NFL meetings: Franchise QBs valuable, but rare By Ira Kaufman | Tribune Staff Published: March 24, 2015 
PHOENIX -- Some NFL observers have likened the skill set of Florida State QB Jameis Winston to Ben Roethlisberger, who has led the Steelers to a pair of Super Bowl victories since being selected in the first round of the 2004 draft.Pittsburgh just signed Roethlisberger to a five-year contract extension worth $99 million, likely keeping him in a Steelers uniform until the end of his NFL career.Coach Mike Tomlin, a former Bucs assistant, has learned to appreciate the value of an elite player under center.“What is a franchise quarterback?’’ Tomlin asked Tuesday at a media session for AFC coaches. “If you hear people talk, you’d think there’s 25 of them in the NFL — and we all know there’s not. The bottom line is the quarterback position is an extremely important one, not only in football but in professional sports.’’After a 2-14 season, Tampa Bay owns the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Many analysts expect the Bucs to select Winston, who led the Seminoles to the 2013 national championship while winning the Heisman Trophy as a freshman.“If you’ve got a good (quarterback), you’ve got a horse in every race,’’ Tomlin said. “If you don’t, you’d better be rock-solid in all other areas. That’s the reality of it.’’Twilight ZoneThe Chiefs landed an impact receiver by signing Jeremy Maclin as a free agent from Philadelphia, but the process was fraught with anxiety.“The way things are set up right now, you don’t know,’’ Reid said, referring to the brief time before free agency when talks can begin. “There’s a whole lot of what-ifs going on there. You’ve got a three-day window where you can talk to the agent, but you can’t do a deal. It’s crazy. It’s like dangling a filet mignon in front of you.’’When Kansas City officially signed Maclin, Reid was thrilled and a bit surprised.“I knew Jeremy loved it (in Philadelphia) and he just had his most productive year, so I wasn’t thinking he was going to be Chief,’’ Reid said. “I held my breath all the way until he was in that building and signing that piece of paper.’’Maclin, who caught 85 passes for 1,318 yards and 10 TDs last year, played his first four NFL seasons for Reid in Philadelphia. The Chiefs just became the first team of the Super Bowl era to go an entire season without a wide receiver posting a touchdown catch.Best of the bestNew Denver coach Gary Kubiak was hired by GM John Elway, a Hall of Fame quarterback and former roommate on the Broncos.Now, he gets to coach future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning.“As players, everybody is different, but as competitors, that’s why they are who they are,’’ Kubiak said. “They’re tremendous competitors, they’re winners and they’ll do anything for their football team to be successful. They’re both resilient. I look at how long the both of them have played. I was John’s roommate for 10 years. I left for four years, I come back (as offensive coordinator) — and he’s still playing. These guys love the game and they play it for one reason: they want to be a champion.’’***No respectThe Windy City turned its back on Rex Ryan. After he was fired by the Jets, Ryan expected a call from the Bears, who were looking for a coach to replace Marc Trestman.“I don’t know,” said Ryan, who was ultimately hired by the Bills. “I must have done a bad job as a ball boy there or something.”Ryan was the team’s ball boy throughout high school and his father Buddy was Chicago’s dynamic defensive coordinator from 1978-86.“They got a great coach there with John Fox,” he said. “I thought, It made sense to me, but apparently it never made sense to them. So, that’s the way it is.”