Ranking the Colts quarterback options Rivers is the obvious choice but Bridgewater makes too much sense

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After making the remarkably easy and fortunate transition from to , the suddenly find themselves in quarterback purgatory. They weren't going to stay in quarterback heaven forever. This day was always coming for them -- as it is for the , once retires. It just came quicker than they ever could've expected. When , he put them in a difficult spot. While is one of the league's best backups, he's a low-end starting quarterback. Despite not having a top-end starting quarterback, the Colts have built themselves an otherwise playoff-caliber team. The end result? A 7-9 season that probably put them too far down the draft order to snag one of the top quarterbacks in the upcoming draft. In some ways, it's the worst place to be in. But the Colts are also lucky -- not as lucky as they were when Luck just happened to fall into their lap when it made sense to move on from Manning, but still pretty damn lucky. It just so happens that a bevy of quarterback options are available this offseason, the most in recent memory. The Colts also happen to own only the have more. Which means, they shouldn't be outbid for a quarterback they want. And if the Colts do bring in an upgrade over Marcell Ozuna Jersey Bri sett, they'll enter the season with one of the better quarterback situations considering Bri sett would resume his role as an elite backup. With that in mind, let's take a look at some of the quarterbacks the Colts could choose to pursue. Below, you'll find eight quarterback options for the Colts, ranked (plus one outside-the-box idea). To be clear, they're not ranked by their likelihood of landing with the Colts. You'll find ranked near the top of the list even though . Instead, theses rankings reflect who the Colts acquire. For obvious reasons (I have no idea how the draft will unfold), I did not include any incoming rookies. But if a top quarterback were to fall to the Colts in the draft, they should seriously consider taking him. To begin, let's stay within the AFC South. 8. After getting usurped by and then watching Tannehill spark a playoff run that took the all the way to the AFC Championship Game, Mariota's career has hit rock bottom. He hasn't really pieced together a quality season since his second year in the NFL (2016), when he threw for 3,426 yards, 26 touchdowns, and only nine interceptions, and . Injuries have been an ongoing i sue -- so has erratic play, hence his benching. That's why Mariota ranks low on the list of options for the Colts. But if the Colts mi s on the players listed below, Mariota would be a cheap option. They could let Mariota and Bri sett compete for the starting job. Frank Reich is known for getting the most out of the quarterbacks he works with. Perhaps he could get the best out of Mariota, much like he did with not too long ago. Still, if the Colts settle for Mariota as their only quarterback acquisition this offseason, it'll be a disappointment, because barring a career renai sance from Mariota under Reich, he likely won't be a big enough upgrade over Bri sett to make a tangible difference in 2020 and push the Colts over the playoff hump. 7. With Carr still under contract with the , the Colts would need Oakland to release Carr. They could, in theory, trade for Carr, but that would be a misuse of draft capital. If the Raiders don't cut Carr, the Colts shouldn't even consider him. But if the Raiders do cut Carr -- -- the Colts could bring him in as cheap competition for Bri sett. Carr typically crumbles under pre sure from pa s rushers, but the Colts have an offensive line that ranked (per Football Outsiders) and (per ESPN). So that wouldn't be a huge concern -- I mean, more than it always has been. While Carr is not considered a good quarterback, he's better than Bri sett. He's He might not be enough of an upgrade to push the Colts into the postseason, but he'd still be an upgrade nonethele s. The key is his availability -- rather, if he becomes available. Until that happens, he shouldn't be considered. There are better options out there that wouldn't require giving up a draft pick. 6. Why not transition from one former No. 1 overall pick in Luck to another former No. 1 overall pick in Winston? OK that was a dumb question. It turns out, there are a ton of reasons the Colts should not target Winston in free agency, should the actually let him hit the open market. We all know about the interceptions (a league-high 30 in 2019 and ). He has clear flaws that multiple coaches haven't been able to coach out of him. But he's also 26 years old. He did throw for 5,109 yards and 33 touchdowns last season to go along with those 30 interceptions. He still has upside. At least one team will convince itself that it can be the one to fix him, because if Winston were to eliminate the turnovers from his repertoire ... OK fine, that probably won't ever happen. There's too much evidence to suggest interceptions will always be a problem. But Winston still has potential. It'd be fascinating to see how he'd develop under Reich -- with that being said, Winston did just fail to make the Mark McGwire Jersey leap under Bruce Arians, another renowned quarterback guru. I don't think it'll happen due to Winston's clear i sues, but this would be a fun development, just maybe not for Colts fans. 5. A suming the hang onto Dalton until they can find a suitable trade partner, this would be an intriguing fit for both Dalton and the Colts. Dalton would get to go to a team that has legitimate playoff aspirations and the Colts would get an upgrade over Bri sett that likely wouldn't cost much in terms of draft capital. One could see Dalton finding succe s in Reich's scheme, with T.Y. Hilton becoming his A.J. Green. Of course, the Colts also might want to aim higher. Why waste valuable draft capital on a mediocre quarterback when they have loads of cap space at their disposal to spend on a quarterback who's better than Dalton? While