to really kind of catch on. You saw that with Kamoka Ture is that into his second year, he really caught on and started to play well. Ben Banigou got buried on the death chart. We don't know where he's at in terms of his development, but Chris Ballard says you got to be patient with those. He made a comment about Jerry Hughes in the

previous regime, you know, giving up a guy who, for, for peanuts and, and he goes in and that very next season gets 10 sacks. So I don't know how much that, I don't know what Detroit would have even been interested in Ben Banigou. I think they would have been interested in Kamoku Ture. But the guys that I would probably target, if I were trying to guess which players Chris Ballard would have included, it would have been Tyquan Lewis, Rocky Hussien, possibly Kyrie Willis, Paris Campbell. And that's probably, and then potentially Jacob Eason as well. I'm still not sure about Jacob Eason and how the Colts view him, because like we've said before, there are some days where they talk up his praise and talk about how great he

looks in practice and how great he looks pregame. And then in the same press conference, he says, I don't even know if he's our backup. So you really don't know where they stand on Jacob Eason. But those first four guys that I mentioned, Tyquan Lewis, Kyrie Willis, Rock Yassin, and Paris Campbell are guys that I initially thought of as possible trade options. No two people are alike, and no two tax returns are alike either. Thankfully, TurboTax Live has experienced tax experts who are ready to listen to you and learn about your unique tax situation and help you get the best tax outcome. Maybe you got married this year and you have some questions about how that affects your filing status. Maybe you want an expert to review your return so you don't miss any deductions on the new house you just bought. Or maybe you want to hand the whole thing off

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It's hosted by the great Peter Bukowski and all the sports news you need every morning under 20 minutes. Subscribe to the Locked On Today Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Yeah, that exact quote from the Pat McAfee show earlier today, I actually went and found out what you're talking there, Stephen. Ballard texted McAfee. McAfee texted him. He said, where are we going forward, I asked.

And Ballard said we were very competitive, his exact words. We were very competitive with Stafford and the Rams threw a bomb. Good for them, he said, basically. We couldn't do that. Totally agree on that. I think obviously the Colts are never going to pay two first-round picks and a third for Matthew Stafford and the Rams threw a bomb. Good for them, he said, basically. We couldn't do that. Totally agree on that. I think, obviously, the Colts are never going to pay two first-round picks and a third for Matthew Stafford. I think that kind of ties right into our next discussion, though, Stephen. I think a competition like that can make a lot of sense for a trip in the draft. So let's start off with our five most realistic, maybe QB options now with the Stafford dominant

off the table for the Colts this offseason. Let's go from five to one here. Five being our – I would say just ranking it one through five personally. Five being your least favorite option. Number one is your most favorite option. I'll start with number five here, Steven. I'll say journeyman quarterback. I kind of tied a couple guys together here for number five. Andy Dalton, Ryan Fitzpatrick.

I feel like if you drop both those guys out in week one, I'm very worried about how the Colts season could go. I could see maybe like a seven and nine season happening for the Colts. If you don't address quarterback again this offseason, if you really believe Jacob Euston's your future, maybe it makes some sense. But trotting out Fitzpatrick, trotting out Andy Dolan is a significant downgrade from the likes of Phillip Rivers from last season. That really would worry me for next season. So I'd probably say number five would be Fitzpatrick and Dalton. I mean, what would you think, Steve, if they went out and signed a journeyman like Fitzpatrick or Dalton

and they were the starter week one without a real plan behind them? Okay, so my four – okay, so I'll play things around. So my five is also signing a journeyman, but with kind of a different perspective on it. And so my thought is you sign a journeyman to be the backup and know, Ryan Fitzpatrick, uh, you know, a Andy Dalton, uh, Tyra Taylor, um, or even re-signing Jacoby Brissett. Um, I think that's my least likely least favorite option to be honest. But so my number five is signing a journeyman quarterback to be your starter. My number four is signing that

