We’re now around the midway point of the 2023 NFL regular season, and several things are especially obvious at this stage: The Kansas City Chiefs are still the team to beat, the Green Bay Packers miss Aaron Rodgers, the Denver Broncos are still a mess with Sean Payton and the Los Angeles Chargers, ahem, are still Charger-ing it up.
Speaking of “obvious”, there are several notable starters who have been giant liabilities thus far. And yet, for reasons unknown, they remain in starting positions despite doing more harm than good on their respective teams.
So with that, let’s dive into 10 NFL starters who need to be benched ASAP.
Ryan Tannehill
Mike Vrabel’s obsession with keeping Ryan Tannehill as his starting QB for this long is difficult to comprehend, to be honest.
Vrabel is a great coach, but he’s failing to see the writing on the wall here. The 35-year-old Tannehill is declining each year. He keeps getting hurt. And he’s in his contract year and a virtual guarantee to leave in 2024 free agency.
Tannehill had just two touchdowns and six interceptions in his first six games. And Vrabel still thinks this guy gives Tennessee their best chance to win now? We’re not buying it.
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The Titans were lucky when Kentucky QB Will Levis fell into their laps with the No. 33 pick. The big-armed Levis was supposed to be a top-10 draft pick, yet he wasn’t even selected until day two.
Tennessee has nothing to lose at this point by putting in Levis. He’s had half a season now to learn the playbook. Give the kid a look and see if he’s your QB of the future, and then you can start building around him for next year.
Or, yanno…just keep Tannehill in place for no reason as you keep sinking to the bottom of the standings. The decision couldn’t be any more of a no-brainer to us!
Baker Mayfield
Mayfield got off to a near-flawless four-game start with his new team, tossing seven touchdowns against only two interceptions in Tampa Bay’s first four games.
Mayfield led the Buccaneers to a surprising 3-and-1 record, having guided his team to surprise wins in Minnesota and New Orleans. For a short period, it looked like Mayfield MAY have been in the early stages of a comeback season.
But reality has quickly set in. Mayfield is on his fourth team in three years for a reason: He’s just not a capable long-term starting option
Mayfield’s limitations were exposed in Tampa’s Week 6 home loss to the Detroit Lions and again vs. the Atlanta Falcons in Week 7. With the NFC South wide-wide open, Todd Bowles shouldn’t wait around on Mayfield anymore. He should light a fire under the butts of the Buccaneers’ offense and make a change at QB.
2021 second-round pick Kyle Trask had the luxury of learning behind Tom Brady the GOAT for two years. Isn’t it worth seeing what the former Florida Gators’ star can do in this offense, considering that his ceiling is considerably higher than that of Mayfield’s?
Not saying Trask will be a superstar, but he could at least excel in a ball-control offense as a game manager while allowing Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Rachaad White to do most of the heavy lifting on offense. Just sayin’
Or, yanno, go ahead and keep relying on Mayfield to save the day – something that’s never gonna happen.
Patrick Peterson
The future Hall of Famer turned back the clock in 2022 and had a superb season for the Minnesota Vikings.
Peterson was one of Pro Football Focus’ top-graded corners of the 2022 campaign at 80.7 — and that was on a leaky Minnesota defense that couldn’t stop a nosebleed. Surely, Peterson would do well on a Pittsburgh Steelers defense that churns out a top-10 unit each year.
Or so we thought.
Peterson’s struggles are easy to overlook since the Steelers are among the top teams in the AFC, thanks to the TJ Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Alex Highsmith-led defense. But trust us, Peterson hasn’t played a significant role in the D’s success whatsoever.
Through Pittsburgh’s first six games, Peterson was graded at 63.0 by PFF. According to Pro Football Reference, he allowed a 57.6 completion percentage and a woeful 112.8 passer rating when targeted — as well as four touchdowns in coverage.
In other words, opposing QBs know exactly who to target. Time and time again.
