3 big-name free agent quarterbacks Rams can still sign

How are you feeling about the LA Rams early wading into the 2024 NFL Free Agency market? While it's wisest to judge the team from their season, who can resist peeking in and making instant reaction calls along the way? We didn't, as we gave our initial FA first-wave grades to seven players. We looked at:

• What the team needed to do
• How well they appeared to meet their goal(s)
• Whether the team paid a premium, FMV, or a discount to sign the player

But then we pivoted to the next pressing question: How will the Rams pay for all of it? Even as the team reached agreements with so many players, the salary cap sites are drowning in the tsunami of so many NFL contract details flooding the boards simultaneously, that nobody has the exact number of how much a team has remaining to spend. As of 6:30 am PT on March 14, 2024, Spotrac.com has the Rams showing $10,781,377 of available cap space. But that number DOES NOT include the contracts of TE Colby Parkinson (3 years, $22.5 million) nor DB Darious Williams (3 years, $22.5 million).

Nor does that number reflect any reserves for future 2024 cap outlays, like the $6.9 million needed to add the 2024 rookie draft class to the roster. But let's give the LA Rams front office credit to find the savings necessary to sign all their free agents for 2024, and have sufficient reserves to carry the team through the season. So what is there left to do?

Well, some will mention edge rusher here. But it appears more likely now that the team has re-signed OLB Michael Hoecht that edge rushers are likely to be a primary target in the 2024 NFL Draft. Kicker is likely now a late Day 3 option in the draft as well. But what about a backup quarterback? If the Rams are what they appear to be right now, in Win-Now mode, then a veteran quarterback offers far too many advantages over a rookie quarterback right now.

Who do the LA Rams have on their roster right now? Veteran starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, reserve quarterback Dresser Winn, and Stetson Bennett, who is working incredibly hard right now to return to the team in 2024.

Who can the team add to the QB room for 2024? Believe it or not, there are at least three big-name quarterbacks still seeking a new team in the 2024 NFL Free Agent market. Let's do some window shopping, shall we?

3 big-name free agent quarterbacks Rams can still sign

1. This 11 year veteran QB could be a great option
2. Former rival is tarnished, but could shine up quickly in this offense
3. He's earned the right to return, if he chooses to

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This 11 year veteran QB could be a great option

The career of former Miami Dolphins, former Tennessee Titans starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill is People's Exhibit number one in the argument that even very talented players need the right coaching staff and the right scheme to succeed in the NFL. Tannehill played six seasons for the Miami Dolphins, and just five seasons for the Tennessee Titans. But when you think of Tannehill, I'll bet that you remember him as the Titans quarterback.

And it makes sense, as Tannehill struggled to lead the Dolphins over the .500 mark, while he never seemed to struggle to do so in the Titans' offense.

Tannehill is a 35-year-old veteran who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 217 pounds. Over the course of his NFL career he has completed 64.3 percent of his passes, thrown for 34,881 yards, 216 touchdowns, and just 115 interceptions. Ideally, Tannehill is perfect to mentor a young rookie quarterback for an NFL team, and even to start the early part of the season while that rookie acclimates to the speed, physicality, and complexity of an entirely new brand of football.

But he is a tall pocket passer who can throw endzone to endzone passes, make progression reads, and even give his team a chance at a fourth-quarter comeback drive. With the LA Rams newly constructed offensive line, Tannehill's biggest weakness, needing a formidable rushing attack, is no longer a problem.

Truth be told, the Rams free agency efforts so far have made this team an ideal offense for Ryan Tannehill to co-pilot. I don't think that he will do so, but the fit is there.

Former rival is tarnished, but could shine up quickly in this offense

Free agent quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been a burr in the saddle for the LA Rams, holding a career 7-0 record against the team in Horns. But how does that old saying go? Ah yes, if you can't beat them, join them. As recently as 2022, that was rumored to have been the plan.

Well, we know that didn't happen, and Garoppolo landed on the Las Vegas Raiders roster in 2023 and struggled. Now, a year later, he fits the profile of a tarnished starting NFL quarterback who could reclaim his shine and reputation with a one-year chapter of playing for the LA Rams.

Much like Tannehill, Garoppolo's success is entirely dependant on running a run-centric offense, targeting the middle of the football field, and not finding the game's outcome resting on his shoulders. Right now, the LA Rams new and improved offense can offer most of those features.

Perhaps, as an added bonus, the Rams will find that their migration to the Mike LaFleur influenced offensive scheme could get a booster shot by adding Garoppolo. After all, Jimmy G piloted the 49ers offense for six seasons, held an impressive record of 38-17 with the team, and his only hiccup was an inability to stay healthy. Garoppolo's record in four seasons with other NFL teams? Just 5-3, with 1895 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.

Jimmy Garoppolo is not my first choice, but he slides into the runner-up position due to the Rams rumors of interest in him as recently as 2022. But yes, I've saved the best for last.

He's earned the right to return, if he chooses to

While 31-year-old quarterback Carson Wentz is not at a point of his career to easily be considered the heir apparent of taking over the team if and when Matthew Stafford is injured, or chooses to hang up his cleats and retire, there are reasons to argue that it could work.

Wentz was drafted second overall in the 2016 NFL Draft, the same draft in which the Rams opted to select QB Jared Goff with the 1st overall selection. When the Rams traded Goff and three draft picks to the Detroit Lions for Matthew Stafford, I viewed Stafford and Goff as quarterbacks on a similar trajectory. The similarities of the two QBs compelled me to ask if the Rams paid too much.

"The Detroit Lions are six years younger at quarterback. The Lions land a quarterback with a 42-20 record over the past four seasons. In fact, Jared Goff has a 3-3 record in the NFL Playoffs. Goff has even won an NFC Championship game. And they were paid two first-round draft picks and a third-round pick to take him off of the Rams hands."

Bret Stuter

Of course, in the end, both side seem to have improved as a result of that trade. Well, Carson Wentz affords the Rams to turn back the clock by five years as well.

Does one game show enough to project a bright future on the horizon? When it's Wentz leading the Rams junior varsity to a victory over the San Francisco varsity team, you bet it does.
(The 49ers only sat QB Brock Purday and RB Christian McCaffrey for the game. The Rams sat seven starters, and continued to bench players throughout the game)

In 2023, Wentz completed 17 of 24 passes for 163 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. But he also rushed 17 times for 56 yards, one touchdown, and four critical first downs. Carson Wentz adds a dash of mobility that HC Sean McVay has wanted in this offense for several years. Now, with a running game, a huge upgrade to the offensive line, and the willingness to blend runs and pases, the Rams are perfectly set to welcome back Carson Wentz.

Does he want to return?

While he may be patiently awaiting to hear offers from NFL teams, I'm not sure many will come. The next big onramp for teams that need a quarterback will be the 2024 NFL Draft. Even then, the Chicago Bears (QB Justin Fields) and the New York Jets (Zach Wilson) will be dangling fire sale prices for young quarterbacks to teams that failed to land their ideal draft prospect. Can a seasoned veteran like Carson Wentz compete with teams that want a young QB?

Wentz's patch back to NFL relevance needs him to re-sign with the Rams through 2024. It's just that simple. He may choose not to do so, and that is his right. But It makes the most sense for Carson Wentz and the LA Rams to give this relationship another season, and see if there is an NFL Championship ring waiting at the end of the 2024 NFL season.