journeyman quarterback. So Eason can be the starter and then let them see what they've got with Jacob Eason. Kind of similar to like my, my ideal journeyman quarterback is Ryan Fitzpatrick. As we all know, he went to Harvard. Cause I feel like we have to mention that every single time we talk about him. But the reason why is it's similar to how it went in Miami, where Tua was the starter. And then if things got over his head, they were able to bring in Ryan Fitzpatrick, he was able to kind of work his Fitz magic and, and put him in a position to win. So that's kind of where my thought is, is number five is signing a journeyman quarterback to start. Number four is signing a journeyman quarterback, but putting Eason in as the starter to start the season and letting that journeyman really kind of help show him the ropes

and build him up in terms of confidence. And if Colts really do struggle then you're able to bring that quarterback in and see what you've got let me ask you this let's talk about Jacob Eason for a second he was actually number four on my list was just rolling with Jacob Eason outside number five being the journeyman starting I mean I feel like honestly Steven this is gonna tell us a lot about Jacob Eason this upcoming offseason what they do via trade or free and see in the draft. Especially the trade up in the draft, I think it's really going to be a doomsday scenario for Jacob Eason because that really shows you that he's not in their future plans at all to possibly be a starter down the road.

So, I mean, you have to imagine what the Colts do this offseason, the quarterback. It's going to tell us really everything they have to do about Jacob Eason. Yeah, honestly, that's exactly right. And it's one of those things where if they're the Colts go and get trade up in the draft, like you said, that pretty much is going to be the end for Jacob Eason. I think that any trade that the Colts make to where they move up in the draft, it's probably going to include Jacob Eason if it's a team that maybe needs a backup quarterback. I just don't see any way forward if they make a significant investment in a rookie quarterback. For example, trading up from 21 to the sixth spot, which is what we've talked about

before, is Philadelphia. It's one of the most likely spots, I think, for the Colts to get up to if they're looking at one of those top four quarterbacks. You're giving up two first round picks and at least a third, probably more, because you've got to pay that quarterback tax. If they're going to give up that significant of capital to get up and get a quarterback, they don't have as much faith in Jacob Eason. And it's really that simple. And it could be, you know, they still have some faith in Jacob Eason, but they just have a lot more faith in whoever this quarterback is that they're going up to get. So, yeah, I think that that's who they sign if they make a trade for somebody.

If they make a trade for somebody like a veteran quarterback that's got only a couple years left on their deal I don't necessarily think that means that they are totally against Jacob Eason I just think that they need they want to give him some time to develop and see what they've really got so then in two years when this this veteran quarterback that they trade for ends up going to another team and the Colts are possibly able to recoup some compensatory picks for them in the following season, then they've got somebody that they either know that they can roll with or they know they've got to go get a quarterback. On the number three on my list, Stephen, a lot of good points there on ESPN.

It's going to tell us an awful lot what happens with him this offseason. But number three on my list is Matt ryan the atlanta falcons quarterback he'd be higher on my list but just looking at the money and the realism as far as the falcons doing this i had my doubts just because crazy what his contract looks like right now steven it's a 41 million dollar cap hit in 2021 if they were to trade him pre-june 1 it'd be a 45 million dollar cap it's lose money if they tree him before june 1 so this really be a $45 million cap. It's going to lose money if they tree him before June 1. So this really is a scenario where the Falcons take a Justin Fields or a Zach Wilson number four overall, or even a Trey Lance,

if they fall in love with one of those quarterbacks at four. This would be a scenario where I think Matt Ryan would have to force his way out because I think they'll want to have one of those guys sit behind Ryan for a year. But if Ryan says, hey, let's go in a different direction after the draft, I don't want a rookie on my back the whole year, I could see the Falcons maybe after June 1 saying, hey, there's only a couple teams in the market that need a quarterback. The Colts could be one of those teams.

