When Super Bowl LIX ends, the focus can quickly shift to 2025, the precursor to an offseason that figures to be as entertaining as it is wild. While neither of the participants in today's game, the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, have quarterback questions, plenty of teams do.
It appears we are facing another offseason filled with QB drama and changes. Here is a snapshot look at some of the key passers with futures up in the air:
- Matthew Stafford intends to play in 2025, sources have said, with his arm and body feeling good after a solid season that saw him lead the Rams to the playoffs. The Rams would welcome him back, as well. But it's unlikely that Stafford would play for just $27 million in 2025 after playing for $40 million last year. Plenty of QBs have taken pay cuts late in their careers. And it does sound like Stafford will be reasonable. But where it lands remains to be seen.
- Could Kirk Cousins be the highest-paid backup QB in NFL history? According to GM Terry Fontenot, it's possible, with him saying, "We are very comfortable moving forward with (Cousins) as backup." Sources say there has been no communication between the two sides since the season ended, and really, there is nothing to discuss. Could they still trade him? Hard to imagine, with Cousins having a no-trade clause and preferring to be cut. Either way, Atlanta has until the fifth day of the new league year on March 16 to make a decision about him, and if Cousins is on the roster after that, he's guaranteed an additional $10 million in 2026 along with his $27.5 million in cash next year. Don't be surprised if Atlanta takes the entire time to make a call.
- Steelers chairman Art Rooney II said recently he’d like to re-sign one of the team's free-agent quarterbacks, and sources say it's still undecided whether that'll be Russell Wilson or Justin Fields. Wilson, 36, finished last season as the starter and has made clear he wants to stay in Pittsburgh. Fields, 25, threw just two passes after being benched in mid-October and might prefer a fresh start if he's not assured he'll return as QB1. It's possible another veteran QB becomes available that would entice the Steelers from moving on from both players. Otherwise, Pittsburgh is likely to have Wilson or Fields back on a short-term deal while also continuing to seek a long-term answer, potentially through the draft.
- The Vikings are in an unusual spot, with Sam Darnold, a 27-year-old Pro Bowl quarterback coming off his best season, and J.J. McCarthy, a 22-year-old first-round pick in 2024, coming off a preseason knee injury that wiped out his rookie season. The focus is constructing the roster in a way that ensures they can put a championship-caliber team around whoever is under center. And just as with Cousins last year, it only takes one team to offer Darnold a contract that the Vikings simply don't feel comfortable matching. If the Vikings and Darnold can't work out a deal before March 4, the franchise tag -- or even a tag-and-trade -- are among several options. But it's too early in the process to know where this ends. McCarthy, who had a full repair of his torn meniscus in August and an additional procedure in November, is expected to begin football drills in the next few weeks and should be ready to roll by OTAs in May. If Darnold leaves, the Vikings will add a veteran insurance policy, with Daniel Jones among the logical options after spending the last half of the season in Minnesota.
- The Seahawks have said nothing to dissuade the impression they're all-in on Geno Smith, who is entering a contract year at age 34 and is set to have his third offensive coordinator in three seasons. Seattle likely will address his deal, which is set to pay him $25 million in 2025, putting him at the lower end of the veteran starter pay scale.
- (EDITOR'S UPDATE: After this article was published, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday that the Jets and Aaron Rodgers appear headed for a split, which would end his two-year run in New York.) The Jets and Aaron Rodgers have been in discussions about his future and a decision on whether the four-time NFL MVP returns to New York could come as soon as this week, per sources. New Jets head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey have great respect for Rodgers, a Super Bowl champion and probable first-ballot Hall of Famer whose two seasons in New York so far have been a mess of injuries and underwhelming results. He's 41 years old and looked it for much of 2024. But keeping Rodgers would give the Jets' new regime optionality in free agency and the draft by relieving some of the pressure to find an immediate answer at the most important position. If Rodgers stays, he'd almost surely have to take a pay cut from his scheduled 2025 base salary of $37.5 million. (Several decorated veteran QBs -- Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees -- all took pay cuts at the end of their careers.) Rodgers likely also needs to commit to being with the Jets during the offseason program to learn a new system under first-time offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand, something that would benefit all parties.
