National Football League

Five best trade fits for Philip Rivers

Published Apr. 13, 2015 1:01 p.m. ET

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By Sam Quinn

Franchise quarterbacks (or, in the case of Jay Cutler, perceived franchise quarterbacks) becoming available on the open market is extraordinarily rare. Over the past 15 years, it has happened only five times, all under extenuating circumstances:

Let’s key in on the Rivers/Brees dynamic. In most cases, teams with franchise quarterbacks horde them like gold. There’s a reason guys like Carson Palmer can get $15 million per year, just like there’s a reason players like Palmer can command first-round picks on the trade market. There’s far more demand than supply at quarterback, so most teams tend not to mess around at the position.

Except for the San Diego Chargers.

The Chargers have something of a history of making bad decisions with quarterbacks. Forget about dubious draft picks like Ryan Leaf; the Chargers love nothing more than mistreating their incumbent stars. After the 1972 season, they traded Pro Bowler John Hadl to the Rams while still in his prime. Hadl was a first-team All Pro in 1973. The Chargers went 2–11–1. Hadl’s eventual replacement, Dan Fouts, held out after the 1982 season, but rather than simply paying the man who had just led the league in passing yards and touchdowns, the Chargers tried to use a potential John Elway trade as leverage to force him back to the team. Even after letting Brees walk for Rivers, the Chargers still used a third-round pick on Clemson’s Charlie Whitehurst as insurance.

No team in the NFL has such a history of mismanaging their star quarterbacks, so it’s not a surprise that, once again, the San Diego Chargers are mismanaging their star quarterback. And make no mistake; Rivers is a star quarterback.

Maybe it’s because he doesn’t have a ring, or maybe it’s because everyone hates him, but Rivers never gets proper respect in quarterback rankings. Somehow throwing for more yards per attempt than Peyton Manning, a higher completion percentage than Tom Brady, and more yards per attempt than Drew Brees means nothing when your team goes 9–7 every year. Even if going 9–7 with an offensive line comprised of backups, undrafted running backs leading your team in carries, and Eddie Royal acting as your most consistent wide receiver is far more daunting a task than competing for a Super Bowl with the sort of talent Manning, Brady, and Aaron Rodgers have at their disposal. Rivers tends to be one of the only reasons the Chargers compete for the playoffs every year. Now they might not want him anymore.

San Diego is talking a big game about making Rivers a Charger for life, but history tells us a mistake is coming. If Rivers were traded, he’d create a Super Bowl contender out of any team. He would potentially swing the balance of power in an entire conference. The Chargers might say they want to keep Rivers, but if history is correct and they do decide to move him, here are the five best fits for Rivers on the trade market:

5. Arizona Cardinals

Last season’s Cardinals were one average quarterback away from potentially winning the title. Not even one average quarterback, one non-Lindley quarterback. Pick a quarterback off of the carousel and the Cardinals could have been the first team to host a Super Bowl.

Now imagine if you handed a team like that a great quarterback.

Rivers takes a passing offense that is, at best, average with Palmer at the helm and makes it great. He adds a vertical dimension to Arizona’s offense that, aside from finally giving Larry Fitzgerald the star quarterback he deserves, would open things up dramatically for a weak running game and offensive line.

There are obstacles of course. Palmer just signed a big contract, and the Cardinals don’t have a high first-round pick to trade. But if they could make the pieces work, perhaps by including picks from next year, this is the one move Arizona could make to put itself over the top. The Cardinals with Carson Palmer are a good team. The Cardinals with Philip Rivers are Super Bowl contenders.

4. Houston Texans

Holding Tom Brady’s jock strap does not a quarterback make. If you gave Brian Hoyer Ryan Mallet’s arm strength or gave Mallet Hoyer’s head the two might combine into a somewhat passable quarterback, but as such technology does not exist the Texans still very much qualify for “if you have two quarterbacks, you have none,” status.

DeAndre Hopkins is a budding superstar deep threat who spent last season trapped with a quarterback in Ryan Fitzpatrick who has the arm strength of a wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube man. Hopkins’ 1,210 yards while splitting Fitzpatrick targets with Andre Johnson could easily jump into the 1,500- to 1,600-yard range with Rivers. And Rivers throwing to a receiver like Hopkins with Arian Foster behind him and a J.J. Watt-led defense on the other side of the ball? That’s a 13–3 season and potential MVP award.

3. Buffalo Bills

The Bills beat the Patriots and Packers last season. They’ve improved significantly at running back, receiver, and head coach. They have one of the best defenses in the league. It’s going to be a real shame when everyone realizes that Cassel guy they have playing quarterback is the same Matt Cassel that couldn’t beat out Christian Ponder for a starting job two years ago and they go 7–9. A real shame.

The Bills are in an even tougher situation than Arizona when it comes to trade assets, as they don’t have a first-round pick this season. They could offer next year’s pick, but if the Bills are as good as everyone would expect them to be with Rivers that may not be enough. Finding the draft capital would be extremely difficult, and even if they figured it out, would leave the team hamstrung in terms of depth.

But with the roster the Bills already have in place, they might not need any depth. Rex Ryan has never had a quarterback like Rivers, and Rivers hasn’t played on a team like this in seven or eight years. If the Bills could find enough tradable assets, getting Rivers would make them an AFC favorite.

2. Tennessee Titans

Does it make sense for a team with almost no NFL talent to mortgage its future for a short-term run with an aging quarterback? Absolutely not! But the Titans live for this. They chased Peyton Manning in 2012. They rode a bizarre 36-year-old Kerry Collins season to 13-3 and home-field advantage in 2008. There is a “Bring Brett Favre to the Tennessee Titans” Facebook page!

And then there’s Ken Whisenhunt. Whisenhunt once made a Super Bowl with Kurt Warner and somehow walked away from it thinking, “There’s really something to these lumbering, immobile quarterbacks isn’t there?” Sure, he could just draft Marcus Mariota, let his young team grow with a young quarterback, and maybe compete a few years down the line, but why would he do that when he could add an older quarterback who runs like a pregnant gorilla? Frankly, this makes too much sense not to happen.

1. New York Jets

Here is a list of things the New York Jets do have:

And here’s a list of things that the New York Jets don’t have:

Hmm … that first list is a lot longer than the second list, right? Rivers would be a complete game-changer for the Jets. He would give them the sort of in-his-prime franchise quarterback they haven’t had since … maybe ever. He would make them a viable opponent for the Patriots. He would give the Jets their sense of swagger back, a dire need with Rex Ryan in Buffalo. It would cost an arm and a leg, almost certainly starting with the No. 6 pick in the draft, but adding Rivers would be worth it. With Philip Rivers, the New York Jets could win the Super Bowl.

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