And yet, promising rookie Joey Porter Jr. is being used as a rotational piece while Peterson gets to maintain his starting position? Someone make it make sense.
By all metrics, Porter Jr. is the better cover corner. Why is Mike Tomlin letting a past-his-prime Peterson get burned in coverage time and time again when he’s got a young star in the making?
Time to bench Peterson in favor of Porter Jr. The wait shouldn’t go on any longer.
Austin Johnson
In 2022, the Los Angeles Chargers signed veteran defensive lineman Austin Johnson to a two-year deal worth $14 million, hoping he could shore up their leaky rushing defense.
Johnson was fine in his first season with the Bolts, but he’s been nothing but a liability here in 2022.
Head coach Brandon Staley remains adamant about using Johnson as a starter even though his weekly stat sheet is filled with a lot of donuts and no big plays whatsoever. Oh, and PFF had him graded at 31.9 through the Bolts’ first six games.
Sorry to be blunt, but Johnson is downright awful — and the Chargers defense has been a mess all season long. When will Staley take the hint and realize he’s gotta shake things up — starting with Johnson’s benching?
No pressure, coach. You’re only probably fighting for your job here!
Alexander Mattison
As expected, the Vikings are paying the price for cutting four-time Pro Bowler Dalvin Cook in a cap-saving move.
The Vikings’ brass foolishly believed that veteran RB2 Alexander Mattison would fill the void that Cook left behind — but nope. Minnesota ranks near the very bottom in rushing offense, and Mattison’s “meh” production is a key reason why.
Then we remembered something: Didn’t the Vikings recently trade for ex-Los Angeles Rams starting RB Cam Akers? A Super Bowl 56 champion who had 786 rushing yards and seven rushing TDS in a limited role a year ago?
Akers is faster, more explosive and has more experience as an RB1. Why should the Vikings keep hoping that Mattison, a career backup, will finally put it together? How about benching him in favor of Akers, who just might provide the boost this offense badly needs as they try to climb back in the playoff race?
We don’t make the decisions for the Vikings…but we know what we’d do if we were coach Kevin O’Connell for a day…
Evan Neal
It’s hard to believe now, but Neal was once considered the front-runner to go first overall in the not-so-deep 2022 NFL Draft Class.
So it felt like a massive win for the New York Giants when they snagged Neal with the No. 7 selection. He was to fill a major roster hole and hopefully form a dynamic offensive tackle duo alongside rising star Andrew Thomas.
We weren’t too concerned about Neal’s sluggish rookie year, because first-year offensive linemen rarely flourish right away. But fast forward a year later, and now we’re wondering if Neal will ever come around at all.
The Alabama product has once again been a problem on the Giants’ atrocious o-line that has done nothing to keep Daniel Jones upright. In his first six contests, Neal committed four penalties and garnered an atrocious PFF grade of 39.0.
The Giants don’t have any compelling in-house options to replace Neal, but he can’t be the starter anymore. He’s just allowing Jones to get wrecked out there, and his run-blocking hasn’t been any better.
Veteran Tyre Phillips is at least worth a look in the starting OT role. Not like he can perform any worse than Neal at this point. Or, hey, how about signing someone like Taylor Lewan who can actually block?
C.J. Henderson
It took the Jacksonville Jaguars just 10 games over two seasons to give up on CJ Henderson — and now we see why: He’s just not a capable starting corner in this league.
The No. 9 pick of the 2020 Draft was given a fresh start and traded to the Carolina Panthers in the midst of the 2021 season. Henderson’s play hasn’t improved whatsoever, and it’s baffling to us that the Panthers are giving him all the time in the world to turn it around.
Consider that PFF never graded Henderson higher than 57.9 in a season heading into 2023. His grade is now below 50 percent, and the data from Pro Football Reference is even more damning.
Every year, Henderson has allowed a passer rating of over 100 when targeted. In 2023, opposing QBs are completing over 70 (!) percent of their pass attempts in his direction.
