Hello! In the process of writing my preseason articles, I realized that I spent a lot of time discussing quarterbacks and their successes and failures. How could I utilize this skill during the regular season? When the Colts signed Josh Johnson ahead of practice squad QB Alex Tanney to back up Matt Hasselbeck for the last two weeks, I wondered if anyone who hadn't watched the Titans preseason would understand the move. So now I'm going to take low-level quarterbacks - free agents, practice squad members, perennial inactives - and watch their preseason film, then use it to determine if they have a future in the league.
First off, an apparent failure of a quarterback on my favorite team, one who remains unsurprisingly unsigned: Nevada product Cody Fajardo.
History: At Nevada, Fajardo succeeded 49ers started Colin Kaepernick as the starter. Much like "Kaep," he was a noted dual-threat quarterback, but unlike him, Fajardo lacked the necessary passing skills to get drafted this past spring. The Raiders picked him up and carried him through their training camp, but with Matt McGloin and Christian Ponder ahead of him on the depth chart, his chances of sticking with the team were incredibly slim. He would have to be exceptionally impressive in the preseason to even be in consideration for a spot on the practice squad.
Week 1: Given only a single garbage-time series with a 15-point lead over St. Louis, Fajardo completed a pair of wide receiver screens and was accurate on a halfback checkdown that was dropped by George Atkinson III (who proved vastly inferior to his Raider-luminary namesake). Fajardo showed decent mobility on a scramble. Ultimately, he wasn't asked to do very much.
Week 2: He didn't get a chance until the final drive of the game, down 20-12 to a Minnesota team that had completely shut down the McGloin-led offense. It was an important opportunity for Fajardo to prove his worth, one which he did not take advantage of. He once again showed his ability to evade pressure through several inventive scrambles, but didn't accomplish nearly enough in the passing game for a potentially game-tying touchdown. Fajardo forced a pair of ugly passes to Devon Wylie (another abject failure, by the way, this time a castoff from Kansas City who was only on the roster thanks to a tenuous Fresno State connection to Derek Carr), then an even worse attempt to Atkinson, who had a Vikings player standing right next to him, was unsurprisingly intercepted.
Week 3: Fajardo significantly sat out the entirety of the game commonly regarded as the principal tuneup for the regular season. He was cut two days later. Oakland tellingly passed on Fajardo for their practice squad even after Ponder was released, instead choosing to sign a very publicly terrible quarterback, Garrett Gilbert, who is best known for losing Texas a national championship game, then transferring to the illustrious SMU Mustangs football team.
Verdict: Fajardo's tape from Minnesota reveals a noticeable lack of decision-making skills. Mobility alone does not a quarterback make (hi, esteemed SEC Nation personality Tim Tebow!), and as a result, it's unlikely this inferior Kaepernick will ever be back in the NFL.
More of these to come, plus maybe even a new thing where I critique commentary teams! Stay tuned.
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