National Football League

The sorry state of NFL quarterbacks

Published Mar. 26, 2009 2:39 p.m. ET

foxsports

The NFL's very best convention of the year is currently happening at the five-star St. Regis, a plush resort overlooking the Pacific and one made famous when AIG executives partied here back in October. Nothing really happens at these annual owners' meetings anymore; it's more of a club-paid holiday and a time for everyone to unwind with their spouses while wondering if the league is really serious about a work stoppage in 2011 and why my room was ready at check-in time while the guy next to me, New England owner Bob Kraft, had to wait an hour longer.

But I digress from the really serious football concerns facing the NFL, like the overall sad state of our quarterbacks. Consider the recent trade speculation regarding the Cleveland Browns and what many fans may perceive as two of the game's more promising young guns in Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn.

"That three-way (trade) rumor is really out there?" said new Cleveland coach Eric Mangini at breakfast Tuesday. For the serious and politically-cautious Mangini, that was a great attempt at humor when being pressed about what trade possibilities he may or may not be considering.

Yes, the internet world has gone wild with speculation that either quarterback would be available for the right price. The purported three-way deal reportedly involved Denver's Jay Cutler, Washington's Jason Campbell and the Browns' Quinn (supposedly Redskins executive VP of football operations Vinny Cerrato, a Notre Dame alum, thinks he can "fix" Quinn).