Author: nfltalk

Late Friday night, after the Las Vegas Raiders shook up the quarterback market by acquiring Geno Smith from the Seattle Seahawks, a high-ranking AFC executive was mentally scrolling through potential landing spots for Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders when he delivered a note of caution.

“I wouldn’t cross the Raiders off yet,” he said. “Let’s see what happens between now and [the draft].”

This is a lesson that was learned across the NFL last season. The Atlanta Falcons signed Kirk Cousins to a massive deal in free agency, leading virtually everyone inside the league to remove them from the 2024 draft’s quarterback matrix. Then the Falcons shocked the world and selected Washington’s Michael Penix with the No. 8 overall pick, and the message to the rest of the NFL became clear: When a team is desperate to resolve a quarterback problem, all bets are off when it comes to the limits of their pursuit. Especially when the owner of the franchise is arguably the most desperate person in the equation.

For now, that’s what keeps Sanders in play in Las Vegas, adding to the growing mystery of his draft stock — which has been speculated anywhere from the No. 2 overall pick, to sliding out of the first round entirely. With that in mind, I polled 12 NFL evaluators, including general managers, heads of player personnel, heads of football operations and others, to share their thoughts on where Shedeur Sanders’ value stands heading into Colorado’s pro day, which is slated to take place as part of the broader Big 12 pro days between March 18-21.

Shedeur Sanders is the biggest mystery of the 2025 NFL Draft. (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports)

The key takeaways …

Don’t forget what happened with the Falcons and Penix last offseason

An NFC general manager spelled out a new normal when it comes to quarterback talent and NFL teams that are willing to throw everything at the problem: You can’t predict anything anymore. The Falcons made the unthinkable strategy more plausible…

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Pete Carroll moved from Seattle to Las Vegas, and Geno Smith is moving with him, too. The Seahawks have traded the veteran quarterback to the Raiders in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick, according to CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones. 

Money was reportedly one of the mains reasons why the Seahawks dealt Smith. The two sides were roughly $10 million apart in negotiations, according to Sports Illustrated. Seattle was hoping to sign Smith to an extension that would pay him about $35 million annually, but Smith’s camp was reportedly hoping for a deal that would pay him $45 million per season. Smith is currently entering the final year of his three-year, $75 million deal. He is the 19th highest-paid quarterback in terms of average annual salary, according to Over the Cap.

Seattle initially offered Smith and DK Metcalf to Las Vegas in exchange for pass rusher Maxx Crosby, but the Raiders shot that down, according to the SI report. The Raiders instead signed Crosby to an extension that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.  

Smith, 34, played under Carroll during the coach’s final four years in Seattle. A 2013 second-round pick who began his career with the New York Jets, Smith spent the last three seasons as the Seahawks’ starting quarterback. He went 28-24 as Seattle’s starter that including helping lead the franchise to a playoff berth in 2022. Smith, who earned Pro Bowl nods in 2022 and in 2023, completed 70.4% of his passes last season.

In Smith, Carroll has a proven, veteran quarterback in tow as he begins his first season as the Raiders head coach. But while the Raiders have found their next quarterback, the Seahawks will have to find their new signal-caller. Seattle is also in the market for a receiver after releasing veteran Tyler Lockett. Metcalf has also requested a trade out of Seattle. 

Here’s our instant trade grades for both…

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While his former team continues to search for Ben Roethlisberger’s long-term successor, Pittsburgh Steelers legend Hines Ward recently compared an up-and-coming college quarterback to Big Ben, his quarterback during eight of his 14 seasons in Pittsburgh. 

Ward, who is currently serving as Arizona State’s receivers coach, recently said that Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt reminds him of Roethlisberger, a two-time Super Bowl champion and future Hall of Famer. A sophomore transfer from Michigan State, Leavitt helped lead Arizona State to a Big 12 championship and a birth in the expanded College Football Playoff during his first year as the school’s starting quarterback. 

“And a coach that’s on the sideline, I can tell you, when (there’s a) TV timeout, when we’re all on the sideline, Sam has that look in his eyes, like, ‘We will not be stopped. We’re going to score,’” Ward recently said of Leavitt. “He wants to score each and every time he touches a football. And he had that same look that Ben Roethlisberger had. Anytime I looked at Ben and his eyes, I just knew we were going to win the game because he had that look. He was not going to be denied of us winning. So I see a little bit of Ben in Sam in that aspect, just watching him and his approach, because he’s very competitive.” 

Ward said that Leavitt is so competitive that he sometimes struggles to give up on a play. That was a challenge Roethlisberger also dealt with during his early years in Pittsburgh. 

“He wants to make every play instead of throwing it out of bounds,” Ward said. “Ben had that same struggle. He just wanted to make every play, he wanted to make sure he can try to do all that he can to make the play. Sam has those intangibles.” 

He’s not as big as Roethlisberger, but the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Leavitt has a similar play style. While not a run-first QB, Leavitt is not afraid to take off downfield even if it means…

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The core philosophy in the NFL is that teams have to build through the draft. While that’s the proper approach, great teams also need to hit on a few key additions in free agency too.

The Philadelphia Eagles changed their fortunes last offseason. They signed Saquon Barkley, who was the most impactful addition, but Philadelphia also hit home runs on other players like linebacker Zack Baun. The Eagles probably wouldn’t have won Super Bowl LIX without their free-agent class.

Every team is hoping to improve its roster through free agency, which officially starts Wednesday. I broke down the top 25 free agents. This guide breaks down my top five players at each position.

Quarterbacks

Sam Darnold provides a best-case scenario. He was signed to a one-year deal to start until first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy was ready, but then McCarthy suffered a season-ending injury and Darnold had a very good full season as a starter. That’s rare too.

Click here for a closer look at the top five QBs in free agency.

Running backs

There was a perfect storm last offseason with multiple stars being available at the same time. That doesn’t mean this year’s class will have anywhere close to that level of success. However, there are some veteran starters for teams who are looking for that.

Click here for a closer look at the top five RBs in free agency.

Wide receivers

Contracts went way up for the top receivers in the NFL, and those who hit free agency are generally aging veterans perhaps near the cliff, injury risks, inconsistent performers or a combination of all three. There are some intriguing options at receiver in free agency this year, but it’s not a deep group.

Click here for a closer look at the top five WRs in free agency.

Tight ends

The position is important, as teams look for their matchup cheat codes like Trey McBride or Brock Bowers. There just aren’t enough good TEs for each team to have a player like that. The free agency class at TE reflects how thin the position is.

Click here for a…

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The Washington Commanders made sure linebacker Bobby Wagner didn’t leave the DMV area, re-signing the All-Pro linebacker and future Pro Football Hall of Famer to a one-year contract, per CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones. 

Wagner will make $9.5 million on this deal, including $8 million guaranteed, according to NFL Network.

Wagner was still great in his first year with Washington. A second-team All-Pro last season, Wagner finished with 132 tackles, 2.0 sacks and four passes defensed in 17 games. Wagner has been an All-Pro for 11 straight years and still plays at a high level in his mid 30s, making it an easy choice for the Commanders to bring him back. He had 25 tackles and 0.5 sacks in three playoff games.

Wagner, a team captain, was instrumental in the Commanders’ defensive turnaround, as the unit improved from 32nd in points and yards allowed per possession in 2023 to 23rd in points allowed per…

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