(04-19-2021, 07:04 AM)Goose Wrote: Starting one year earlier gets you one year closer to the second contract, and may get you on a team that is good enough they can let you sit and learn for a year or so while getting paid to do so. Not a bad alternative.
Unless you get drafted in the first round, which gives the team an extra year of control. AFAIK, that's the only reason that Mills-in-the-first-round rumors are out there: some team may project him as their starter after a year of learning, and drafting him in the first round delays the second contract for an extra year. Fact is, having to pay a franchise QB contract sucks for the depth of the rest of the team, so delaying that salary cap burden for a year might be reason enough to grab a QB at the end of the first round even if you think he would be available later in the draft.