Dalton has often been an average to above average quarterback throughout his career, he's coming off a horrific season that saw him In fairne s to Dalton, he was playing on the worst team in football. Not many quarterbacks would've fared well in Cincinnati. He'd probably fare substantially better in Indianapolis behind the Colts' offensive line. 4. Ryan Tannehill It still seems likely that Tannehill will return to the Titans after sparking a playoff run. But the Titans could also be interested in a free agent quarterback by the name of Tom Brady. If the Titans were to let Tannehill walk, the Colts should be very interested. Tannehill likely won't cost elite quarterback money given how the 2019 season was really the first exceptional year of his career, but if a bidding war did emerge, the Colts have the money to win it. In 2019, Tannehill ranked . He led the league in yards per attempt (9.6) and pa ser rating (117.5). By most measures, he was a top-10 quarterback. It's probably unreasonable to expect him to perform Jedd Gyorko Jersey as well again in 2020 because those are some insanely high standards, but it's not unreasonable to think he'd be a clear upgrade over Bri sett. If the Titans let him go, the Colts should be very interested. 3. Tom Brady but they should be interested. The Colts have the cap space to afford giving Brady a big two-year deal. And they have a good enough roster to offer Brady a shot at making another run at the Super Bowl. Playing in a dome could also help his longevity. While it looks like Brady has declined (understandably, given his age), it's not like he was terrible in 2019 on a lackluster offense. He still finished At worst, the Colts would be getting an average quarterback who'd still represent an upgrade over Bri sett. At best, the better supporting cast in Indianapolis would help Brady re-emerge as a top-10 quarterback. And with a top-10 quarterback, the Colts would likely be a playoff team. Even if it won't happen, it's hard not to see the positives of this hypothetical pairing for both sides. 2. Rivers might not rank No. 1 on this list, but if this list was based on likelihood, I'd put him at No. 1. I think this is the quarterback the Colts will bring in. Finally moving on from the , Rivers, who was never able to push the Chargers over the hump despite coming close on multiple occasions, should be looking for a playoff-caliber team so he has a chance to win a ring before he retires. He'd find that in Indianapolis on a Colts team that is a quarterback away from seriously challenging for a playoff spot. Even though the upcoming season will be his first without the Chargers since he was technically drafted by the way back in 2004, Rivers would find some level of familiarity in Indianapolis with Reich, who was his quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator in San Diego from 2013-15. With Reich, Rivers averaged 4,518.7 yards, 30.7 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions per season. That'd work. The only concern here -- and this is why Rivers is ranked second -- is that Rivers might be on the decline. The supporting cast in Los Angeles last season played a role, but Rivers still struggled through one of the worse seasons of his otherwise Hall-of-Fame caliber career, Turnovers are a concern. He threw 20 interceptions in 2019. But I think Rivers would rebound with Reich and behind that Colts' offensive line. Still, Rivers isn't getting any younger. He'll be 39 when next season ends. Rivers is the best short-term solution to the Colts' quarterback problem, but even if they bring him in, they'd still need to identify a long-term solution at some point in the near future. 1. Unlike Brady and Rivers, Bridgewater is both a short- and long-term solution. In a five-start stretch filling in for last season, he led the to a 5-0 record, including wins in Seattle and Chicago, and against the . In those five starts, he completed 69.7 percent of his pa ses, averaged 7.3 yards per attempt, threw nine touchdowns and only two interceptions, and accumulated a 103.7 pa ser rating. That would work. He's still only 27 years old, which would also work. The Colts lucked their way into Manning and Luck. Now, a former first-round pick, who was on the rise before a devastating knee injury nearly cost him his career, is suddenly available after he proved he's still good enough to start in the NFL. That doesn't mean Bridgewater is as good as either Manning or Luck (he's obviously not), but he'd check two boxes: good enough to help push the Colts over the playoff hump in 2020 and young enough to be around for the long haul. For those reasons, he might not be cheap. Every team in need of a franchise quarterback should be interested in Bridgewater. But the Colts would be able to outbid pretty much everyone else. That's where their cap space comes in handy. I think it makes too much sense for both sides. The Colts get a long-term solution at quarterback. And Bridgewater lands in a good spot with a strong supporting cast. An outside the box idea If the Jaguars are looking to trade Nick Foles to get rid of his atrocious salary, the Colts could make sense as a destination in . Instead of giving the Jaguars anything of real value, the Colts could offer to take on Foles and his contract since they have loads of cap space in addition to getting a draft pick from the Jaguars since they'd be footing the remainder of Foles' contract ( ). Plus, Foles would rejoin Reich, who was the Eagles' offensive coordinator when Foles improbably Andrew Miller Jersey led the Eagles to a championship. I'm not saying this is likely or that either team should do it. I don't really think Foles would be a big enough upgrade at quarterback for the Colts to make serious noise in January, and I don't think the Jaguars should be giving up draft picks just to save money. They need those picks to rebuild (again). But if an Osweiler-like trade were to go down, the Colts could make sense as a trade partner.
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