Quarterback economics have taken a fascinating turn over the last 5-10 years.

There was a time every team seemed content to just find a “starter” and they would build around him.

Starters were tough to come by. Andy Dalton was about middle of the pack

Teams who had worse than Dalton, were desperate. Any backup QB who had a good game was discussed as future trade bait for a potential 1st rounder.

Now, Dalton/Goff/Winston/Mariota types are everywhere. They are capable starters, but teams realize the value of a high-end starter

So a few years back, we got to a point that teams just started paying their starter like he was a top-5 QB.

“We found our QB, gotta pay him.”

Flacco, Alex Smith, Goff...

Goff got paid, but how hard would it have been for the Rams to find another Goff in today’s QB market?