Rookie QB: More Reps or sit a year?

it depends

It depends on the man... If they are ready to play and Jimmy isn't there or injured, then they play. If Jimmy is there and playing well, let him build value. I actually think it would be good for Jimmy to have a great year and we end up getting a 1st round pick next year for him. Essentially you pay the salary to hopefully purchase a high draft pick, which we will need now.

Anyone that has NFL talent, and can perform at an NFL level, will never be hurt by sitting a year. It can do nothing but help.

You don't loose something by running the scout team and learning a new system.

What you get extra from sitting a rookie is, goodwill and time. The press and fans due in-fact turn on young players. They are only going to sit though so many mistake before they get vocal. With the press these days, all too often your just putting arrows in the quiver of the press to build the narrative they want.

It's probably best for the development of the QB to sit, have no media scrutiny, and be able to learn in a pressure free environment.

And that was totally normal 30 years ago. But these are very different times and now there is much more media, fan, and financial pressure to get the rookie on the field.

The biggest reason is that having a starting QB on a rookie deal for 5 years while you spend big money on the rest of your roster gives teams the best chance at success. So they do not want to waste very much of those 5 year deals having the rookie sit on the bench.

Maybe it's not in the best interest of the QB's development, but it's tough for teams to fight against that motivation.

Sit him the year - he needs to learn Shanny's playbook.

Need to keep that confidence and prevent the development of bad habits. Let him sit, so when it's his time, he doesn't have anything to worry about except this week's opponent.

I also wonder if sitting for a year also makes a QB developer better habits watching film. If you are starting, you spend a lot of your time on the field getting reps. You have to make time to watch film (at least that is my assumption as a fan who has never played). However, as a backup, you are on the field less, definitely not in games. So, instead to keep yourself busy you spend more time in the film room, doing mental reps. Once you have done that for a year, and then step into the starting role, you already have the film watching habits, so you are more likely to keep that going even though you are on the field more.

Originally posted by GangstaGangsta:
It depends on the QB.

Jones or Fields let em play.

Lance or Wilson let em learn.

I agree. I think if absolutely necessary, Fields could play now. Makes it even sweeter that we can sit him.

I'm of the Bill Walsh school of thought however- give them positive early experiences. If I had it my way, virtually every QB would be brought along the way Montana was gradually inserted into the starting lineup.

If Mac: Trade Jimmy sooner rather than later. Although I don't like the idea of drafting Mac with #3 I believe he is the readiest to play
If Fields: Trade Jimmy later rather than sooner. I think he would need time in the classroom to adjust a bit to Shanny's concepts and I can't calculate a timetable of when he will be ready but probably by the trade deadline.
If Lance: Sit his ass on the bench for at least a year unless Jimmy gets hurt. He ain't even old enough to drink yet, give him a year. With a low floor high ceiling player you wanna make absolutely sure he's got everything down before we unleash his inner beast