Armando Salguero: NFL QB Talk: Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Carson Wentz, Justin Fields, Daniel Jones, Jimmy G
This week, the quarterbacks at the podium discuss a water dousing incident in the stands, injuries getting in an injury-prone player's head, the Manning show, a much anticipated first career start, and a trade attempt that no one is denying.
The quarterbacks:
Patrick Mahomes:
A video of Jackson Mahomes, the brother of Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes, dousing Ravens fans with water at Sunday night's meeting between the Chiefs and Ravens has been viewed 1.3 million times.
So, it being 2021, the Chiefs' quarterback was asked about the viral footage on Wednesday (Yeah, pretty sure Len Dawson never had to worry about stuff like this).
Mahomes said he's seen the video but made the point it does not include the lead-up to the incident, which would include Mahomes’ fiancée, Brittany Matthews, and Jackson being insulted by the Ravens fans.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously it’s something that we don’t want to necessarily do,” Mahomes said. “There was things said to him and Brittany that you don’t see kind of on the clip. But, I mean he’s been good at it, at not trying to respond to that stuff.
“He takes a lot and he’s usually pretty good at it, and he’ll learn from it and just try to stay away from those people as best he can.”
Carson Wentz:
Carson Wentz has been a walking injury report throughout his NFL career.
He had a broken wrist in 2015, a rib fracture in 2016, a torn ACL and MCL in 2017, a fractured back in 2018, a concussion in 2019, and this season he's already had foot surgery and now has not one but two sprained ankles.
He has a high ankle sprain on his right leg and a less serious but still painful low ankle sprain on his left leg.
So Wentz's status for Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans is in doubt. But even after Wentz fully recovers, his injury history has caused him to seriously ponder when to do things that put him in danger and when to play it safer.
“It’s always a fine line, and I’ll probably be answering that question probably my whole career," Wentz said. "Just trying to find that delicate balance of being aggressive, extending plays and knowing when to just say die and let the play die.
"Whether it’s good or bad, I’m always analyzing where I could be better and protect myself so at the end of the day I can be available every Sunday.
“I don’t think anybody can ever fully answer that question because as competitors, you never want to worry about an injury. You never want to worry about ‘If I do this.’ You don’t want to second-guess yourself out there, but at the same time, you want to be smart. You want to be smart, you want to be available. You want to be out there with your guys so it’s a constant analysis every game.”
It's in his head now, folks. He just admitted it.
Justin Fields:
Everyone in Chicago has been buzzing about that moment when Justin Fields would finally take the starting quarterback reins for the Bears. That assignment is coming in Sunday's game against the Cleveland Browns and getting that call has a big advantage for the rookie.
Fields, you see, has been playing some the first two weeks -- obviously more when starter Andy Dalton got hurt during the game last week. But even as he's been playing, Fields hasn't gotten first-team snaps during the week of practice.
He's been working mostly with the scout team, running the other team's offense against the Chicago defense. That changes this week.
"It's definitely going to help me, more than last week, of course, getting reps with the offense instead of just working with the scout offense," Fields said. "It's going to have me more prepared this week, and I'm excited."
Bears coach Matt Nagy has insisted that when Dalton is healthy, he'll regain his starting job.
Maybe.
If Fields has success as the starter, there is practically no chance Dalton will regain his job. Dalton would become this year's Tyrod Taylor (see Chargers and Justin Herbert last year).
Fields would actually have to fail in some significant manner for the Bears to sit him back down because he's the future, and success now means the future is now.
Yes, that would require Nagy to change his mind. No problem.
Nagy wasn't scheduled to speak with reporters on Wednesday but changed his mind to announce the change at quarterback. So, yes, coaches change their minds all the time.
Aaron Rodgers:
It could be argued the best version of Aaron Rodgers is when he's throwing 60-yard Hail Mary passes that are on target and turning losses into wins.
Nope.
The best version of the Green Bay Packers quarterback is the 2021 version in which he knows he's probably playing his final season in Green Bay and doesn't give a freaking, fracking hoot whom he offends or what eyebrows he raises because he's going to say whatever is on his complicated mind.
So, on Wednesday, Rodgers was asked whether he thought he'd be playing for the San Francisco 49ers this year because their coach, Kyle Shanahan called the Packers one day before the April draft to see if Rodgers was available in trade.
Rodgers didn't dismiss the question as most distraction-avoiding players might.
“There were points where I thought anything was possible, definitely," Rodgers said through a smile, "but not a strong possibility.”
This whole thing really did happen, folks. Shanahan confirmed it on Wednesday.
"Yeah, I thought it'd be a quick no. Which was exactly what I thought it would be," he said. "But you hear enough stuff and I think everyone knew what was going on at that time that it didn't seem like it was worth the call, but I know how we would've felt if it was going to happen and we didn't call. So, you call, you get a quick answer which was what you're expecting and then you move on.”
The 49ers, mind you, did this while Jimmy Garoppolo remained on their roster. The team kept the veteran, who took them to a Super Bowl two seasons ago, updated on its draft plans concerning Trey Lance.
Did anyone tell him about the Rodgers flirtation?
“No," Garoppolo said. "I probably heard it through Twitter or something like that. I honestly didn't get any inkling of it or anything like that, but that's just kind of how the offseason goes. Teams are always trying to look for something new, something better and that's just kind of the nature of the beast, I guess.”
The Packers and 49ers play on Sunday night.
Daniel Jones:
The Giants will retire Eli Manning's No. 10 at halftime of Sunday's game against Atlanta and also put his name on the club's Ring of Honor.
Manning does community and corporate engagement work for the Giants but that is definitely now only his side hustle compared to his more widely seen and acknowledged work on ESPN2, doing color commentary with brother Peyton Manning during Monday Night Football.
It's that job that has caused current Giants quarterback Daniel Jones to take note.
“I’ve watched a little bit of it,” Jones said. “I think he’s pretty good. He’s pretty funny. He’s got some good one-liners and some good commentary. It’s been fun to watch him and Peyton go back and forth.”
The Manning brothers have been joined by notable guests, including Russell Wilson, Brett Favre and Charles Barkley.
Jones, the man who replaced Eli in 2019, has not been included.
“No," Jones said, "I haven’t gotten the invite."
Twitter: @armandosalguero