Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: Is Another Veteran Quarterback Really a Possibility?

Episode Date: January 4, 2023

By nearly all accounts, the Indianapolis Colts need to select a quarterback early in next spring's NFL Draft. However, are there any current NFL veterans that they may want to sign or trade for this offseason? Who might be the best bridge quarterbacks to start over an under-developed rookie?Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOColts?sid=YouTube📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFLFollow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com (@ColtsOnFN), and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, and @LockedOnColts!Today's episode is brought to you by Ultimate Football GM. Ever dreamed of becoming an NFL GM and managing your football franchise? Then this game is definitely for you! To download the game just visit; ultimate DASH gm DOT COM or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds, and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!PrizePicksFirst-time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONUltimate Football GMTo download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This offseason is going to be all about the quarterback position for the Indianapolis Colts and specifically for what most people assume is a rookie. However, is there a viable way for yet another veteran to come in? Let's get into it. You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. Thank you all for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

Today's show is brought to you by Ultimate Football GM. Ever dreamed of becoming an NFL GM and managing your own football franchise? Then this game is definitely for you. To download the game, just visit ultimate-gm.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON, all caps, in the game. I'm Jake Arthur, writing solo today. Zach will be back with us later this week. You know the pair with us later this week. You know the pair of us from HorseshoeHuddle.com, of course.

Today we're going to look at the quarterback landscape across the NFL and whether or not there are any options for yet another veteran to come in for the Colts, either as a bridge for a rookie or as a long-term solution. We've mentioned several possibilities before. We've been getting more and more into draft guys lately we've had a few episodes on that um but i mean the colts track record lately is they want guys that are proven and have been in the league before so uh we'll see how that goes before we get into anything though uh i just want to talk about the DeMar Hamlin situation first. When we released the Tuesday morning episode, that game, that Monday night game was actually in progress.

So we didn't really know what was going on at the time, but really would be remiss to not just, you know, address and give our thoughts before moving forward. So just, you know just a routine play. There didn't seem anything special about it, but for whatever reason, something happened to Hamlin, and he collapsed on the field. The Bills later told us he went into cardiac arrest. They had to perform CER and an AED on him, and they were able to revive him.

Luckily, he was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. But as of the last time I checked, you know, at the time he wasn't breathing, he was on 100% oxygen. He's down to 50% on his own. It sounds like everything is trending better. So that is absolutely the greatest news you can think of. I'm sure a lot of us were just kind of sick knowing what happened on the field. I personally, there probably hasn't been an hour that's gone by since it happened that I haven't thought about it. I've just been around the game of football for a bit now, covering a lot of these guys. I've been writing online and doing podcasting and stuff for about 10 years now. And fortunately as a credentialed member of the media, you know,

you get in the locker room, you get to know some of these guys a little bit beyond just, you know, seeing them on your TV or seeing them on the field. And man, these guys are just people too, you know, um, as, as much as we idolize these guys and think they're untouchable and nothing like us really there. We, a lot of us have a lot of in common with them. Uh, I've, I've talked to countless players, you know, about just stuff about our kids and just everyday stuff that, you know, the music we listen to just stuff you can, you can absolutely relate to.

So, um, it's, it's really tough to see that happen to just another you can you can absolutely relate to so it's it's really tough to see that happen to just another person in general just really scary to see and you know again as as a member of the media I think that's one thing that really bothered me about like Skip Bayless's initially his tweet you know basically saying that the NFL you know kind of putting Hamlin's situation second to the game need to be played because of playoff implications. A lot of people in the fantasy football community kind of letting their thoughts be known as well, which I mean, yes, a lot of us are in fantasy leagues with the championship implications with that game, but that just absolutely does not

matter at all. The NFL, for what it's worth, has said they don't intend to, you know, make up the game this week. And, you know, the last I saw, who knows if they're going to reschedule it or just cancel it altogether. I would imagine a lot of that kind of has to do with Hamlin's status and how he improves, hopefully. But just really more than anything, it's okay not to have to share your opinion on everything because the thing with Bayless, and I don't even like to give him airtime on this or necessarily

talk about him on our show, but whatever apology attempt that was that his show put out on, what is this, Tuesday morning now, that missed the mark. You know, there was just no accountability taken, and we've got to quit engaging with that guy and giving his show ratings because that was just disgusting. So I'd love to put that in the rear view now. I don't want to talk about Skip Bayless anymore because this is far from the first time he's done something that was just abhorrent.

