Quarterbacks in NFL free agency - Could Mitchell Trubisky, Marcus Mariota be legit starting QB options in 2022?

Selling dreams of big-name quarterback trades is easy in February, but those naps will be disrupted quickly if Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson stay home for another season. Though general managers are more equipped than ever to deal roster capital, the quarterback position can only take so much upheaval. The supply rarely meets the demand — especially this offseason, with a lackluster QB draft class — and some teams eventually realize what they have, or what is more readily available, isn't so bad.

That's why the free-agent quarterback market could provide some sneaky-big fireworks come March. At least 11 teams either need a starter (Saints, Commanders, Broncos, Buccaneers and Steelers), could bring in competition (Giants, Panthers, Colts and Texans) or might just be up to something (Browns and 49ers). Available passers hitting the open market will try to fill those voids as bridge options… or maybe more. That may include a few signal-callers who have spent at least the past season out of the spotlight and in a backup role.

Here's a look at the latest with some of those passers and what people around the league are saying about them, starting with a story of surviving Chicago.

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Trubisky toiled in the shadows for months in Buffalo, juggling all the tasks that make backups valuable: emulating Patrick Mahomes on scout team, dissecting defenses on a tablet with coaches and challenging Josh Allen to heated games of Catan between film sessions.

The way safety Jordan Poyer saw it, Trubisky was too good to be a scout-team quarterback. And after watching Trubisky layer over-route passes out of a defensive backs' range in practice, he reached a conclusion: The Bills'