2024 NFL Free Agents: Jameis Winston, Gardner Minshew, Joshua Dobbs (2024)

Nothing kicks off the start of a brand-new football season better than NFL free agency, which is sure to involve plenty of player movement.

Teams can place their franchise/transition tags on players as early as February 20, setting the stage for a wild off-season sooner than you think. The NFL never ceases to provide entertainment for all 365 days of the calendar year, and 2024 is shaping up to be no different. Free agency officially kicks off on March 13th. But deals will likely already be in place with the legal tampering period starting Monday, March 11th at noon.

So grab your popcorn and get ready for the free agency frenzy with the 2024 free agency primer. I’ll break down the most notable impending free agents across the four major fantasy positions – with some potential trade/cut candidates to widen the scope – through the lens of fantasy football to prepare you for the ensuing March Madness. This primer should also help you make optimal trades in your dynasty leagues, bet NFL futures and unearth values in early best-ball drafts before the chaos occurs.

2024 NFL Quarterback Free Agency Primer

Jameis Winston

I must imagine that Jameis Winston’s days in New Orleans are over. After essentially giving the bird to his head coach in the final game of the season (potentially knowing it was his last game as a Saint anyway), he has no more ties to the offensive coaching staff that he initially signed with four years ago. Could see a scenario where he reunites with Sean Payton in Denver with them also in the quarterback market.

Gardner Minshew

Gardner Minshew played nearly the entire season with the Colts, playing in 17 games. He was underwhelming from a fantasy perspective despite getting Indianapolis in a position to make the playoffs toward the very end of the year. Still, he leaves a lot to be desired as the team’s full-time starter rather than a serviceable backup that can keep the ship afloat for a few games. He finished 33rd in PFF passing grade while averaging fewer than 15 fantasy points per game (QB28). At worst, he can at least keep fantasy-viable weapons ALIVE for whatever team signs him in the offseason. He’s what the kids call “a high-variance QB,” which can quickly turn the tides of NFL games in either team’s direction.

Joshua Dobbs

Tough to say how the real NFL will respond to Joshua Dobbs‘ 2023 “breakout” season. It had some major highs accompanied by some very bad lows that resulted in his outright benching over the last four weeks of the season for the Vikings.

From a fantasy perspective, we can deal with the highs/lows – especially in a best-ball scoring format. Dobbs posted five different games with 20-plus fantasy points while rushing for at least 40 yards in eight other starts.

I can’t imagine a team that pays Dobbs as a starter, but he showed enough to be worthy of a backup position somewhere – potentially even in Minnesota as they work to get Kirk Cousins back. Cousins – an older QB coming off a torn Achilles – suggests that the Vikings will be very active in the QB market even if Cousins re-signs.