Who is it- Jones or Leonard as 2026 starter?
 

We know barring some crazy unexpected out of thin air surprise, the starter next year is either DJ or RL.

Let's assume DJ recovery goes well and he is on target to be a go for TC (given what we see on a traditional curve- he could be ready but would probably be what- 85% to start camp and would probably not really reach 100% until several games in).

So, air it out, why is one the choice over the other? I think this has to be a serious question now. They are very similar QB's- which I think is why we took Leonard to begin with to allow us to keep playing the same game if there was an injury (why we didn't stick to that- that's an answer which will forever be buried in Shane's closet...).

Both are smart obviously given their college backgrounds. Both are mobile (DJ clearly won't be as much as he was for the majority of next year). Both seem to be well versed in the system. Leonard has at no point seemed lost and struggling to understand what is happening and what to do. Both appear to be hard workers who you won't have to worry about them not doing the work necessary to constantly get better.

The question to me is whether or not what we saw from RL working in the pocket, is a mirage? He showed me more from the pocket today than I saw at Duke and ND combined. But it was only one game. Can he keep doing that? To me that is the only real question because barring that, I give him the ball over an older and a rehabbing QB.

Incredible this is a real topic, but it absolutely is.

I’d go with Leonard, he’s younger more athletic and should grow and get better as he gains experience.

Jones is what he is he’s not gonna get better and coming off an Achilles injury he’s gonna lose mobility not to mention probably be hesitant to run at all.

To me the ultimate deciding factor is the contract situation of both

A core of Pierce, Warren, and Leonard is what I’d go with

Hard to say which route to go, eight months out. I will say SS did an amazing job making a sixth round QB look serviceable. Maybe we let them compete in TC next year, and whoever is the best option starts the season with the other ready to step in as needed. Not a bad situation to be in.

If Jones is ready week one, he’s the starter. Let Leonard keep learning.

Odds are Jones will get injured again(he’s only ever started a full season once in his career) and Leonard will play anyway.

Release or trade AR.

I agree with this, but I’ll go on record right now and say if Jones gets hurt and they turn to Leonard I think Leonard will keep the job after that

Easy answer for me. Its Jones. Riley did very well. Much better that I expected

But don't forget. There was no film on RL except for the half against Jax Teams will figure him out.

The QB position is mental. That is why AR doesnt excel. He just doesn't have football knowledge yet. While I will say Riley is ahead of AR in that department they are both far far behind DJ.

I would expect that AR gets moved in the offseason and Riley will be QB 2. And if DJ is not quite ready he will start the season until DJ gets back

I agree that Leonard is far from being a good player yet. He’s got a LONG way to go.

But I REALLY liked what I saw today. He played with poise, awareness, and confidence. He is certainly no checkdown Charlie. He seemed to be fearless back there. He also has good pocket presence and was surprisingly accurate.

I don’t know if he’ll ever amount to anything but if he doesn’t, it won’t be because he doesn’t believe in himself. He and Pierce absolutely torched the Texans in the first half.

It was fun to watch.

If Jones is ready, and signed of course you definitely go with Jones. Riley showed me he is not afraid of the moment. You can tell he thought he should be out there. If Jones is not ready week one I would not hesitate to put Leonard in there.

He answered a lot of questions for me today. I wasn't sure what I expected. As a homer I guess I was hoping he would flat out kick ass, but I was not disappointed at all. I would have still rather we went with him when Jones went down. He played well enough to get the shot in relief of Jones. That stupid smoke and mirrors shit with Rivers was asinine