FanPulse: Which veteran QB do you want on your team in 2020?

It’s no secret that the Indianapolis Colts are one of the likely teams to add at least one quarterback this offseason. Many are hoping for a new franchise-type passer to land in the lap of the team through the NFL Draft in April, but with Jacoby Brissett’s less-than-impressive 2019 season, a free agent bridge quarterback is also a good possibility.

Colts’ fans aren’t interested in waiting around for a handful of years for their next leader under center, and anxiously await the ensuing moves from Chris Ballard and company to put this transition on the fast track to completion. And this week’s FanPulse survey covers exactly that. With several veteran quarterbacks on the market in free agency this year, which of them is the most coveted by the fans for their team?

Literally since the end of the Colts’ season, Philip Rivers has been tied to the team largely due to his familiarity with Frank Reich and his system. It would be a smooth transition for Rivers, and Reich wouldn’t have to do much with his current playbook to mold it around Rivers, and he may in fact be able to expand it with the former Chargers’ signal caller under center.

However, Rivers — because this isn’t limited to the Colts’ fan base — is not on this list of finalists, given that Rivers isn’t a great fit for most of the 31 other teams in the league.

As it turns out, another quarterback who has also been spoken about as having a possible landing spot in Indianapolis, ended up at No. 5 on this list. Tom Brady — and almost every other available quarterback, to be fair — has finally lost his appeal to the NFL fan base after this past season. He’s still getting the love in New England, naturally, but only 10 percent of fans desire Brady to add their helmet to the final stage of his career in the league.

Next, up is Matthew Stafford, who garnered 16 percent favorability around the league isn’t a free agent this offseason, but the Detroit Lions are looking at a $21M cap hit with him on the roster in the 2020 season. I’m not surprised that Stafford wasn’t the most desired possible addition to fan’s teams for next season, given the money situation, but Stafford is an underrated stud at 32 years old and would be an exciting addition to the Colts’ roster in my humble opinion.

Stafford was on pace to possibly break his career best year in passing yards (5038), as well as touchdown passes (41), and he held his best touchdown percentage of his career, as well as earning his best yards per attempt last season. However, he only played in 8 games in 2019, but should a team have real interest in a guy like Stafford, they may be getting another five years or so of one of the league’s top passing arms.

Next on this list was Teddy Bridgewater. This did surprise me a little bit. Bridgewater did come in and keep the Saints a legitimate playoff contender in Drew Brees’ absence last season, however, he hadn’t done much of anything previous to that since 2015. Maybe that doesn’t matter, “what have you done for me lately?” may weigh heavier than career numbers, but if it’s just a bridge guy you’re looking for, Teddy could be the guy for you.

How about “other” getting in there at the No. 2 spot?

Philip Rivers? Jameis Winston? Ryan Tannehill? Maybe you’re hoping Dak Prescott escapes Dallas?

Now, hitting the top spot was Drew Brees. Sorry for those of you who hoped he might become available prior to the 2020 season, but some recent news on the situation points to that being a very unlikely situation. Brees recently announced that he plans to return for another season (with the Saints). Brees and the Saints don’t have an extension in place right now, but it certainly seems to be a given that the two sides link up to make “another run at it” as Brees has stated.