The biggest storyline out of Sunday is that the quarterback landscape in the NFL just changed dramatically. Two of the biggest names in the league went down with injuries.
Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger suffered an elbow injury in a loss to Seattle. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin announced Monday morning that Roethlisberger will have surgery and miss the rest of the season. New Orleans’ Drew Brees suffered a right thumb injury in a loss to the Rams. Brees reportedly will have surgery and is expected to be out for about six weeks.
In this QB Watch, we’ll examine what Brees’ injury means for the Saints and how Roethlisberger’s injury will impact the Steelers as we examine three quarterbacks who are trending upward and three trending down.
Trending up
Teddy Bridgewater, New Orleans Saints
In the offseason, Bridgewater turned down an offer to sign with the Miami Dolphins where he could have been the starter immediately. He stayed with the Saints, who made him the league’s best-paid backup quarterback at $7.25 million this season. That’s looking like a fortuitous decision by Bridgewater. The Dolphins are in total disarray. More importantly, Bridgewater will get extensive playing time with the Saints because Drew Brees will have surgery on his right thumb and is expected to miss about six weeks. We’ll discuss how Bridgewater fits the offense in just a minute. But there’s another story line with much deeper implications. This could be an audition for Bridgewater to revive his career and show he can be the heir apparent to Brees, 40.
Bridgewater didn’t look great Sunday. He completed 17 of 30 passes for 165 yards, and the Saints were held without a touchdown for only the third time in the Sean Payton era, which began in 2006. But Payton knows quarterbacks as well as anyone, and there’s a reason why he made sure the Saints kept Bridgewater around. This offense is designed for Brees, and Bridgewater certainly is not Brees. Payton may have to make some tweaks to his offense.
But Bridgewater doesn’t have to be Brees. He just needs to be competent. The Saints still have plenty of other talent and, at least so far, the rest of the NFC South isn’t looking all that strong. As long as Brees isn’t out for the entire season, Bridgewater just needs to keep the Saints afloat until the face of the franchise comes back. Bridgewater showed lots of promise in his first two seasons in Minnesota. Then, he suffered a severe knee injury and missed the entire 2016 season — and he has barely played since. Bridgewater will get a lot of playing time now, and this could determine if he’s got a chance to regain a permanent starting role in New Orleans or elsewhere.
Mason Rudolph, Pittsburgh Steelers
Rudolph didn’t even get into a game as a rookie last season. But, now, it’s suddenly looking like the Oklahoma State product could be leading Pittsburgh’s offense for the rest of the season. Veteran starter Ben Roethlisberger will undergo surgery on his elbow and will miss the remainder of the 2019 season. That’s obviously a huge blow to the Steelers, who are 0-2.
But this is a good opportunity for Rudolph to show what he can do. He didn’t look bad Sunday. He completed 12 of 19 passes for two touchdowns and one interception and almost led the Steelers to a comeback victory against Seattle. The Steelers have talent on offense, so Rudolph could be stepping into a good situation.
Perhaps more importantly, this could be a turning point in Pittsburgh history. Roethlisberger is 37, and he’s talked about the possibility of retiring several times in the past. Perhaps this could be the final straw. Maybe Rudolph will be the long-term answer for the Steelers, and maybe he won’t. We’re about to find out.
Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers
Remember all that talk early in the preseason about Garoppolo not looking so sharp in the preseason as he attempted to come back from a major knee injury? Forget about that. The 49ers are 2-0, and Garoppolo is playing efficiently. He was solid in the opener against Tampa Bay, but even better Sunday against Cincinnati. He completed 68 percent of his passes and threw for three touchdowns in a 41-17 victory. At the moment, Garoppolo is the early favorite to win Comeback Player of the Year.
Trending down
Eli Manning, New York Giants
It’s not that Manning is playing so terribly that he should be benched – under normal circumstances. But these are not normal circumstances. The Giants used the sixth overall pick in this year’s draft on Daniel Jones, and it’s clear they view him as the eventual replacement for Manning. It’s becoming obvious the Giants are going nowhere this year. Maybe they should make the switch to Jones right now and see what he’s got. But it might be better to stick with Manning just a bit longer. If Jones starts 14 games with such a bad team around him, the Giants could run the risk of ruining him forever.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins knew Fitzpatrick wouldn’t challenge for MVP honors when they signed him. To put it simply, the best-case scenario for Fitzpatrick is to surround him with a good team, and he can be a decent game manager. But the Dolphins aren’t even remotely close to being a good team. In fact, they could be historically bad. They’ve lost their first two games by a combined score of 102-10. Fitzpatrick has thrown for one touchdown with four interceptions. This disaster is not totally Fitzpatrick’s fault. The Dolphins are terrible in just about every area. So, if you already know you’re going nowhere this year, why keep starting a 36-year-old quarterback? It’s time to start second-year pro Josh Rosen.
Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
The guy who views himself as Superman has looked anything but super in his first two games. In fact, Newton has looked terrible. There’s no resemblance to the guy that has won an MVP award and has taken the Panthers to a Super Bowl. He’s yet to throw a touchdown pass and has been sacked six times. In Thursday night’s loss to Tampa Bay, offensive coordinator Norv Turner decided to take the ball out of Newton’s hands and called for a direct snap to running back Christian McCaffrey on a crucial fourth down late in the game. The play didn’t work. That’s an indication the Panthers know something is wrong with Newton. Maybe he’s not fully recovered from offseason shoulder surgery. Or maybe he’s washed up at 30. But if Newton’s shoulder is an issue, the Panthers should sit him down until he’s healthy. If he truly is healthy now, it’s way too early to think about benching him. Besides, the alternative is Will Grier, who was a third-round pick for a reason.
Pat Yasinskas has covered the NFL since 1993. He has worked for The Tampa Tribune, The Charlotte Observer and ESPN.com and writes for numerous national magazines and websites. He also has served as a voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
