NFLTR Review: 32 Questions For 32 Teams: Part I

By
Logan Ulrich
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The final game of the 2021 season is now in the books, which means it’s time to look ahead to 2022. In this issue of NFLTR Review:

  • We go team-by-team analyzing the biggest question for each, starting with the bottom 16
  • The obstacles to the Rams running it back
  • Power void in the NFC?

32 Questions For 32 Teams: Part I

We started this column at the beginning of the 2020 season, meaning we’re going into our second full offseason of NFLTR Review. Part of the reason for that is how positive of a response there’s been in terms of readership this week, so if you’re someone who gives us a click each weekend, let me just say a quick thank you. It’s much appreciated. 

One of the perks of Year 2 is there’s a reference to look back on, a time capsule of sorts of where each team was last season. Once again, we dive into the biggest question each NFL team faces going into this offseason, along with what we were asking about them at this same time last year. Some teams made progress. Others are right back in the same place. 

Jaguars

2021: What does Urban Meyer coaching an NFL team look like?

2022: Can Jacksonville stop self-sabotaging?

Whew. We can answer that first question now, and it was not pretty. Meyer’s short NFL tenure probably takes the cake as the worst stint for a college to pros jump for any NFL coach ever. 

Now Jacksonville has to pick up the pieces and move on. Yet it doesn’t seem like they can completely get out of their way. New HC Doug Pederson has a good reputation with quarterbacks and a Super Bowl ring. But the search process to get him was completely dysfunctional and there’s still a lot of scrutiny on the decision to retain GM Trent Baalke. It signals the problems with the team go higher up than the head coach. 

The Jaguars got an incredible gift by lucking into the No. 1 pick the year Trevor Lawrence declared. So far, they haven’t been able to get out of their own way. If that doesn’t change, there are still levels this organization can sink to. The bar for incompetency is deep. 

Lions

2021: Is there more than meets the eye with Dan Campbell?

2022: Can they take another step forward? 

I personally thought the Lions would be a scrappy team in 2021, though I thought it would translate to more wins. Injuries eroded the thin margin for error they had and it was obvious most weeks they didn’t have the talent level of their opponents. An 11-6 record against the spread shows they punched above their weight class, though. 

Moral victories don’t count for anything in the NFL, however. The Lions will have another offseason to progress in what is pretty clear is viewed on their end as a multi-season rebuild. Campbell and his coaching staff got generally okay marks but the difficulty level will be higher in 2022. So will expectations, even if no one in Detroit blocks off their weekends during the playoffs. 

Texans

2021: How ugly will this get?

2022: What is the long-term vision? 

To answer 2021’s question: it got really, really ugly. The Texans were largely a disaster last season and they’ve continued to confound this offseason. So what’s next? Well at some point it seems like they finally will cave and trade QB Deshaun Watson. He counts too much against the cap to carry through the whole season like they did last year. 

After that, perhaps the future of this team will start to emerge with a little more clarity. They’ll have picks and resources to use to start to shape the team in whatever vision GM Nick Caserio has. Perhaps that won’t be any more encouraging than what we’ve seen so far but at least Houston will be going somewhere after being stalled out in neutral for the past year. 

Jets

2021: How does the new identity take shape?

2022: Was Zach Wilson’s rookie year a fluke or an omen?

It seemed like there was zero doubt about Wilson from a large segment of the football world last year. He was pretty uncontroversial as the No. 2 pick and was anointed the starter right away for the Jets. He then proceeded to have an awful rookie season, one that he was at least able to clean up a little after a midseason stint on the bench due to a knee injury. 

It still sows a pretty large seed of doubt into the Jets’ rebuild, a rebuild they’ve been trying to pull off for what seems like a decade. Rookie quarterbacks who play as poorly as Wilson did and then turn into competent starters, let alone stars, are the exception, not the rule. New York cannot give up on Wilson now, especially after how they handled Sam Darnold before him. They’ll spend this offseason beefing up his protection, his receiving corps and the defense, hoping that’ll solve the issues. We’ll find out once he takes the field again in 2022. 

Giants

2021: Can they keep rising?

2022: Is there any hope for Daniel Jones? 

New Giants HC Brian Daboll should have some margin for error, especially given how quickly the Giants have moved on from his three predecessors. That will come at the expense of Jones, who in all likelihood faces an audition for his job this coming season. New York has to decide on his fifth-year option this May and the prudent choice seems to be to decline it. 

