The NFL is a quarterback’s league these days, and the news out of training camps and the first two preseason games for AFC North teams has been focused on quarterbacks-both on and off the field.
Pittsburgh has the most compelling story line at the quarterback position happening on the field. The two/three headed competition for the starting assignment has become very interesting. With no incumbent following Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, the spot was touted to be wide open, but early on in camp free agent signee Mitch Trubisky seemed to have the upper hand.
Once the games began, however, his hold on QB1 appears to have become somewhat precarious. Returning backup quarterback Mason Rudolph continues to be…Mason Rudolph-a backup quarterback that you can use in a pinch. The big story has been first round draft pick and hometown hero Kenny Pickett.
Pickett played well in the preseason opener against Seattle, completing 13 of 15 passes for 95 yards and 2 TDs, then followed it up last weekend at Jacksonville by going 6 of 7 for 76 yards with a touchdown. He has yet to throw an interception and led the Steelers on an impressive drive at the end of the first half against the Jaguars, covering 63 yards in 42 seconds despite a porous offensive line.
I agreed with the consensus early on that Trubisky would open the regular season as the starter, and he has played well enough in preseason to hold onto that spot. I don’t know of anyone, except perhaps Pickett himself, that thought he would come out of the chute playing this well. I think Head Coach Mike Tomlin would prefer to open with Trubisky, and that he is stubborn enough not to be swayed by the groundswell of excitement in Steeler Nation about Pickett.
Another complicating factor is that porous offensive line. Pittsburgh played some of their hopeful starters last Saturday and it wasn’t pretty. The Pittsburgh media and fans are screaming for the team to bring in reinforcements almost as loudly at they are clamoring for Pickett to start.
My guess is that Tomlin with open with Trubisky, but he may be on a short leash with Pickett appearing to be ready to contribute right away. There has been discussion about trading Rudolph, but they would be lucky to get a 7th round pick for him. He knows the system, he’s not terrible, so I think he fills that QB3 role as well as anybody.
Speaking of complicated, that takes us to the Cleveland Browns and the Deshaun Watson mess.
Watson is now out for the first 11 games, slated to be eligible to return in Week 13 vs. Houston-what a coincidence. He must submit to counseling and adhere to the counselor’s directions in order to be reinstated. Since Watson only briefly indicated any culpability in this situation while the case was under appeal and recanted that as soon as a settlement was reached, that would be a massive shift for him.
I have studied Watson closely over the past few months and have written about him extensively elsewhere. I believe he is a very complicated and troubled man. He has helped a lot of people with philanthropic work, and this is the first time he has faced consequences for negative actions. I believe he has convinced himself he has not done anything wrong and is the victim here. This would make him a threat to commit other inappropriate acts, at least until he actually faces and deals with himself, although I’m sure he will be much more discreet.
The Cleveland Browns traded so much draft capital and committed all of that guaranteed money to him because he is an outstanding quarterback. They think all will be forgiven if they win enough games, and they are probably right. This is a calculation I suspect any team desperate to win and needing a top QB to do so would make. If the Ravens did not have Lamar Jackson, do you think they would not at least have talked to the Houston Texans about a deal? I suspect they would have.
Browns fans and Cleveland media are campaigning for the team to trade for San Francisco’s QB Jimmy Garoppolo and his $24 million contract. The Browns have the cap room to take it on, but why waste it for 11 games of a better than average QB when the receiver corps he would throw to is so thin?
If I were in their brain trust (I’m perfectly happy that I’m not) I would go with Jacoby Brissett, concentrate on running the ball and playing defense, both which they should do well. I’d see if my team could hang around and make a late push for a playoff spot with Watson. They would do well to roll that cap space over to next year, when Watson’s cap hit leaps from $9,395,500 to $54,993,000. Next year would make a lot more sense to go all-in than this year, but then again, the Browns are not known for making sense.
The Ravens know who their QB will be, but for how long? Negotiations with Jackson continue to be conducted very privately (good) and slowly (bad). Baltimore owner Steve Biscotti was one of the first to complain about Watson’s $230 million guarantee because he knew that would impact the team’s negotiations with Jackson. The market, as they say, has been reset. The franchise tag could be in play for him next season, and it could be into 2023 before there is any news on Jackson’s contract status since he has said he would not negotiate during the season. The fans have been a lot more anxious about his contract status than he has, at least publicly. Fortunately, I don’t see this having any impact on the 2022 season.
Cincinnati had a scare when QB Joe Burrow needed what has been later revealed to be an emergency appendectomy cause by a ruptured appendix. He is well on his way to recovery, participating in practice once again and he should be ready to start the Bengals opener against Pittsburgh. One of my favorite scenes from training camp so far this year was Burrow, still not back at practice, joining his teammates in running sprints by driving his golf cart up and down the sidelines. Nice touch.
Notes From the North
The Ravens’ Justin Tucker is clearly the best placekicker in the NFL, but the gap is closing, especially within the division where he has some serous competition. Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell, who briefly shared highest paid kicker status with Tucker until the Ravens extended his contract, has made 90% or better of his kicks the last three season, including 8 of 9 from 50+ yards in 2021. This is especially impressive since Acrisure Stadium (formerly Heinz Field) is a notoriously tough place to kick.
Cincinnati has found their kicker in second-year player Even McPherson. He made two walk-off field goals in last year’s playoffs and connected on nine 50+ yarders during the season. The Browns drafted Cade York from LSU in the fourth round this year, making him the highest drafted kicker since 2016. He is showing the kind of leg that could put him in the class of Boswell and McPherson.
The advantage remains with the Ravens, but the gap has closed significantly.
I listened to the Bengals pregame radio broadcast before their game with the Giants. They talked a lot about the Giants defensive coordinate Don (Wink) Martindale, who spent the last ten seasons in Baltimore. Broadcasters Dan Hoard and Dave Lapham brought up Joe Burrow’s success against Martindale’s defense last season three times that I heard during their broadcast. They neglected to mention the Ravens’ depleted personnel, particularly in the second game when Burrow threw for 525 yards where the entire starting secondary was out injured.
I found that quite annoying and borderline unprofessional, especially for two broadcasters who have been doing this for a while. I suppose that when your franchise has never won a championship, any accomplishment can get magnified.
Next time, I’ll be previewing the opening week of the season and looking at how the AFC North rosters were put together, evaluating injuries and cuts.
Until then, please follow me at Twitter @jimjfootball. After all, I’ve won as many Super Bowls as the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns combined.
Jim Johnson spent most of his life in Maryland, growing up with the Orioles, the Colts, Terps, and later Ravens. He started his sports writing career as “The Courtmaster,” covering the Terps and ACC hoops and was a frequent guest on Bob Haynie’s old WNST show and other sports talk across the region. He is currently in his second run at BSL. After previously covering Maryland and Big Ten Football, he now writes about the NFL, primarily the action in the AFC North. Jim covers both current and historic stories, seeking perspective and having fun in the process.