It’s a lot easier to lose in the NFL than win. Obviously, no one likes to lose, but the NBA has laid the groundwork for tanking to achieve future success, and it’s slowly being picked up by the NFL. To briefly clarify, tanking refers to the act of building a roster that can’t win simply because they lack talent. This is done in hopes of getting better draft picks to later restock the team.
It’s a strategy that certainly works, but it makes games harder to watch. This is especially true late in the season when it seems that teams would rather lose than win. Now, in the offseason, tons of teams are dumping their best players for anything that they can. They know that losing now will lead to winning later. This is smart, but it’s not fun for anyone who likes competion. The NFL tanking problem is real.
The Trevor Lawrence Effect
Trevor Lawrence has been on NFL radars since his high school days at Cartersville. At 6’6″ with a rocket arm, he already checked all the physical boxes, and after a freshman campaign at Clemson where he won the National Championship, there was no doubt that he’d one day be the first overall pick. One year later, he came up one game short of doing so again, but Lawrence will get the chance to avenge that loss next season.
As a rising junior, Lawrence still has one more year of college to go. But, for some NFL scouts, they’re perfectly content with waiting to have a chance at landing the most anticipated prospect since Andrew Luck.
The Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and possibly even the New England Patriots may be some of those teams. At this point, their starting QBs are currently slated to be Teddy Bridgewater, Gardner Minshew, and Jarrett Stidham, respectively. One could argue that those guys deserve opportunities, but as fans watch Cam Newton, Jameis Winston, and Andy Dalton remain un-signed, serious questions are raised about who’s really trying to win.
The Jags may seem all in on Minshew, and maybe the Panthers really do want to give Bridgewater a shot, but look at the talent surrounding them and it’s way more clear that they’re all in Lawrence instead.
Lack of QB Chatter
The worst part is that there have been no reports of any team trying to bring in those three quarterbacks. They’re not the most talented players, but to say that they’re not deserving when guys like Brian Hoyer, Kyle Allen, and XFL quarterbacks like P.J. Walker are finding new teams is ludicrous. We’re left linking these players to teams when it seems that there are fewer spots for them every single day.
Of these three teams, the Patriots are the only ones linked to possibly taking a quarterback in the 2020 draft. Most mock drafts have the Jags and Panthers selecting defensive players, and not a single report has come out that indicates that either team would like to move up and get a QB when they’re greatly positioned to do so.
Instead, they’re going to watch the Bengals, Chargers, and Dolphins take quarterbacks. They’ll wait for their turn next year. It’s very unlikely that a team will make a huge QB commitment two years in a row. Going into the 2020 season, the Jags and Panthers will be at the front of the line, as teams who haven’t done so in several years.
Why Tanking Sucks
No real fan likes to see their team lose. Yes, it’s nice to find your way into good draft picks. However, throwing away an entire season to try and get a franchise quarterback is no fun. It’s the reason why fewer and fewer people watch the NBA regular season. Football could head down the same path.
Maybe it’s an overreaction, but seeing the Jags dump Calais Campbell and A.J. Bouye, some of the last remaining pieces of their AFC Championship defense, for nearly nothing, is frustrating.
Yes, they’re looked at as salary dumps, but why dump your best players when you can retool a roster and try to make the playoffs? With more playoff spots than ever, nearly half the league will play in a playoff game next season. However, some teams would rather wait.
So convince yourself that these teams are trying to win and that these QBs deserve a shot to start. But when you look around and realize what’s left on the free agency table, and what these teams are giving up, you should feel bad for real fans who have to sit through a miserable year of meaningless football.
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Stay safe during these tough times.