Does anybody care to explain why Henderson is starting over veteran standout Troy Hill, who continues to be misused in a rotational role? I mean, it’s not like the Panthers can tank since they lack a 2024 first-round pick.
Frank Reich and company need to take the freaking hint and sit Henderson ASAP. Their secondary will improve if they go through with it — especially if Hill becomes the starter in his place.
Miles Sanders
Following a career year with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022, Sanders signed a lucrative four-year deal with the Carolina Panthers worth $25.4 million.
Sanders was immediately slotted as Carolina’s new RB1, and the hope was that he’d make an immediate impact with rookie QB and first overall Bryce Young.
So much for that.
Sanders has had next to no impact in Carolina whatsoever, averaging roughly half the yards per game that he put up with Philly last year. He’s barely averaging over three yards a carry and is barely doing anything in the passing game.
In short, it’s been a very disappointing year for a guy who rushed for 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns a year ago.
But here’s the funny thing: RB2 Chuba Hubbard had more rushing yards than Sanders entering the club’s Week 7 bye, even though the former saw fewer carries. At that point, Hubbard was averaging a remarkable 4.5 yards per carry.
Hey, we know Carolina just handed Sanders a ton of money — but how about giving the more productive Hubbard a look here? Stats are stats: He’s doing more with fewer touches than Sanders.
Maybe a change in the RB1 role is what will help Young and the Carolina offense finally get going. The Panthers don’t know if they don’t try. Bottom line: Time to show Sanders the bench.
Sam Howell
Ron Rivera is coaching for his job in DC, yet he’s still more than happy to place his head coaching security in the hands of Sam Howell. Football doesn’t make sense sometimes, huh?
Howell got off to an exciting start by leading Washington to a 2-0 record, but his play has crumbled big-time ever since. Howell just can’t stop throwing careless interceptions, not to mention that he’s on pace to smash the record for sacks taken by a quarterback in a single season!
Howell had his brief moment in the sun, but now his reckless style of play is holding the Commanders back. Why is Rivera so insistent on keeping Howell when he has one of the game’s best backup QBs in Jacoby Brissett?
No, Brissett isn’t a superstar. But he won games in New England, Indianapolis, Miami and Cleveland. He’s careful with the football, can extend plays with his legs and can excel in a game manager role.
The race for the final wild card spot in the NFC is wide open. Washington can snag it if they eliminate the offensive turnovers. They’re a simple QB swap away from doing that.
Desmond Ridder
The Falcons are clearly the team to beat in the NFC South, thanks to a stingy defense and the work of skill position weapons Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier and Drake London.
No offense to second-year QB Desmond Ridder, but he is not the reason the Falcons are in a good spot to end a six-year playoff drought. He’s barely averaging over 200 passing yards a game, and like Howell, he just makes too many dangerous and careless decisions with the football.
Meanwhile, the Falcons have one of the NFL’s best backups in Taylor Heinicke. Remember him? The guy who almost beat Tom Brady in a playoff game, then beat Brady in a November 2021 game? The guy who went 12-11-1 on a dysfunctional Washington team with 33 touchdowns?
Hmm…imagine if Heinicke got the chance to star in Arthur Smith’s offense. Imagine Heinicke working with Robinson, Allgeier, London, Jonnu Smith, Kyle Pitts AND Cordarrelle Patterson.
Imagine Heinicke playing behind one of football’s elite offensive lines. Imagine Heinicke playing against a laughably easy slate of opponents the rest of the way. Imagine Heinicke being supported by a borderline top-10 defense.
All this imaging is so much fun, but what’s stopping coach Smith from making it a reality? How about benching his mediocre starter for a guy who was an above-average dude in Washington?
By making the change at QB, Atlanta would cement themselves as the runaway front-runners to win football’s worst division. That’s our nickel’s worth of free advice to Smith.
Which other NFL starters need to be benched as soon as possible?
