No easy solutions at quarterback

I posted my free agency primer on quarterbacks today, which came on the heels on Messrs. Silva and Wesseling breaking down linebackers and receivers. The quick conclusion to make after examining the quarterback position: there are no easy solutions available on the market, and there are fewer teams than you think that are desperate for a quarterback.
Byron Leftwich is my favorite player available, and he’ll need a perfect situation to succeed. That’s why he looked good off the bench for the Steelers and not so good for the Vick-less Falcons the year before. With the Vikings going for Sage Rosenfels, the biggest wild cards in free agency are the Bears and Chiefs. Both should be looking for someone to compete to start with their incumbent quarterback.
Other teams, like the Jets and Lions, should be looking for that kind of player, but they could be willing to wait the market out. Not a bad decision.
This is a fluid market, with Matt Cassel, Derek Anderson, and possibly Matt Leinart and Vince Young becoming available near the draft. If you can’t acquire one of those quarterbacks, I suspect there will be serviceable backup-types like Rex Grossman, J.P. Losman, Patrick Ramsey, and Kyle Boller just sitting out there, hoping to get a job. There will be a lot of former first-round picks looking for work this off-season, and not all of them will find it.




