The 2022 NFL off-season might have been the craziest off-season in NFL history. The amount of starting QB changes was unprecedented, and that doesn’t even include the Jimmy G situation which is unresolved, or the monster wide receiver trades!
All of the major changes will be detailed below, but in general it is hard to truly know what to expect in this upcoming NFL season. That is why it is helpful to have a tool like OddsJam that has all of the NFL odds on all major sportsbooks for you to compare and find edges.
QB Changes
Of course, there is no place to start other than all of the QB changes, since these will obviously have the biggest impact.
- Russell Wilson traded to the Broncos
- DeShaun Watson traded to the Browns
- Carson Wentz traded to the Commanders
- Matt Ryan traded to the Colts.
- Baker Mayfield traded to the Panthers
- Mitch Tribusky signs with the Steelers
- Marcus Mariota signs with the Falcons
- Big Ben retired
To summarize, that is 5 QB trades (which means 10 QB changes), 2 signings which will lead to new starters, and one QB legend who retired (and one who retired then unretired). That is madness!
To start with the biggest names first, it can’t be overstated just how badly the Denver Broncos needed some sort of life at QB. They have been drowning in QB purgatory ever since Peyton Manning retired and they won the SB in his last year. The names that have gone through Denver is a sad, sad state of affairs that include Trevor Siemian, Joe Flacco, Drew Lock, Paxton Lynch, and Brock Osweiler. As I said, sad.
Russell Wilson joins a Broncos team that is loaded with weapons, too. He gets to throw to an awesome trio of receivers in Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, and Tim Patrick, along with two talented running backs in Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams. The Broncos will need to shore up their offensive line, but this has the makings of a potent offense.
The DeShaun Watson situation is a sad one for the state of the NFL and especially the Browns, so there won’t be too much analysis there. Only to say that he is likely to be suspended for the entirety of the 2022 NFL season. Since the Browns just traded Mayfield to the Panthers, they are looking to start Jacoby Brisset for the majority of this upcoming season.
Matt Ryan to the Colts is interesting, depending how much Ryan has left in the tank. It can’t be overstated just how badly the Colts wanted to rid themselves of the Carson Wentz situation, so it is hard to know how much of a benefit the Colts will receive from an emotional standpoint.
Speaking of Wentz, that trade to the Commanders has the makings of an absolute disaster. Wentz, who has been accused his entire career of being a bad teammate who is hard to deal with, goes to the biggest trainwreck of an organization in all of professional sports. Wentz + Dan Snyder in Washington and I see no fathomable scenario in which this doesn’t blow up in smoke.
The last trade to mention is Baker Mayfield to the Panthers, which really doesn’t move the needle in any real way. It is just a sad, sad QB room in Carolina with Mayfield and Sam Darnold. It is understandable why the Panthers made this trade, who have a legitimately talented roster outside of the hole at QB, but Mayfield is a minimal upgrade from Darnold at best.
Lastly, there are the two signings to touch on, but admittedly won’t have much of an impact on this upcoming season. Trubisky to the Steelers is somewhat interesting, if only because the Steelers have a Super Bowl caliber roster and head coach surrounding him. With that said, it is rare to see a QB as bad as Trubisky has been in his career magically become good even with a year off. And Mariota to the Falcons only matters because the Falcons might be the worst team in the entire NFL in 2022.
Big Name Wide Receivers on the Move
Aside from the massive QB movement, there were also two household name receivers who had previously been stalwarts on their respective teams who were traded away for monster hauls and proceeded to sign monster contracts with their new teams.
Of course, I am talking about Tyreek Hill, who was traded to the Dolphins, and Davante Adams, who was traded to the Raiders.
It was pretty surprising to see two teams that are square in their Super Bowl window to trade away their best offensive weapons, but you have to give them credit for cashing in and re-loading the cupboard of assets. Overall, Mahomes and Rodgers should be good enough to keep the Chiefs and Packers in contention.