So next we'll go ahead and talk about the future of the quarterback position with the Colts like we promised. And if something may happen in the free agent or trade market yet again, why don't you guys go ahead and get started by practicing for the move with the Colts with the mobile game Ultimate Football GM. If you've ever dreamed of becoming an NFL GM and managing your football franchise, then this is for you. Manage every strategic aspect of your team, play through the season, and lead your team to glory. You're responsible for hiring the right coaches and coordinators, training players, making draft picks, navigating your franchise

through free agency and the draft, all the ups and downs of a season. As Colts fans, you've seen ups, you've seen downs, and really you guys are a perfect test audience for this game because probably going to have to hit the reset button on this Colts team at some point. It's looking like Lockdown Colts listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON in all caps in the game store. That's LOCKEDON in all caps. So make sure to check it out today. To download the game, just visit ultimate-gm.com or look it up on the app stores. That's ultimate-gm.com.

Ultimate Football GM, start your dynasty today. Okay, so looking at some of the possible veteran NFL quarterback options, if you guys didn't check it out on Horseshoe Huddle today, Drake Wally put out a piece that was three dark horse candidates that are possibilities for the Colts. Not certainties or even really high likelihoods, but they are possibilities. And we'll touch on all three of those players here, actually. So I wanted to break this up into guys, multi-year options, you know, basically guys who you might be confident in bringing in for two years or more, and then guys who are just bridge options. Basically, you're going to draft a guy who's maybe not ready as a rookie and you just need this veteran to get you by for a year. Looking first at the multi-year options, and I'll kind of go through the guys who seem more likely first.

So Derek Carr with the Raiders, he was recently benched in favor of Jarrett Stidham. And by all accounts, it's looking like his time with the Raiders may just be over when the offseason hits. He took a leave from the team. He obviously does not seem to be happy. The team may be ready to move on as well. The Colts have checked in on Derek Carr before within the last one or two offseasons. So there has been interest there.

He's trying to be a decent player. Like you may be able to win a championship with him if everything around him is right but for his entire career the Raiders defense for example has just been pretty awful so can you win with him probably but you're going to have to give him a lot of firepower the Raiders probably would be unlikely to just outright release him I guess they'd more than likely want to try and get something for him and trade him. We obviously know the Colts are into trading for quarterbacks. So that is always a possibility.

If they want to go the high ceiling route, someone who could be their starter for years to come, possibly, that's Jordan Love from the Green Bay Packers. Excuse me. So he's been stuck behind Aaron Rodgers for a couple years now obviously the situation there is weird because Rodgers is just his future is in flux every offseason is he going to retire and go host Jeopardy is he going to come back what's he going to do is he going to force a trade somewhere? So for the Packers, they just kind of have that uncertainty every year. Jordan Love, if he's able to, it might be a good time to just get out and go somewhere

where they're going to say you can compete to be the starter. Now, the Colts' affinity for Love, or I guess at least Chris Ballard's a couple years ago, might have been a little overblown. You know, he just kind of acknowledged he was a good player. The Colts didn't intend on trading up for him in that draft. They obviously didn't. They stayed put and got Michael Pittman Jr. That doesn't mean that maybe the Colts or any other teams haven't maybe seen the necessary development from Love that they wanted to see at this point

because he has gotten in a little bit of action recently. Aaron Rodgers got banged up. Love saw some action last year as well. So that's really an audition for the rest of the league as well. Maybe they've seen enough from him to take a chance. Now with that said, I don't think I'd be comfortable with giving up anything more than like a fourth round pick for a guy who's that big of an unknown. Because you're bringing him in to potentially be your starter, but he just hasn't done enough in the league to really warrant high draft picks. So that's a questionable one.

This next one seems incredibly unlikely. I'm only listing it because it's technically an option. Zach Wilson with the Jets just has not panned out at all. Doesn't even really look very promising. Doesn't seem to take much accountability from some blunders earlier in the season. The Jets seem to say they're not planning to move on from him, although there's been reports to the contrary. I don't see it happening, but it is a possibility, I suppose. Now, these next two guys are probably even more unlikely than Zach Wilson. Lamar Jackson is coming up on free agency.

If I'm the Ravens, I'm doing everything possible to get this deal done. And I believe Jackson represents himself, doesn't have an agent. So I don't know how much more difficult that makes things. Maybe that makes him quicker to accept something. I don't know. But you've got to think him and the Ravens are going to work something out eventually. And then Daniel Jones, the guy who just carved up the Colts last week for the Giants. There were reports coming out after the game that the Giants are going to offer both Jones and Saquon Barkley multi-year deals.