So it could be a cheaper compensation that the Colts could get Matt Ryan for like a future third or fourth round pick. I think that could make a lot of sense for them because post-June 1, that number dips down significantly as far as dead money goes. It goes from $45 million to $17 million for the Falconscons so they save almost 25 million dollars in that scenario if there were a trade in post june 1 so after the draft you can maybe agree on a trade and once june 1 hits you're able to make that official i really like that scenario steve but it really relies on matt ryan kind of forcing his way out there yeah i think that's really interesting that you bring up

the post june 1st trade because a lot of these guys with these older veteran quarterbacks, what the the team all of a sudden goes and takes a top quarterback, like you say, with Atlanta at number four, and they want to part ways with Matthew Stafford, it makes it really difficult to move because all of those bonuses that they paid out to get that cap hit under in the year that they made an extension, all those bonuses come due. And you've got to pay all those debts off right at that point for that year. So doing a post June 1st cut or a trade of him allows them to take that money and extend it out

beyond two seasons. So you'd have that cap hit on the 2021 season and then also a portion of it on the 2022 season. So I think that makes a lot of sense doing it with Matt Ryan. My number three was trading for Sam Darnold. And I know this is probably not going to be as popular with some Colts fans, but I have some faith in Sam Darnold. He makes, he's got a great arm. He's mobile. He can extend plays with his legs when he needs to. And he's got a lot of experience extending plays with his legs, playing for the New York Jets, who consistently never gave him protection. He was put in a really tough spot with Adam Gase, who is, as we've all seen with Ryan Tannehill now, was a terrible coach.

The Tennessee Titans got Ryan Tannehill for a fourth-round pick. My guess is that Colts may not be able to get Sam Darnold for that little of compensation, but you never know. I'm probably looking at, like, a round three pick. If Chris Ballard is able to get Sam Darnold for a day three pick, which would be rounds four to seven, I think that that would be a perfect situation for Sam Darnold because he finally gets to play with a coach that's able to develop the quarterback

position. And he finally gets the time and the skill position players around him that he needs on offense to be able to thrive and Excel. And I believe he's only got two years left on his contract. So if he flames out in those two years, then the Colts move on. And you've spent a fourth round pick, third, third round pick, fourth round pick on a guy that, that just didn't make it. And it's not that big of an investment. And I don't believe his salary

is huge until next season when you have to decide whether or not you take that fifth year option for him. Yeah. Darnold was number two on my list. So this parlays right into what I was about to say too, Stephen, because with the Jets, I mean, you read all these mock drafts and plugged in guys like Mel Kiper, Todd McShay, Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network. Everyone has them going with a quarterback. It's been that way pretty consistently.

And I know I really trust Daniel Jeremiah as Intel. He's a former executive, a former scout, and he really parlays all his info into his mock drafts. And he's been really steadfast on Zach Wilson or Justin Fields, the jets for months now. And I have to think with a new GM in place, Joe Douglas, who didn't draft Sam Darnold,

a new head coach, Robert Sala, who's been noncommittal about Sam Darnold this whole time. I have to imagine they're probably gonna keep Darnold until draft night to see if someone really throws him like a bounty of picks for number two overall pick they can't say no to just for leverage reasons. I can't see them dealing Darnold before then. But if on draft night they take a Wilson or they take a Fields at number two,

it really, I think, opens the door for like a Josh Rosen 2.0 scenario where you could maybe get a transfer third-round pick on draft night. The Colts have the 84th pick in this year's draft. I could really see number 84 for Darnold making a lot of sense on draft night on day two. Josh Rosen was an unproven commodity when the Cardinals traded him. He was a one-year starter. People still thought he had something left in the tank, but they were able to get a second-round pick for him.

The Cardinals were. But with Darnold playing three years in the NFL already, I think they'll probably get less value. I think a third-round pick makes a lot of sense here. I know a lot of people who are not San Dron leaders would say he's not very accurate. He's not really a leader in the locker room, so to say. But from all I've read, I mean, he has had no weapons around him.

