SAD NEWS: Green Bay Packers Player Has Been Out Today…….

Quarterback movement has been a theme the last few offseasons, and that should be the case once again in 2024.

Who lands where in free agency? Who gets traded? How many QB-needy teams are lining up for a top passer in the 2024 NFL Draft?

With the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine just two weeks away and the free-agent negotiating window set to open one month from today on March 11, here’s where things stand, based on conversations with numerous NFL sources:

As owners of the No. 1 overall pick, and the team with one of the most attractive trade targets, all eyes are on Chicago.

As detailed on NFL.com on Saturday, it would take a historic haul for the Bears to deal the No. 1 pick. That is an indication Justin Fields would be traded to make room for whoever goes with the top pick — presumably a special talent in USC’s Caleb Williams.

If that all tracks, expect the Bears to be able to fetch a premium pick for Fields, who came on late in the season and flashed the potential he’s always had. The kind of leader he is in the locker room stands out, as well. This should be an active market, with teams such as the Falcons, in need of a quarterback but possibly drafting too late (No. 8 overall) for a premium one, emerging as an option, along with any other team that doesn’t believe it can land a top QB in the draft.

At one point this past season, Sam Howell looked primed to be a franchise QB, boasting the stats to show it. But with a new head coach (Dan Quinn) and general manager (Adam Peters), along with the No. 2 overall selection, it would be a surprise if that’s still the case.

Peters faces one of his largest decisions for the next several years in figuring out how to handle the No. 2 pick. Plenty of teams view Peters’ Commanders as a possible trade-up team to No. 1, with the belief that offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury could be paired once again with Williams. And the Commanders likely will place a call to the Bears to gauge the market and see if a trade is possible.

Otherwise, their options at No. 2 appear to include North Carolina’s Drake Maye or LSU’s Jayden Daniels, or they could perhaps take a position player and acquire a veteran like Fields.

With plenty of salary-cap space and draft capital, it’s all on the table for Washington and Quinn.

The Patriots own the No. 3 overall pick, and all indications are they’ll seriously explore taking one of the draft’s top QBs as they move into the Jerod Mayo era.

If Williams goes No. 1, and Maye or Daniels goes No. 2, New England could take the third quarterback, or perhaps trade out with another team that will if the Patriots don’t like the prospect who slides to them.

Even though Bill Belichick is gone, former first-round pick Mac Jones — who lost the starting role and ended up third string by the end of the 2023 season — is a trade candidate in the coming weeks and most likely will end up elsewhere for the 2024 season.

New offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, a former NFL QB, will play a key role in developing the next starter.

The Broncos are keeping all options on the table at QB — including the possibility of reopening talks with Russell

about restructuring his contract to keep him in Denver for 2024.

Wilson is due $39 million fully guaranteed next season, and another $37 million guaranteed for injury in 2025 would become fully guaranteed if he’s still on the roster March 17. When the team approached him during the bye week last season about pushing back that vesting date, Wilson and his agent, Mark Rodgers, took the proposal to the NFL Players Association, and Wilson later publicly alleged that the Broncos benched him over money.

Under the circumstances, it’s hard to imagine Wilson, 35, playing another down for Denver. But the Broncos owe him the $39 million in 2024 either way, so it’s not out of the question the team could take another run at tweaking the contract if Wilson is open to staying and better options don’t materialize for either side.

As Broncos head coach Sean Payton said this week during appearances at Super Bowl LVIII radio row, the team begins draft meetings on Monday, with free agency meetings to follow as they evaluate all alternatives. Denver also has Jarrett Stidham, who started the last two games of 2023, under contract for just $6 million in 2024 and could roll with him as the bridge to a young QB.

The Vikings want to re-sign Kirk Cousins, who is set to hit free agency in March for the first since 2018. But Cousins is expected to have a strong market, even coming off a torn Achilles as he enters his age-36 season, and Minnesota is evaluating all options in the event Cousins lands elsewhere.

If the price tag gets too high, the Vikings likely would pursue a more economical veteran and hope that player becomes this year’s Baker Mayfield — current 49ers backup Sam Darnold, among others, would make sense — while also potentially drafting a QB. (Minnesota owns the No. 11 overall pick.)

Complicating matters is that superstar receiver Justin Jefferson is also up for a new contract after talks didn’t yield a deal before last season. Jefferson is a Cousins fan and will want to know the quarterback plan before signing on for the long haul.

The Vikings also have another top pending free agent, edge rusher Danielle Hunter, and re-signing all three players is probably unrealistic.