Jones will still enter 2022 as the starter and Daboll and his staff will do everything in their power to set him up for success. Daboll was hired due in large part to his role in Bills QB Josh Allen’s stunning development after all. It’s the last excuse for Jones, however. Either he blossoms under Daboll, or the Giants have to face the facts that they missed. 

Panthers

2021: Can they find a franchise quarterback?

2022: Can Matt Rhule find a QB/save his job?

Rhule enters the 2022 season with perhaps the hottest seat of any coach in football because of his complete mismanagement of the quarterback position so far. In this space last year, we wrote that quarterbacks don’t just fall into your lap. Unfortunately for Carolina, they ended up passing on both Justin Fields and Mac Jones to trade for Darnold. We don’t have to know if Fields or Jones are going to pan out to know they would have been better bets. 

Now Rhule has limited options once again. The free-agent market is thin, there’s tons of competition on the quarterback trade market for limited options, and why would any of them want to tie themselves to a lame-duck coach? This draft class has five or six potential first-round picks, but all of them would probably rate behind the two Carolina passed on last year. 

You hate to write a season off before it begins but it’s hard to confidently predict a way out of this for Rhule. 

Bears

2021: Can they find a quarterback?

2022: Was Justin Fields being held back? 

All the optimism following the Bears’ trade up in the draft to land Fields began to fade as Matt Nagy did his thing. Fields lost valuable reps in camp due to Nagy’s quarterback competition and when he was inserted into the lineup, it was apparent the system was not tailored to his strengths. Fields had some fun flashes but there was a lot of bad football in between. 

Now there’s a new coaching staff and front office, and while they don’t have the same ties to Fields, they should still be invested in making sure he has what he needs to be successful. The hope in Chicago is that a lot of Fields’ struggles can be chalked up to rookie growing pains and poor offensive coaching, and that both have now been fixed. 

Falcons

2021: Are they rebuilding or reloading?

2022: What other big names will be leaving? 

New Falcons GM Terry Fontenot and HC Arthur Smith inherited one of the worst cap situations in the entire league a year ago, taking over a top-heavy, aging and underperforming roster. They started chipping away at that by trading WR Julio Jones but the pruning is not done. Atlanta cut OLB Dante Fowler this week and there’s a good chance WR Calvin Ridley is ultimately traded. Star DT Grady Jarrett is in the final year of his deal and the owner has publicly broached the idea of a succession plan for QB Matt Ryan. More changes are coming, even if not all at once. 

Broncos

2021: Can they get out of the shadow in the AFC West?

2022: Can they find the final missing puzzle piece, the quarterback?

In a dream world, Packers QB Aaron Rodgers would ask for a trade to Denver and the Broncos would ride another Hall of Fame quarterback in the sunset of his career to a championship. That’s looking increasingly unlikely. So what is Denver going to do, with a roster that looks primed to contend if only they could find a solution at the game’s most important position? They’re another team that elected to pass on a quarterback last year and might regret it now. They’re picking No. 9 once again, will they make the same decision? Or is there another veteran quarterback on the trade market who could be on their radar? 

Seahawks

2021: Is there real fire behind all this smoke with Wilson?

2022: Will they blow what looks like a second chance with Russell Wilson? 

Given how last offseason went with the weird dynamics between the Seahawks and Wilson, a lot of people expected a 7-10 backslide in 2021 to be the nail in the coffin between the two sides. Instead, things have bubbled down to a simmer. Wilson has been quiet, while the team has shown no inclination to want to trade him. It seems more and more like Wilson will be in Seattle for another season. 

What happens if 2022 goes poorly, though? What happens if the Seahawks can’t dethrone the Rams or Packers or capitalize on Brady’s retirement? Things may have calmed down with Wilson now. But it does not seem like it’s over. 

Commanders

2021: Can they find a quarterback?

2022: Can they find a QB? 

Once again, a consistent theme emerges of the search for a franchise quarterback, a Sisyphean task for some teams. Washington signed Ryan Fitzpatrick, but lost him before the end of the first half in Week 1. Taylor Heinicke got a season as the starter, and while he showed a lot of pluck, he ultimately is just too limited to be more than a bridge starter or top-tier backup. Perhaps in past years but the bar has been raised too high at quarterback. 