The Giants is obviously a big market. They're back in the playoffs. He's playing the best football of his career. So I don't see why he wouldn't return back to New York now so that's pretty much it all I've got for the multi-year potential options the next ones are the bridge guys for example if in the first round let's say you're going to get someone like Anthony Richardson who's very raw he could play right away if you needed him to do a certain package, like if you plan on him running the ball 15 times a game, but he's not necessarily a polished passer

and you just need that veteran to get you through a year. So some of these guys you'd have to trade for. Some of them are hitting free agency. Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold are a couple guys set to hit free agency. Maybe run them for a yeararnold are a couple guys set to hit free agency. Maybe run them for a year, see how it goes. There was obviously plenty of chatter with Mayfield this offseason before the Colts landed Matt Ryan. Darnold, there was rumblings there before as well, but I just, I don't know. He's kind of playing some of the best ball in his career now too for the Panthers. Geno Smith is a really interesting one because what do the Seahawks do with him? He had the best year of his career this year, but he's getting up there in age around 30 or so.

You know, is it fool's gold? Is it enough to invest in him in a multi-year deal? I don't know. That one's tough. Mike White is one I've seen come up a couple times before. He's pretty unproven as well. He's got less than 10 starts in his career, and it's been a pretty mixed bag. Touchdown-interception ratio is not exactly where you'd want it to be,

but he seems to have something that teams really like. I guess that just moxie, that leadership kind of got some gunslinger to him too. The Jets and Colts played each other last year, and he actually did quite well against them before he got knocked out with an injury. Jimmy Garoppolo is another example. He comes up every year tied to the Colts. He had that shoulder injury last offseason that kind of put him on the shelf for a while, and the Colts weren't going to wait on that at all.

And kind of hard to invest in another shoulder injury after all the Andrew Luck stuff. So Aaron Rodgers, I've written about that one before because the Colts got listed as the betting favorites to land him if he were to be traded. That's an enormous contract. And like I mentioned earlier, he's just kind of always up in the air on his future.

The Colts are clearly not ready to win right now. So why someone like Rodgers would want to come here, that's pretty questionable. But still, that's one I've gotten questions on before. These next two guys, probably a little more optimistic, or not optimistic, but realistic, I would say. Jameis Winston, for one. I don't know what's going on in Saints land, but Winston lost the starting job when he got hurt to Andy Dalton. For my money, Winston would be a much better option. Offers a lot more upside. The Colts, I guess,

were prepared to bring him in and be the quarterback if things fell through with Matt Ryan. So there's legitimate smoke there. And then Marcus Mariota, the Colts have checked on his availability in the past as well, as far as my understanding goes, when Mariota was still with the Raiders. So those are two guys definitely bridge options you don't want to really start and free for more than a year or so both of them lost their starting jobs this year Mariota with the Falcons he gave way to Desmond Ritter of the Falcons they're the rookie from Cincinnati so what can you? It's not great options out there. I think more than anything, this just shines light on the Colts need to draft a quarterback in the first round

who's ready to play. I don't think any of us know how this order is going to go anymore. Bryce Young seems like the unanimous number one overall pick, but there's been rumblings of Will Levis being someone that teams like a lot. CJ Stroud just had a great performance over the weekend in the college football playoffs. So who knows how those three shake out? I think it's pretty likely the Colts land one of those three guys. If they don't like them, I don't know what's wrong with them. They're just never going to take a swing for a quarterback. But for my money, I really think they they got to get one of those three guys. The Colts obviously are looking to fill or replace several spots in the organization

this offseason, but for people like you and me, we can turn to somewhere like LinkedIn Jobs to do what we got to do. As a small business owner or hiring manager, you know that the success in 2023 all depends on the team members that you surround yourself with. That's why you have to check out LinkedIn Jobs. With LinkedIn Jobs, you can hire qualified candidates more efficiently by matching open roles with people who have the skills, values, and experiences to help you achieve your goals. They go beyond the resume data as well by using insights from your job post, company, and their 875 million member profiles to put your post in front of the most qualified candidates. Identify the most qualified candidates on LinkedIn Jobs and connect with them fast and for free. That's why small businesses rate LinkedIn Jobs number one in delivering quality hires versus the leading competitors.

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focusing on this last regular season game against the Houston Texans. But you also know us. We're about to go into full off-season mode like we've been telling you. Again, Zach will be back with us soon. Thanks for hanging with me. As you can hear, I am getting sick. It feels like I'm losing my voice. So that's nice. Maybe I'll get my voice arrested soon. Follow Locked on Colts, Jake Arthur NFL, and Zach Hicks too on Twitter.

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