Washington Free Agency Shopping: Positional Preview - QB's

Who is going to be competing with Kyle Allen and Taylor Heinicke to start week one for the WFT and beyond?

ASHBURN, Va. -- The NFL's new year is here and that means it's time to go shopping for a quarterback ... a spot the Washington Football Team knows it must improve.

 For the WFT, releasing Alex Smith was completely expected. Taylor Heinicke came out of nowhere to be a playoff shot in the arm and Kyle Allen will try to stay healthy for more than three games in a row. Steven Montez is a distant part of the mix, too.

READ MORE: Scherff Signs ...His Tag

Ron Rivera and his crew will add a quarterback ... but the question is how?

READ MORE: A Front-Office Debate on Scherff?

Will they find a veteran quarterback via free agency? It's not exactly a loaded group of top-end talent but there's a few potentially good choices. 

Note: No Trade or Draft options will be featured here. Just unrestricted free agents. 

The Top Three: 

1. Jacoby Brissett - Indianapolis Colts:  Brissett is 29 years old and coming off a year in which he hardly played, thanks to Phillip Rivers. Just 48 snaps and 17 passing yards. 

That's it? Brissett was very good on third down and with the deep pass in his last full year of playing (2019). ... Two things that many starting quarterbacks struggle with. 

READ MORE: Brissett On Tap? 

Jacoby Brissett was the fifth-best deep passer in the NFL last season. He hit 51.6% of his throws that travelled further than 20 yards downfield. pic.twitter.com/yTLfxzlkH6

— QB Data Mine (@QBDataMine) April 30, 2020

There's no indication that Brissett is a favorite or anything of the sort but if you're looking for a combination of what you'd ideally like, he could offer it. Strong arm, mobility, experience and poise on the money down. 

READ MORE: WFT WR Free Agency Preview

Clearly, he's far from great in other areas so Washington would have to keep the contract reasonable so that they could then develop a quarterback via the draft. 

2. Ryan Fitzpatrick - Miami Dolphins: Will he retire or keep playing? That's the top question for the 38-year old grizzled veteran. He still has mobility and he cut down on turnovers last year before being unceremoniously yanked for Tua Tagovailoa  - a decision that cost the Dolphins a playoff spot. 

Fitzpatrick is far from a long-term answer and strictly a bridge option but he's Harvard-smart and is more than capable of buying time for a drafted QB to develop. 

READ MORE: Fitz to Retire?  Fitz Not Going Anywhere? 

3. Mitchell Trubisky - Chicago Bears: A classic example of why quarterbacks with very limited college experience that are completely over-drafted should, we say, be avoided in the college selection process. 

Trubisky finished reasonably strong last year, and his touchdown-to-turnover numbers are better than most fans and pundits think ... but he's not much of a play-maker. He's not a player who can take you on his back. 

But ... Rivera has mentioned in older interviews that he and the Carolina Panthers liked Trubisky coming out of North Carolina. Is that the way he still feels? 

Other Candidates: Jameis Winston, Tyrod Taylor, Andy Dalton, Colt McCoy, Robert Griffin III, Nate Sudfeld, Joe Flacco, A.J. McCarron.

Final Analysis: It could be about who costs the least for Washington but while we would lean towards Brissett, it feels like Trubisky is going to get an opportunity to save his career. 

Our Pick: Mitchell Trubisky