Rick Spielman came to this year's annual NFL scouting combine with a quarterback quandary.

He has two first-round draft picks trying to recover from injuries and a third-stringer Samson Ebukam Jersey , who led the Minnesota Vikings to the NFC championship game.

Now, instead of reaping the benefits of his smart moves and abundant riches, Spielman faces one of the most challenging decisions a general manager can with all three set to become free agents in less than two weeks.

"I believe in Case Keenum," Spielman said Wednesday, the first full day of activity in Indianapolis. "He did a phenomenal job and he has a knack for making big plays. We're very excited about what he was able to accomplish."

The more telling question might be how eager others around the league to sign Keenum, Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Bradford?

Spielman is running short on time as the carousel spins. He says he won't make any decisions until he returns to Minneapolis next week.

Meanwhile, the offseason has started with a bang.

Alex Smith was traded from Kansas City to Washington, essentially assuring Kirk Cousins becomes a free agent. Blake Bortles and Jimmy Garoppolo each signed contract extensions with Garoppolo getting a reported five-year, $137.5 million deal. Garoppolo won his first five starts in San Francisco after a midseason trade from New England and is now 7-0 as a starter.

The new deals have Green Bay contemplating a new deal for Aaron Rodgers. New general manager Brian Gutekunst acknowledged "it's not going to be inexpensive."

But this could be just the start to a wild and wooly offseason.

The free agent market opens March 14 and Keenum, Bridgewater and Bradford could all be attractive options for quarterback-needy teams.

Keenum seemed to find a home last year after spending two-plus seasons in Houston and two-plus seasons with the Rams.

Bridgewater was considered the Vikings' next big star until he tore the ACL and dislocated his knee in August 2016. He made it back briefly late last season and now the Vikings await a ruling that could force Bridgewater to stick around one more season before hitting free agency.

Spielman doesn't sound hopeful about Minnesota's chances.

"I don't personally believe, with what I know today, that his contract will toll Duke Johnson Jersey ," he said.

One big advantage the Vikings have: They know Bridgewater's prognosis and exactly where he stands in the rehab process.

Bradford, the 2010 NFL offensive rookie of the year, missed all but two games last season with a knee injury and there are long-term questions about the stability of his left knee. The 30-year-old has a long history of injuries but a needy team might be willing to take a calculated risk on the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner and top pick in the 2010 draft.

Other prominent names could be on the move, too.

Cousins and Mike Glennon are expected to be available after the Bears announced Wednesday they would release Glennon, and 39-year-old Drew Brees will be a free agent if he doesn't re-sign with the Saints in the next two weeks. The conventional wisdom suggests Brees will remain in New Orleans.

Then there's the trade market.

Coach Sean McDermott said Buffalo does not intend to cut Tyrod Taylor but could trade him. And if the New York Giants decide to rebuild with a young quarterback, 37-year-old Eli Manning could hear his name bandied about.

One team that seemed to take itself out of the discussion is reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia.

Executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman appears to be in no hurry to change anything with starter Carson Wentz recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee, especially after backup Nick Foles led the Eagles to their first NFL title since 1960.

"We're trying to keep as many good players as we can," Roseman said. "That room is exactly what we want it to be. We have a franchise quarterback, a Super Bowl MVP and we have a young quarterback (Nate Sudfeld) who we like."

Walt Coleman doesn’t see the revamped catch rule as a big change for NFL game officials because the veteran referee believes they’ve already been calling catches the new way.

If anything, Coleman figures there will be fewer reviews of their rulings.

”Most of the calls that seemed to create the most controversy, we ruled them correctly and then they were overturned on replay,” Coleman said Friday as officials gathered for their annual preseason meeting in the Dallas area. ”From our standpoint Emmanuel Sanders Jersey , we’re just going to continue to officiate the plays like we have.”

League owners unanimously approved the changes in April – more than three years after Dez Bryant’s infamous catch that wasn’t in Dallas’ playoff loss at Green Bay, and just a few months since Pittsburgh’s Jesse James had a late go-ahead touchdown taken away in a loss to New England that damaged the Steelers‘ hopes for the AFC’s top seed.

Essentially, the new rule eliminates the ground as a factor on catches while establishing three main criteria:

-having control of the ball;

-getting two feet down or another body part;

-making a football move, such as taking a third step or extending the ball.

On the plays involving Bryant and James, the ball moved slightly after hitting the ground as they extended it forward, even though they never lost control of it. Both were ruled catches and overturned on review.

”I don’t think it was one thing,” senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron said. ”I think we got to a point where fans, the office, coaches, players, wanted to see more exciting plays. How do we make this particular play a catch? How do we take the Dez Bryant play and make it a catch?”

Riveron said the competition committee consulted with coaches, former players John Elway Jersey , game officials and supervisors, among others, to reach the rule change that was approved.

The committee cited overturned receptions by James and fellow tight end Zach Miller of Chicago last season among the dozens of plays they reviewed ”dozens of times,” according to committee chairman Rick McKay, president of the Atlanta Falcons.

Ron Torbert, going into his fifth season as a referee and ninth overall as a game official, doesn’t think the new rule is just about simplicity.

”We had a good idea of what it was and how to officiate it,” Torbert said. ”We certainly understand that the way it was written, plays that people wanted to be a catch weren’t a catch under the older rule. We understand that.”

And while game officials are hesitant to share opinions on anything related to their role, they can see where fans sit with the catch rule.

”I think fans will like it more because we’ve got some of the greatest athletes in the world who can do things that no one else can do,” Torbert said. ”To be able to see them rewarded with a catch when under the old rule, it may not have been a catch Stephen Anderson Jersey , I think from that standpoint the fans will enjoy the game more.”

Coleman, getting ready for his 30th NFL season, was in his third year as a referee when he called the reversal in the ”tuck rule” game during the playoffs following the 2001 season. He changed what had been ruled a fumble by New England quarterback Tom Brady to an incompletion, leading to a winning field goal that sent the Patriots on their way to the first of five Super Bowl titles.

While he didn’t make the call on the Bryant catch that was overturned (recently retired Gene Steratore did), Coleman saw similarities in how reactions to the two calls lingered for years. And he certainly heard from fans on the catch rule in general .

”People just didn’t understand that you had to hold on to the ball going to the ground,” Coleman said. ”When you catch the ball and you reach out, everybody thought that should be a catch. The way the rule was written, it wasn’t.”

And now the way the rule is written, it is.

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