Commanders HC Ron Rivera has talked about being active in the trade market, so it’ll be interesting to see how Washington approaches the offseason if no big names shake loose. They’re a common team linked to 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo, and some beat writers have speculated about a reclamation free agent like Raiders QB Marcus Mariota or Bills QB Mitchell Trubisky. They also pick 11th in the draft which gives them a shot at what qualifies as a top QB in this class. 

Vikings

2021: What is this team’s ceiling?

2022: What will they do with Kirk Cousins? 

In the sci-fi novel Dune, Paul Atreides describes the experience of seeing the future like being in an ocean, with some outcomes in obvious, clear view and others obscured in a shifting mass of peaks and troughs. In the end, he achieves his goals over others with the same ability by avoiding “the clear safe path that leads down into stagnation.” 

That’s the path the Vikings find themselves with Cousins. We’ve seen Cousins on two different teams in a 10-year career. We know what he is, a prolific passer who is formulaic to a fault. And short of catching lightning in a bottle or getting a massive discount on his deal to build out the rest of the roster, a Super Bowl with Cousins seems unlikely. 

The Vikings seem willing to continue on the safe path. In this case, that would be an extension for Cousins to create cap room. However, Cousins has the leverage and the desire to insist on another fully-guaranteed deal, which leaves Minnesota in the same place in another few years. Stagnation. 

Browns

2021: Are they for real?

2022: Will they need to get back on the quarterback hamster wheel? 

Unfortunately, the 2020 season was not the start of the Browns becoming a winning franchise, at least not right away. Injuries and bad quarterback play, sometimes related, submarined their season in 2021 and now there are once again questions about the quarterback in Cleveland as Baker Mayfield is set to play out his fifth-year option. 

Some teams have brought in competition in this scenario. Others have let it ride and dealt with the results. One way or another, the Browns should have a definitive answer on their quarterback situation after this season. 

Ravens

2021: Can the passing attack evolve?

2022: Is getting back to the playoffs just a matter of getting healthy? 

The Ravens were one of the most unlucky teams in football last year with how injury-riddled they were. They lost almost entire position groups at times as well as key players like QB Lamar Jackson. They ended up walking the edge of a knife all season, and their luck in those close games turned over the final stretch as they lost six straight to miss the playoffs at 8-9. 

Perhaps it will be as simple as getting everyone healthy and making a run against a fourth-place schedule in 2022. But if things go poorly again in 2022, it could be a sign of deeper problems. 

Dolphins

2021: Watson or Tua?

2022: Can Mike McDaniel turn things around for Tua Tagovailoa?

The PR coming out of Miami since firing Brian Flores and hiring McDaniel has been very pro-Tua, which should be a strong indication the Dolphins are no longer in the running for Watson (though things change quickly in the NFL). Now the focus shifts completely to Tagovailoa and his development, as his fifth-year option will be due in May of 2023. 

There are a fair amount of parallels between Tagovailoa and McDaniel’s former starter in San Francisco. Both Garoppolo and Tagovailoa are twitchy passers who have the ability to throw with good touch and accuracy. Arm strength isn’t elite for either by any measure, and both can be prone to bouts of turnovers. Still, Garoppolo has had stretches of being incredibly efficient for the 49ers. The hope is Tagovailoa can replicate that, eliminate the turnovers and prove to be better at managing the pocket than Garoppolo. On that last count, there’s some reason for optimism. 

Colts

2021: Can they find a quarterback?

2022: What will they do at quarterback? 

It’s interesting to think about where the Colts would be right now if Andrew Luck hadn’t retired right before the start of the 2019 season. Had he stayed healthy, he probably would have been right in the mix of the cage brawl that is the quarterback landscape in the AFC. Still, the Colts had a shot last offseason to land a long-term replacement after band-aiding the position for a couple of seasons. They prioritized Carson Wentz over Matthew Stafford, and they’re paying for it now. 

Like a lot of teams this offseason, the Colts have a need at quarterback and not a lot of options that look great on paper. This will either require a scouting or coaching job that borders on alchemy. That, or just getting lucky. 

