Biggest Names
Chad Pennington, Patrick Ramsey, David Carr
Unlike last year when there were some established starters available, the pickings are full of potential backups this time around. That makes sense for the Patriots, who are obviously set at the position as long as Tom Brady remains. Pennington is the best player on the list despite his injury history, but there are a couple of other starters to choose from. Jason Campbell and Kyle Orton are both restricted free agents (RFAs) while Rex Grossman and Daunte Culpepper will be unrestricted. Ramsey and Carr are both former first-round picks who've turned into journeymen backups.
Possible Patriots
Pennington, A.J. Feeley
Pennington has long been a favorite in PFW circles and would make an ideal backup for Brady, provided he's not determined to land a starting job elsewhere. His experience and smarts would be a perfect fit for the Patriots offense. Feeley is a guy who has shown flashes coming off the bench and could add depth to the position alongside Brian Hoyer.
The Full List
Name 2009 Team Position Status
Batch, Charlie PIT QB UFA
Beck, John BLT QB RFA3
Boller, Kyle SL QB UFA
Brunell, Mark NO QB UFA
Campbell, Jason WAS QB RFA5
Carr, David NYG QB UFA
Clemens, Kellen NYJ QB RFA4
Croyle, Brodie KC QB RFA4
Culpepper, Daunte DET QB UFA
Feeley, A.J. CAR QB UFA
Frye, Charlie OAK QB RFA5
Gradkowski, Bruce OAK QB RFA3
Grossman, Rex HST QB UFA
Gutierrez, Matt KC QB RFA3
Hamdan, Gibran BUF QB RFA4
Jackson, Tarvaris MIN QB RFA4
Losman, J.P. OAK QB UFA
McCown, Josh CAR QB UFA
Moore, Matt CAR QB RFA3
Orton, Kyle DEN QB RFA5
Pennington, Chad MIA QB UFA
Ramsey, Patrick DET QB UFA
Redman, Chris ATL QB UFA
Smith, Troy BLT QB RFA3
St. Pierre, Brian ARZ QB UFA
Whitehurst, Charlie SD QB RFA4
Up next in the Free Agent Preview series: specialists, coming Thursday, Mar. 4.