Evaluating a fascinating quarterback market as the 2024 NFL offseason approaches: Who knows where they might be going?

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The past few offseasons have seen a lot of quarterback movement, and 2024 should see more of the same.
Who, where, and how in free agency? Who is exchanged? How many teams looking for a top passer in the 2024 NFL Draft are QB-needy?

Based on discussions with multiple NFL sources, the following is the current situation with the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine just two weeks away and the free-agent negotiating window scheduled to open one month from today on March 11: The Bears have the most important and significant decision to make this offseason.
All eyes are on Chicago because they are the team with the most desirable trade target and the owners of the first overall pick.
As was said on NFL.com on Saturday, the Bears would need to make a historic trade to move the top pick. That suggests Justin Fields would be dealt to create space for the team that selects the top pick, most likely Caleb Williams of USC, who is a special talent. Fields showed his potential late in the season and the Bears should be able to acquire a premium pick for him if everything goes according to plan. What also sticks out is the type of leader he is in the changing room. There should be a lot of activity in this market, with teams like the Falcons—who need a quarterback but might draft too late (No. 8 overall) to select a top pick—and any other team that doesn’t think it can select a top quarterback in the draft emerging as options.

At one point this past season, Sam Howell looked primed to be a franchise QB, boasting the stats to show it. But with a new head coach (Dan Quinn) and general manager (Adam Peters), along with the No. 2 overall selection, it would be a surprise if that’s still the case.

Peters faces one of his largest decisions for the next several years in figuring out how to handle the No. 2 pick. Plenty of teams view Peters’ Commanders as a possible trade-up team to No. 1, with the belief that offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury could be paired once again with Williams. And the Commanders likely will place a call to the Bears to gauge the market and see if a trade is possible.If not, Drake Maye of North Carolina or Jayden Daniels of LSU seem to be their options at No. 2, or they might select a position player and select a veteran like Fields.
It’s all up for grabs for Quinn and Washington, who have an abundance of draft capital and salary-cap space.
The Patriots have the third overall pick, and as they enter the Jerod Mayo era, all signs point to them seriously considering a pick at quarterback, preferably one of the best available.
If Williams is selected first and Maye or Daniels is selected second, New England may select the third quarterback or, if the Patriots are not impressed with the prospect who slides to them, they may trade out with another team
Despite Bill Belichick’s departure, former first-round pick Mac Jones, who dropped from the first spot to the third by the end of the 2023 season, is a candidate for a trade in the upcoming weeks and will probably wind up somewhere else for the 2024 campaign.
The next starting quarterback will be developed in large part by new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, a former NFL quarterback.In terms of quarterback, the Broncos are considering all of their options, including the prospect of resuming negotiations with Russell Wilson in order to restructure his contract and keep him in Denver through 2024.
Wilson’s salary for the upcoming season is fully guaranteed at $39 million. If he remains on the roster on March 17, an additional $37 million is guaranteed for injury in 2025. Wilson and his agent, Mark Rodgers, took the team’s proposal to the NFL Players Association when they were approached by the team during the previous season’s bye week regarding delaying that vesting date. Wilson then went on the record to claim that the Broncos benched him because of money. It’s difficult to see Wilson, 35, playing another down for Denver given the current situation. However, the Broncos owe Wilson $39 million in 2024 regardless, so if better options don’t present themselves for either party, the team may try again to modify the contract if Wilson is willing to stay.
The Broncos will hold draft meetings on Monday and free agency meetings afterward as they assess all available options, as head coach Sean Payton of the team stated this week during appearances at Super Bowl LVIII radio row. Additionally, Denver has Jarrett Stidham, who started the final two games of 2023, under contract for a meager $6 million in 2024. He could serve as a backup quarterback for a young quarterback. Kirk Cousins, who will become a free agent in March for the first time since 2018, is someone the Vikings would like to re-sign. Even though Cousins is entering his 36th season and is expected to have a strong market, Minnesota is considering all of its options in the unlikely event that Cousins decides to go elsewhere.
The Vikings might select a quarterback in the draft and, if the price is too high, try to sign a less expensive veteran in the hopes that he or she develops into this year’s Baker Mayfield. Sam Darnold, a backup quarterback for the 49ers, is one such player. (Minnesota has the eleventh overall selection.)

The fact that superstar receiver Justin Jefferson is also seeking a new contract complicates matters, as negotiations failed to produce a deal prior to the 2017 season. Before signing for the long haul, Jefferson, a Cousins fan, will want to know what the quarterback’s strategy is.

The Vikings likewise have another top forthcoming free specialist, edge rusher Danielle Tracker, and yet again marking each of the three players is presumably ridiculous.