For the better part of the last decade, the NFC West has routinely been among the toughest divisions in football, making life all the more difficult for the Seattle Seahawks. Each team has won the division multiple times since the 2002 re-alignment, and no one has been a repeat champion since the Rams in 2017-2018.
Despite the historic difficulty, there is uncertainty at the most important position headed into next year. Each team, as it stands, have question marks at quarterback. Let’s examine each team, going from most settled to least.
Los Angeles Rams: Quarterback Matthew Stafford missed the final seven games of the season with a spinal cord contusion. However, the soon-to-be 35 year old said he will be coming back for 2023 and the Rams are expected to pick up his 2023 option this offseason. However, given his age and injury concerns, the Rams might want to hang onto Baker Mayfield for one more year.
Seattle Seahawks: Right now the Seahawks will soon have no quarterbacks under contract. Geno Smith and backup Drew Lock have expiring deals and will be eligible for free agency when the new league year starts. The positive news is Geno Smith remains optimistic about a new extension with Seattle.
Arizona Cardinals: Financially speaking, Arizona seems fairly tied to quarterback Kyler Murray. They recently gave him a 5-year deal worth $230 million. But questions remain due to his ACL injury he suffered in Week 14. It’s entirely possible he won’t be ready to go by Week 1 of 2023. Will Colt McCoy make another start? Or will Arizona look to upgrade the backup position?
San Francisco 49ers: Here is where the most questions lie. What are the Niners going to do at quarterback? Rookie Brock Purdy tore his UCL in the NFC Championship. At the moment, it’s expected he won’t need Tommy John surgery, but it is a significant ligament to injure. Meanwhile, Trey Lance – who the Niners traded two first round picks to draft – has already had two surgeries on his ankle. Additionally, head coach Kyle Shanahan has already ruled out the possibility of Jimmy Garoppolo returning.
