For the casual football fan, it must be strange seeing backup quarterbacks such as Jarrett Stidham and Mike White quickly agree to multiyear contracts on the first day of free agency, while versatile safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson waited nearly a week to get a one-year, prove-it deal from Detroit.
Every situation is different, and contract negotiations definitely play a role in why some prized free agents take longer to find a team, but let’s focus on position value here because backup quarterbacks have plenty of value for NFL teams.
A quality No. 2 quarterback is a top priority in free agency for multiple reasons: They’re hard to find, a pain to develop and the key to keeping a team afloat in case of emergency. Many quickly write off a team after seeing the name listed behind the injured star quarterback on the depth chart, and, in many cases, those overreactions tend to be accurate.
