Dean Juipe: Shuffling quarterbacks alters NFL

Tuesday, April 10, 2001 | 10:17 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or 259-4084.

The era of an athlete spending his entire career with the same team has long since passed, and fans now take free agency in stride.

Team rosters are shuffled annually, with both journeymen and stars affected by this new reality. The slugger who hit 35 home runs for your favorite team last season might very well be playing elsewhere this year, perhaps because he's following the money trail or perhaps because his previous employer could no longer afford him.

So we're somewhat immune to the hysteria that once accompanied a prominent signing or transaction.

Yet that doesn't mean your jaw can't still hit the floor occasionally, as fans of the National Football League can attest during this most unusual off-season.

In an unparalleled revamping of the key position on a football team's roster, no fewer than 11 NFL teams will have a different starting quarterback next fall than the one they had in 2000.

That's abnormal by even the most lenient of standards.

Brace yourselves for these quick reminders: Ryan Leaf, San Diego to Tampa; Jon Kitna, Seattle to Cincinnati; Elvis Grbac, Kansas City to Baltimore; Brad Johnson, Washington to Tampa; Doug Flutie, Buffalo to San Diego; Matt Hasselbeck, Green Bay to Seattle; Damon Huard, Miami to New England; and Tony Banks, Baltimore to Dallas. Add in current free agents Steve Beuerlein (formerly of Carolina) and Trent Dilfer (who led the Ravens to the Super Bowl championship), plus the Monday retirement of Troy Aikman from the Dallas Cowboys, plus the pending trade of Trent Green from St. Louis to Kansas City, and seemingly every team in the league has been involved in this drastic rearranging of talent at the game's most integral position.

"I think a couple of teams made good deals and should improve," said Imperial Palace sports book director Jay Kornegay, reviewing the carnage and pointing specifically to the Ravens getting Grbac and the Seahawks acquiring the largely untested Hasselbeck.

Bettors are agreeing with him and the Ravens, for instance, are now 5-1 to win the Super Bowl after opening at 10-1, and the Seahawks have been bet down to 30-1 from 40-1.

The Bucs picking up Leaf and Johnson has helped drive their number down to 7-1 from 12-1, while Kornegay notes that standpat teams Oakland (now 10-1 after being 7-1) and Tennessee (now 8-1 after opening at 5-1) are being neglected by the IP's clientele.

"It's definitely a step up for Baltimore," he said of the Ravens exchanging Dilfer for Grbac in spite of their Super Bowl victory. "I think they saw the writing on the wall and realized that Dilfer might have had some key throws, but he didn't have great stats."

Dilfer (and Beuerlein) are still awaiting calls and their employment status remains up in the air as the collegiate draft approaches. But each will eventually find a job and that will swell the number of teams changing quarterbacks to at least 13.

Never mind the other position players of some repute who are jockeying between teams, just this unprecedented number of quarterbacks taking up new residences will have a significant impact on the league.

It's also good for program sales, if nothing else.