This Week In Football

  • Congratulations to the Los Angeles Rams for winning the Super Bowl after going all-in. They get about a week to enjoy things, then they have to look to the future. And while the Rams aren’t going to drop off the face of the earth, there are real challenges. 
    • It doesn’t seem like the retirement of HC Sean McVay is going to be one of those, despite rampant speculation sparked by the man himself. That’s for another year, probably in the not-so-distant future. For now, he probably will become at least top three in pay among NFL coaches on an extension later this offseason. 
    • Rams DT Aaron Donald, though, might actually be seriously considering retiring. He can still play at a high level, but with a ring to go with his three defensive player of the year awards, he doesn’t have much else to prove. We’ve seen legends walk away from the game of their own choice before their body breaks down and makes it for them. It could also be part of an effort to get a new contract. 
    • Rams WR Odell Beckham’s first Super Bowl comes tinged with bittersweetness, as he tore his ACL for the second time in his left knee. Beckham was set to cash in as a free agent, potentially from Los Angeles, after a successful second half of the season rehabbing his image and showing he could still be productive. Instead, the standard 9-12 month rehab timeline will wipe out most if not all of his 2022 season. Two silver linings; Dr. David Chao (aka ProFootballDoc) says a second straight ACL repair can actually go smoother; this probably ensures Beckham is back in L.A. on at least a one-year deal, though it would be interesting to see if there’s mutual interest in a two-year deal that would pay him to rehab and then make up for it in incentives in 2023. 
    • Keeping the band together is priority Numero Uno for the Rams. That will probably start with an extension for QB Matthew Stafford. He’s still under contract but a new deal does double duty of creating cap flexibility in 2022 and rewarding him for a job well done this past season. That extra money will no doubt be put toward convincing OLB Von Miller to run it back, though it sounds like he’ll be motivated to see what the open market holds. 
  • At this point last year, the news had already broken that Stafford was going to be traded to the Rams. We’ve had comparatively little action on the quarterback carousel this offseason despite the speculation it would spin out of control. The biggest domino we’re waiting on is Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and that should be coming relatively soon — like within the next couple of weeks. The Packers have made it abundantly clear they want him on the team and are willing to reset the QB market on a short-term deal. As far as which way he’s leaning, no one knows for sure. But it’s worth noting the Packers are bringing back 68-year-old Tom Clements as QB coach, who was an assistant with Rodgers for most of his career in Green Bay. He retired last year, and it’s probably fair to guess he didn’t forgo that to coach Jordan Love. 
  • The only movement we’ve really seen at quarterback so far has been Buccaneers QB Tom Brady’s retirement, which obviously leaves Tampa Bay in a bit of a lurch. They have a roster built to contend and suddenly no quarterback. They’re leaving the lights on for a Brady return, understandably, but they’re also looking at how they can add another heavy hitter at quarterback into the mix. In terms of talent on the football field, Texans QB Deshaun Watson might be the best option, but that would require being comfortable with his legal situation and any consequences that stem from the 22 allegations of sexual misconduct. They could also try to lure Seahawks QB Russell Wilson through backchannels, but that would require Seattle being willing to give him up, to another NFC team no less. 
  • For his part, Watson is rumored to be updating his list of trade destinations for 2022 and the Bucs and Vikings are two teams who have supposedly piqued his interest. I say supposedly because Watson’s agent denied that report, but that could just be for PR reasons ahead of a deposition Watson is scheduled for this month. 
  • The rest of the quarterback carousel is just smoke for now, not a lot in terms of actual fires or action. There was a surprising name added to the watchlist though following an explosive, Super Bowl Sunday report about discord in Arizona between the Cardinals and QB Kyler Murray. It turns out Murray’s decision to purge his Instagram of Cardinals references really was a signal that he was frustrated with the organization. The report also included some nasty anonymous quotes calling Murray’s leadership character into question. Follow-up reports indicated leadership is an area the Cardinals would like to see the former No. 1 pick take a step forward. The backdrop of all of this is that Murray is eligible for a new deal for the first time this offseason. 
  • Other reports from Sunday indicated there is a growing sense around the league the Colts are going to move on from QB Carson Wentz and admit failure just a year after trading a first and third-round pick to reunite him with HC Frank Reich. The only problem is there’s not a clear upgrade available for the Colts. It’s going to be fascinating to see how this plays out, though, because there was no denying Reich and GM Chris Ballard were singing a far different tune about Wentz after Indianapolis’ embarrassing collapse to miss the playoffs than they were after the trade.
  • Last year, the Colts supposedly inquired with the Raiders about a trade for QB Derek Carr before being rebuffed and pivoting to other options. Carr had an excellent season for the Raiders in 2021, racking up passing yards and acting as a steadying force in an intense season that culminated in a playoff appearance. There’s a new regime in town with GM Dave Ziegler and HC Josh McDaniels, but one that appears to arrive with plans to build around Carr, starting with a new long-term deal. That should take Carr off the market, right? Well, a number of reports have mentioned a shorter deal coming closer to $40 million, which sounds like it mirrors the type of deals QB Kirk Cousins has signed with the Vikings. Is that too much for Raiders owner Mark Davis? At least one report intimated it might be, leaving open the possibility talks could break down. Still, at this point most signs point to Carr being a Raider for the next few seasons. 
  • There has been quite a bit of turmoil surrounding Saints WR Michael Thomas for the past couple of seasons, including multiple ankle injuries and setbacks along with clashes with teammates and coaches. So the speculation that New Orleans would shop him on the trade market this offseason was understandable, even if it didn’t make a lot of sense financially. That said, the Saints and Thomas appear to have put things behind them, and the team reportedly plans on him returning in 2022 as their No. 1 receiver. 
  • We’ll wrap up a busy week with a few coaching tidbits. Former Broncos HC Vic Fangio, who was expected to be in high, high demand as defensive coordinator candidate, will instead take a year off of coaching as many veteran coaches have done in recent years after being fired. He should have plenty of options in 2023 when he’s ready to come back. The Bengals inked HC Zac Taylor to an extension through the 2026 season in an obvious move after leading Cincinnati to the Super Bowl. And there may be change bubbling in Kansas City between the Chiefs and OC Eric Bieniemy, as the one-year deal he signed last year is up and he once again was passed over for a head coaching job. As they say, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, so Bieniemy may be wondering if he needs to show he can be successful away from the Chiefs to convince other teams he deserves a shot as a head coach. Yet another hoop to jump through. 

