Top free-agent quarterbacks

It would come as a shock if the Redskins don't re-sign or place the franchise or transition tag on Cousins, but if they choose to do neither and let him test the market, he is a lock to get the biggest contract of anyone available this year, given the dearth of viable starting quarterbacks on the market. Washington can place the tag on Cousins between Feb. 15 and March 1; if they follow their pattern from last year, they'll wait until within a day or two of the deadline before placing any tag on the Pro Bowler.

The playoff meltdown in his final start with the Houston Texans 13 months ago is a scarlet letter on his resume, but he delivered in five starts for the Bears last year, finishing the season with a career-best 98.0 rating on 134-of-200 passing for 1,445 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions. The four-interception playoff performance for Houston is the aberration; in the last two regular seasons, he has 25 touchdown passes against just seven interceptions. Hoyer isn't going to carry a team on his shoulders, but with a decent supporting cast, he's good enough and consistent enough to warrant a starting role.

The passage of time works against McCown, who turns 38 this July. Nevertheless, a steady 85.9 rating over the last four seasons with the Bears, Buccaneers and Browns ought to compel someone to give him a look as a stopgap; he could be an option for a team that doesn't find a QB of the future in this year's draft to get through the season.

The voiding of his contract last week made Fitzpatrick a free agent, but he is unlikely to find any opportunity that assures him of a starting job after his worst campaign since his rookie season. Fitzpatrick's spiral began in the regular-season finale of the 2015 campaign and never reversed itself, yet because of injury and circumstance, the Jets couldn't fully extract him from their lineup last year. The 12-year veteran was willing to wait until the Jets came back to him last August, and he could be just as willing to sit and wait out the market again this year.

Jameis Winston's arrival in 2015 brought an end to his Tampa Bay opportunity; he hasn't started in the last two seasons and has thrown just 11 regular-season passes. Scattershot preseason performances last summer did not help his cause, and his career sack rate of one every 12.25 pass plays is also a concern. But with a career 84.6 rating, the 27-year-old veteran could be an option with some still-untapped value for a QB-needy team that doesn't like its draft options this year.

He didn't distinguish himself in nine starts with the Rams last year and seems likely to settle in as a long-term backup somewhere. He hasn't matched his early performances in 2013 with Houston over the long term; his rating of 83.7 in the games he started under then-coach Gary Kubiak has become a 76.2 rating in all the games he's played since the Texans dismissed Kubiak late in Keenum's first season as a starter.

Ten interceptions in his final three starts with the Bears last season tarnished what had been a promising beginning to his time as a starter, but his work should be enough to give him an opportunity as a team's clear No. 2 quarterback.

The 49ers had myriad problems last season, but Gabbert didn't do anything to fix them, and despite his first-round pedigree, his middling touchdown-to-interception ratio, 71.5 career rating and completion percentage of 56.0 bellow, "backup."

You know what you're getting with the 37-year-old Hill -- a steady locker-room presence who can play at a league-average level in a pinch. Hill started one game in two years as Minnesota's backup behind Teddy Bridgewater and later Sam Bradford.

Cassel turns 35 in May, and offers more in terms of counsel and assistance in the meeting room than performance on the field, where he has a 69.6 quarterback rating over the last four seasons. His presence and wisdom should ensure him a spot on someone's roster, and it would be no surprise if he's back with the Titans to work behind Marcus Mariota.

In today's edition of Small Sample Size Theatre, we have Nassib, who has a career rating of 152.1 -- on just 10 attempts. He looks the part, and would be an interesting potential signee for the Jaguars -- whose executive vice president in charge of football operations, Tom Coughlin, coached Nassib for three seasons in northern New Jersey.

Manuel's career as a starter failed to launch; he went from 10 starts to four to two to one over his four-season career with the Bills. He's a reclamation project at this point, having struggled in his lone start at the end of the 2016 season when he went 9-of-20 for 86 yards against the Jets. He will have to recalibrate and re-establish himself as a backup.

His work with Atlanta as a backup last season and his pedigree with a similar scheme in Houston under Gary Kubiak make him a potential 49ers target, but he turns 36 this season, and if any team saw him as a starter, it would be only as a placeholder.

With a 2-2 record in four career starts and near-league-average numbers, Jones pretty much fits the mold of a typical backup. The best situation could be staying right where he is -- if the Steelers want him back.

McGloin has told reporters that he wants to go somewhere that will provide a chance to compete for a starting job, but his production in six starts as a rookie and limited opportunities after that fits the profile of a No. 2.

After squandering his chance to become a starter for the defending world champions last summer, the question for Sanchez is whether he can settle in and be content as a reserve, because that's what the 30-year-old quarterback is at this point. If Dallas opts to bring back fellow free agent Kellen Moore among the backups to Dak Prescott, Sanchez will have to move on.

His performance and history of off-field missteps -- most memorably chronicled during the 2014 season of Hard Knocks make any opportunity beyond a chance to compete for a No. 2 job highly unlikely.

He's coming off of a torn anterior cruciate ligament and has just 56 attempts in the last two seasons. There's still some upside, making him an interesting quarterback on which to take a flyer, but no one will hand him anything.

The Cowboys would have been content with Moore as the healthy backup behind Dak Prescott before Moore suffered an ankle injury. Moore is similar in quality and presence to Cowboys coach Jason Garrett back during his playing days.

Philip Rivers' durability limited Clemens to just 10 attempts in the last three seasons. Clemens will be 34 this season and is a dependable reserve, but nothing more.