In the interest of keeping us all aware of what is available in NFL as far as current backup QBs either on a team or in FA, I will be updating this post on a regular basis (at least once a week). I personally assume JP Losman will be kept on for the remainder of his contract, but not everyone agress, therefore this post will do double duty.

My hope is by creating this FanPost we will be able to keep all theories as to what we should do for backup QBs during the 2008-2009 season relatively contained.

This post came about due to the post by Brian regarding Sullivan's rant about JP Losman, and that made me start asking myself some questions:

1. Who are the backups in the league right now?
2. Are they (as a group) any good?
3. Would any of them be willing to be Trent's mentor if we traded Losman, or even if we didn't?
4. Would they fit in with this team and organization?
5. Lastly, what would it take for us to pry them away from their current team or get them in FA?

I will list them by team first, and then all of the current FA QBs as well. I will pick the 3 guys whom I think best answer questions 2-4 and will take a guess on the 5th question on those 3 players.

After that, I would love to hear what other people think about the guys whom I choose, and whom they feel best answer the above questions in order to help this team out.

Question 1-

Arizona Cardinals- Kurt Warner and Brian St. Pierre

Atlanta Falcons- Chris Redman, Joey Harrington, and DJ Shockley

Baltimore Ravens- Kyle Boller and Troy Smith

Carolina Panthers- Matt Moore and Brett Basanez

Chicago Bears- Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton (Neither man should ever be a starter for gods sake)

Cincinnati Bengals- Jeff Rowe, Jordan Palmer (Carson's little bro), and Ryan Fitzpatrick

Cleveland Browns- Ken Dorsey and Brady Quinn

Dallas Cowboys- Brad Johnson and Richard Bartel

Denver Broncos- Cullen Finnerty and Darrell Hackney

Detroit Lions- Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton

Green Bay Packers- Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn

Houston Texans- Shane Boyd, Alex Brink, Quinn Gray, and Sage Rosenfels

Indianapolis Colts- Jim Sorgi and Josh Betts

Jacksonville Jaguars- Cleo Lemon and Todd Bouman

Kansas City Chefs- David Greene, Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard (I don't know if Herm can agree on any one of these guys to be the starter).

Miami Dolphins- Chad Henne, John Beck and Josh McCown (Parcells will go with Josh McCown as his starter the 1st season before deciding between Beck and Henne next year is my take on the situation.)

Minnesota Vikings- Gus Frerotte, John David Booty, Brooks Bollinger, and Kyle Wright

New England Patriots- Matt Cassell, Matt Gutierrez, and Kevin O'Connell

New Orleans Saints- Tyler Palko and Mark Brunnell

New York Giants- David Carr, Jared Lorenzen, Andre' Woodson, and Anthony Wright

New York Jets- Erik Ainge, Kellen Clemens and Chad Pennington (Who knows which guy Mangelded will choose to be his sacrifical lamb this season)

Oakland Raiders- Andrew Walter and Jeff Otis

Philidelphia Eagles- AJ (Mc)Feely and Kevin Kolb

Pittsburgh Steelers- Charlie Batch, Dennis Dixon, and Jared Zabransky

San Diego Chargers- Casey Bramlet, Billy Volek, and Charlie Whitehurst

San Francisco 49ers- Shaun Hill, J.T. O'Sullivan, Drew Olson, and Alex D. Smith (No one is sure if Hill or Smith will win, someone may be cut after TC is halfway through)

Seattle Seahawks- Dalton Bell, Charlie Frye, and Seneca Wallace

St. Louis Rams- Brock Berlin and Trent Green

Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Sam Keller, Chris Simms, Luke McCown, Josh Johnson, Brian Griese, and Bruce Gradkowski (Needless to say, the Mecca of backups, lets all make a pilgrimage!)

Tennessee Titans- Kerry Collins, Ingle Martin, and Paul Thompson

Washington Redskins- Colt Brennan, Todd Collins, and Sam Hollenbach

FAs- Daunte Culpepper, Trent Dilfer, Tim Hasselbeck, Kelly Holcomb, Byron Leftwich, Jamie Martin, Craig Nall, Tim Rattay, Marques Tuiasosopo, and Chris Weinke

Question 2-4:

Which three men above do I feel would best be able to help us as a team, and be a mentor to Trent.

1. Trent Dilfer- He has won a Superbowl, he is an older player who understands he will never be a starter again and is fine with that. He has mentored several younger players over the years and does not resent doing this, in fact he seems to enjoy it. Last year filling in for Alex Smith he passed for 1,166 yards with seven touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 55.1 passer rating.
2. Charlie Batch, Pittsburgh- He has been in the league for 10 years now, and he knows he will never be a starting QB again in the league. He has had a solid career (used to be the starter for Detroit in 1998-2001) and he could mentor Trent of the rigors of being a starting QB in a very bad situation like he was in there in Detroit. In the one game he started in 2007 he threw for 218 years, completed 51.6% of his throws, had 2 TDs and 2 INTs for a rating of 69.0 in that game. In 2006 filling in when Ben was hurt so much he threw for 492 yards, 5 TDs, no INTs, completed 58.5% of his passes for a rating of 121 in 8 appearences.
3. Kerry Collins, Titans- He has been in the league for 13 years, and has done and seen it all, partying, booze and being torn apart by his fans for anything and everything. He would be able to mentor Trent not in only in the game of football, but also about life in general and how it is to be a proffessional athlete in this day and age. He would also be a good choice since he is not inclined to be a starter anymore. In 2007 he threw for 531 yards, completed 61.0% of his passes, no TDs, no INTs and had a rating of 79.9. Considering the lack of any offensive weaponry that the Titans had/have these days (they make us look good to be honest, only VY keeps them in games). I think he would be a very very solid pickup as our veteran player/mentor for Trent, especially since he can still toss the ball.

Question 4:

What would it cost us to get any of the above three players?

Trent Dilfer is the easiest, just offer the man a decent backups contract 2-3 seasons for 1-1.5 million per year would get it done, probably a million in signing bonus to seal the deal.

Charlie Batch would probably be the toughest person to obtain of the ones I chose. The Steelers already have two younger players whom the just drafted to fight it out over the backup spot, and that is also the reason they may not want to part with Batch. I think if we offered them JP along with say a 4th or 5th rounder we might be able to swing a deal. The reason I feel this way is because JP would give the Steelers the vet player needed to get Dixon and Zabransky a year in their system before the vet could walk. Since JP's contract runs out in 2009, this could be appealing to them while still leaving them a vet presence even after Batch is gone.

Kerry Collins is easier than Charlie, but no where as easy as Trent to get. But since the Titans just drafted a young player in Thompson this season, and Ingle Martin is now entering his third season they may be willing to part with him. We would have to give up a 4th at the least or a package of a 5th and 7th to obtain him. In this scenario there would be no discussion of moving JP as Tennessee has no need for him due to Martin being on the roster. Though they might be willing to talk turkey on a Losman swap, I just don't think it is a likelihood.

Outlying Gamble I didn't mention this before, but it is more of a joke than anything else. Offer JP and a 5th rounder to the Bears for Sexy Rexy Grossman. The Bears get a QB in a contract year who is a heck of alot tougher than their current guy and they have Orton under contract. Or we offer JP for Orton straight up, which would be one of the more..... interesting things to ever see mentioned on ESPN.

Anyhow, thats what is available on the market, and three guys whom I think could come in and been good veteran mentors for Trent, and a funny trade proposal that will probably give some people the fits. Whether thats of laughter or gas, I'm not sure.