He's had no offensive line, no defense, a horrible coaching staff for three years. I mean, why not take a shot on a guy who's younger than Joe Burrow, Stephen? I mean, he's still a young guy. Like, he could be a really solid guy for a year or two at the Colts. If it doesn't work out, like you mentioned, we move on to the 2022 season, pick up that fifth-year option, see what happens there, compete with Jacob Eason next year. That could make a lot of sense to me.

I mean, looking at all these trades right now, Stephen, I mean, it really feels like to me if the Colts don't make a move in free agency, if they don't move up in the draft, it kind of does feel like Sam Darnall is the most realistic guy on this list. Yeah, Yeah. I, that's, I think that it makes a lot of sense to make a move for Sam Darnold. If the compensation is right. Yeah. You know, if the Jets are looking for a first round pick, then no, I mean, shoot,

the Colts wouldn't trade their number 21 pick for Matthew Stafford, who's a much more proven commodity and would be, would have been a perfect fit for, for Frank Reich system. My number two on this list is a trade up in the draft for one of the, the top four or top three quarter or three to two to four quarterbacks. Cause let's be real. Trevor Lawrence is going number one overall to Jacksonville Jaguars. Unless if, you know, somebody just blows them out of the water,

but I just don't see that happening. So my rationale is a trade-up for probably, again, looking at number six, definitely within the top 10. The trade-up option, the reason why this one is my number two is because that means Chris Ballard believes that this is the right guy for this team. He's been pretty steadfast in his belief, saying he's not going to just move up for, he's not just going to draft a guy. He's going to draft the right guy for this team. And that's been his mantra this every single press conference he's had.

He's not going to force the position he's going to get the guy that that really will will do well in this system with this team with this locker room who's not going to upset the culture my number one target i feel like really fits the colts is probably trey lance um you know you've heard rumors that they're really big on Justin Fields as well. And those are my two guys. If either of those guys are there in that 6-10 range, the Colts are going to – I feel like Chris Ballard might make that move and make that jump. And the reason is you get a guy on a rookie quarterback that Chris Ballard

believes in, that he believes is the right guy for this team, and is going to put them in the best position to win short-term and long-term, which is something that Jim Irsay focused on in his press conference when he took questions. He was talking about the, he not only wants to win now, but he wants to win 15 years from now and make this transition kind of like what they did with Peyton, what they did with Andrew Luck or what they expected to do with Andrew Luck. And so that's where I would look at it as my number two option is to trade up in the draft just because at that point, Chris Ballard feels like he's getting the right guy in the draft. Built Bar is the best tasting protein bar ever. They have 18 amazing flavors and they're all covered in 100% chocolate and soft and easy to

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for your first deposit. BetOnline, your online sportsbook experts. Peacock and William is our national nfl show with nfl analyst brian peacock and former nfl scout matt williamson the host of lockdown's peacock and williamson every monday through friday brian and matt give you the national perspective all around the nfl covering all the latest news and it's on every team every game and move around the nfl get your picks previews and much more every weekday with the peacock and williamson podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Totally lockstep in agreeing with you there, Stan. I feel like right now this is probably the most realistic one. That's actually

number one on my list is trading it from the draft because kind of the opposite of running out at this point kind of just laid it out the last 20 plus minutes for you guys. Like, if they don't sign a German veteran quarterback, if they don't believe in Jacob Eason, if they don't believe in J.B. Bursette, and if they don't make a trade for a guy like Matt Ryan post-June 1, or if they don't believe in Sam Darnold as a realistic option,

it's kind of all your chips in on the 2020 NFL draft, in my opinion. It kind of really feels that way. I know Steven has a really intriguing scenario for number one on his list, and that really could be like the DeForest Buckner 2.0 scenario we could talk about here in a minute, too, Steven, with what could be another quarterback on this list. But to me, I feel like 2021 draft is the most realistic option because like you just laid out there Justin Fields reportedly JMV has said multiple times and Kevin Bones also backed

up that the Colts are interested in Justin Fields who knows they can get up and get him but he's like to me really feels fits a lot what Chris Bauer wants he's a leader he's very tough he has this really similar mindset to Phillip Rivers where he's a leader in the locker room he's a leader. He's very tough. He has this really similar mindset to Phillip Rivers where he's a leader in a locker room. He's accurate. I know a lot of people say he's not that accurate, but to go back and watch a lot of his stuff. I mean, he has a really beautiful ball, a lot of arm strength, same with Trey Lance, just a roller prospect only played one year at North Dakota state, but he was very, very gaudy numbers. North Dakota state in his one year.