Nickels & Dimes

Quick-hit thoughts and observations from around the NFL…

I struck a bit of a nerve last week with the coaching grades, as tends to happen with that topic. I mentioned it a few times last week but it bears mentioning again. It’s REALLY hard to grade coaching hires in the moment. I mean consider this line from former NFL GM Michael Lombardi that Peter King resurfaced in his FMIA column from when the Rams hired McVay…

“They’re oblivious to their losing culture, therefore they never view their problems in a global sense, instead thinking linearly. They reduce this incredible amount of losing to a simple solution — just get a good quarterback coach, and we’ll be fine.”

King writes that line today goes over like a fart in church. Mercy…

On a more serious note, a lot of the blowback was related to a segment criticizing the league’s diversity hiring efforts. Racism is a pretty polarizing topic these days. But here’s a little more context that might be helpful…

As the wind is blowing today, it looks like Rodgers, Wilson, Cousins, Carr and Ryan all could end up staying put, with Garoppolo the biggest name on the QB carousel who isn’t at risk of being suspended for the season. For the NFC quarterbacks at least, a factor could be how wide open the conference looks now that Brady is retired. Why would Rodgers or Wilson go compete in the meatgrinder of the AFC when they have the inside track to a high playoff seed in the NFC…

The Rams will of course be the team to beat, but attrition is inevitable. Dak Prescott has the best combination of current talent and long-term outlook if Dallas can shed the underachieving label. Similar story in Arizona with Murray. There’s also room for a solid but not elite veteran like Cousins or Ryan, which is what Minnesota and Atlanta could sell themselves on this offseason…

There’s also room for a young gun to take a step forward and establish themselves in the NFC. Someone like Trey Lance, Justin Fields or perhaps even Jalen Hurts…

https://twitter.com/JavierVeg_/status/1494187029344702469?s=20&t=ckaq374KS4PPCt9nyyUM5g

This has 2018 Mahomes scout team tape vibes…

Excellent dive into what changed in the fourth quarter to untrack the Rams’ offense from the Ringer’s Ben Solak. I’ve been critical of McVay for being conservative, and he was. But he deserves credit for making a change before it was too late…

https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/1493342097142779909?s=20&t=pdwvpYjZnDWsfMffzkmEIw

Also, Stafford deserves an incredible amount of credit for this throw. My goodness…

One of the narratives coming out of the game was that Jalen Ramsey got whipped by Ja’Marr Chase. He lost a couple of reps but as a whole, that’s just not true…

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