We all know Ed Dodds, his GM went and watched Lance's only game this year for the North coast state Bison. So those are my two guys as well as Zach Wilson. I wouldn't rule out as well either because he just such an intriguing prospect. I know Daniel Jeremiah is in love with Zach Wilson. He has him to go number two overall in this draft class. I know Dean Brugler as well at the athletic really loves Zach Wilson. If Bauer likes Wilson, I would not be opposed to that as well. Really just looking at those spots again, real quick, Stephen,

number three with Miami, number five in Cincinnati, number six in Philadelphia, and honestly I think number seven Detroit makes some sense now. I mean, if the Lions want to, you could get, let's say the Colts trade up and move their 2022 first-round pick plus a third-round pick and number 21 overall, they move up to seven. That means the Lions would have three first-round picks

in next year's draft. I mean, if I'm Brad Holmes, the new gm there that's really intriguing to me yeah that's a really good point um we've kind of focused on detroit possibly taking a quarterback there um because that's kind of what they've signaled but if if holmes is is comfortable with Jared Goff and he plays well for Detroit, then why not trade out and get that extra third round pick or third round one pick in 2022 for a team that needs to acquire talent and acquire players? That's kind of a perfect scenario. So I think that's a really important thing that you point out there

is the Detroit Lions. At 21, you're still getting a pretty solid player there. You're still going to be able to get an edge rusher. You're still going to be able to get a wide receiver there. You're still probably going to be able to get a pretty good, this is a really deep left tackle class class which is part of the reason why i think chris ballard was reluctant to part with 21 in the matthew stafford trade um so that's that makes a lot of sense honestly if they're moving up there to detroit um and it's not going to cost quite as much to move up to seven as it would to six so instead of sending possibly that second round pick 54 overall to Philadelphia, you might be able to get away with sending 84 over to Detroit to get up there. So my number one option on this list, and it's one of those things where the reason why this

is number one is because I just don't know how this team's going to make it work. But my number one option is Dak Prescott, who is an unrestricted free agent coming into the season, going into this offseason. He is a top eight quarterback in the NFL, and you almost never see these guys hit free agency. The interesting thing with Dak Prescott is his contract. So last year, the Dallas Cowboys tagged him, put that franchise tag on him. So they would need to put the second franchise tag on him. And that's going to be valued at about $38 million for Dak Prescott, unless they agree to a long-term extension. Looking at the Dallas Cowboys salary cap situation right now, they have an estimated cap space of $17 million. And so they need to come up with $20 million in cap space. And the majority of their guys on this roster, they've got, let's see,

six guys on this roster making over $12 million a year. So they're going to need probably at least four, if not five of those six guys to take a pay cut and restructure their contact. And the other part about this is two of those top guys, almost three of those top guys, four of them, wow. I'm just looking at the Dallas Cowboys cap situation. So if they cut DeMarcus Lawrence, he's got a cap hit right now of $25 million. But if they cut him, then it accelerates and is a dead cap hit of $44 million. So you can't do anything with him.

You have to try to restructure. Amari Cooper, he's a cap hit of $22 million, but a dead't do anything with him. You have to try to restructure. Amari Cooper, he's a cap hit of $22 million, but a dead cap hit if he's cut or traded of $28 million. So again, doesn't help them to do anything. Zach Martin, who's number three on their list, has a cap hit of $17 million. He's a dead cap hit of $16 million. So you barely get anything from there. Tyron Smith is the only one that really makes a decent amount of sense. Then you've got Ezekiel Elliott, who $13 million cap hit. You cut him or trade him, it's $25 million dead cap. So then you've got Lael Collins, who's 12 million and he costs a little bit more in dead cap. So a lot of those guys are just washes or you're actually adding more money onto your cap

if they try to cut or trade them. So Dallas, they have to restructure at least four of these guys to come up with, four of these guys to come up with about $20 million in cap space. And can they do it? Of course they can do it. The NFL is notorious about having this cap situation and somehow teams magically get under. But they're also picking at number 10 overall. And Jerry Jones really likes this flair. He likes these quarterbacks that are able to move around and make plays with their legs and everything like that. And Dak Prescott can do that, but he's not flashy like some of these other quarterbacks are.

And if Dallas can move up in the draft or a quarterback falls to them, I wouldn't be surprised to see them potentially move it. I don't think Dak Prescott's going to sign the franchise tag. And so I, at least he's not going to sign it initially. And so I don't, I just don't know what Dallas is going to do. And if Dak Prescott becomes available for the Colts, I think he's number one. I'd be remiss not to mention Deshaun Watson. Obviously, he's 1A on this list, but I still think there's absolutely no chance that the

Houston Texans trade him within the division. The one caveat I'd say is the Texans put out a statement saying it would cost, or sources close to the Texans say it would cost at least two round ones, two round twos, and two players. Interesting thing is obviously Chris Ballard in his discussions with the Detroit Lions, it was picks and players. And so it's clear that Chris Ballard is willing to move players. I just don't see the Texans wanting to make that move within the division to have Dallas, to Sean Watson come back and destroy them twice a year, every year, and make them look

silly for making that trade. That's just, it's just not a move that's going to happen. As a fan, I would love it if it did. As a realistic person, it's not going to happen. Yeah, with the Dallas situation, I have to really quickly go through that. I mean, obviously a big down on their watch. I imagine they'll get something done with Dak Prescott because if the Cowboys don't, they're going to be stuck in a pickle here

where they might not be able to get one of those quarterbacks in the draft. They might have to go with a veteran. And I think Dak Prescott's the best guy to do that. I mean, he'll cost a pretty penny for them. I think he's worth top 10 quarterback money. And with the situation that Dallas is in, I think they're going to eventually do that. But let's say they play hardball.

Like Prescott's can't play his hardball here. They don't want to do a transition tag or a franchise tag. Maybe that opens the door here for Chris Bowden to make a tag and trade. I know the last tag and trade looking up here was Frank Clark with the Seahawks. And they trade him to the Chiefs for their first round pick. Why not trade 21 and the 2022 first round pick plus a couple of players if you need to for Dak Prescott. I mean, maybe that can make some sense for both sides.

If the relationship just falls apart like it did for Houston with Deshaun Watson, maybe that can make some sense to me. So really intriguing scenario out there, Stephen. But really quickly, last one I had for you here, looking over this whole list, what we made so far through this top five here, it kind of feels like you're either the Colts are going to make a big move either in the draft or via a trade, or it's going to be you're running out with a veteran or Jacob Eason, you really don't know what's going to happen next. Yeah, yeah, that's pretty much, it's either going to be a big move or you're going to see what Easton's got and that's

kind of that's kind of where I'm that's where my head's at with it I just don't see them making I don't see them making like a like I don't want them to necessarily sign James Winston anything like that like a middle of the road kind of guy I, I see them making a big splash, you know, in terms of a trade, or I see them signing, you know, re-signing Jacoby Brissett or Ryan Fitzpatrick and having him sit behind Jacob Eason. And that's, that's kind of where my thought is on it. Stephen, always enjoy talking with you, man. He's on every week here on Locked on Colts. You can go follow him on Twitter if you're not already at NiceReads. Stephen, go read and listen to his work, as always, over on Stampede Blue. Appreciate the time, Steven.

All right. Thanks, Evan.