Playing quarterback in the NFL is touted as the hardest position in all of sport—and while people are generally referring to the starter, the 2023-2024 season showed us that the role of the backup need not be overlooked, otherwise a season can go up in flames in the blink of an eye.
Let’s take a look across the league and see which teams have the best second-string signal caller and who might need some help, ranking them from worst to first.
32. Arizona Cardinals – Clayton Tune
It is tough to look much worse than Clayton Tune did this year for the Arizona Cardinals. He had the fans out in the desert begging for Kyler Murray to return from injury. It sounds harsh, but it seemed like he simply lacked the professional skillset needed to play in the NFL.
31. Green Bay Packers – Sean Clifford
While there is still some reason to believe that Sean Clifford may have an NFL career that is at least serviceable based on what he did at Penn State, the young quarterback hasn’t proved it whatsoever thus far. In his two appearances, he’s still not attempted a pass.
30. Los Angeles Chargers – Easton Stick
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Safe to say that Easton Stick is not going to be a start in this league, not by any stretch of the imagination. He still has the potential to stick around as a backup, but he can’t have another abomination like he did against the Raiders or his reputation will be soiled for good.
29. Detroit Lions – Hendon Hooker
It looks like Jared Goff is going to be sticking around in Detroit for a while now, so Hendon Hooker will have plenty of chances to learn on the job.
28. Cleveland Browns – Dorian Thompson-Robinson
At this point, it looks unlikely that the Browns will retain both Joe Flacco and Deshaun Watson, making Dorian Thompson-Robinson the de facto second option right now, which is not what you want as a Browns fan.
27. New England Patriots – Bailey Zappe
While Bailey Zappe has had a couple of nice moments in his young career, he is not at the top of anyone’s list to be their second option. He is skilled for a backup but has a little more of an edge to him than you might want out of a player in that role.
26. Dallas Cowboys – Cooper Rush
The Cowboys quarterback room is going to be a bit of a mystery heading into 2024 with questions swirling around Dak Prescott, but one thing is clear—Cooper Rush is not the answer.
25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Kyle Trask
This second-year quarterback out of Florida has not had much of an opportunity since breaking into the NFL. He has completed just three of 10 passes for 23 yards in three appearances.
24. Chicago Bears – Tyson Bagent
Tyson Bagent certainly looked spunky during his debut performance this year filling in for Justin Fields, but he is clearly limited in what he can do in their offense.
23. Seattle Seahawks – Drew Lock
Drew Lock has certainly had a few exciting moments as a pro, but far too often the errors start piling up for him to be considered among the league’s top backups.
22. Kansas City Chiefs – Blaine Gabbert
Blaine Gabbert is a great backup for the Chiefs because in Kansas City it doesn’t matter who goes in once Mahomes goes down. Plus, he at least has some starting experience which is worth something.
21. Denver Broncos – Russell Wilson
With Russell Wilson and Sean Payton’s relationship very much on the fritz, it looks like we will see Jared Stidham even end up slotted into the starting role next year. Russ is obviously more talented than most backups, but it is hard to put him higher considering what a distraction he will be, not to mention that he will likely be playing somewhere else.
20. San Francisco 49ers – Sam Darnold
If there is one team in the NFL that truly knows the value of a backup quarterback… and even a third-stringer! Obviously, his expectations were different than when he signed with San Fran, as Brock Purdy has really secured the starting gig, but still, Darnold is nothing to scoff at for SF.
19. Pittsburgh Steelers – Kenny Pickett
Things have gone from bad to worse for Kenny Pickett in Pittsburgh. The offense looked significantly better with Mason Rudolph under center and Pickett sadly hasn’t done much as the starter when he’s had the chance.
18. Atlanta Falcons – Desmond Ridder
As hard as Atlanta tried to make it work—the Desmond Ridder experiment looks like it was an abject failure. The former University of Cincinnati star had a hard time adjusting to the speed of play and precision required to succeed at the professional level and has since been relegated to backup duties. With the regime change it is unclear if he will be in Atlanta long-term, but for now, he is the Falcons backup and he will likely have to settle into that role wherever he may end up.
17. New York Jets – Zach Wilson
Honestly, Zach Wilson should probably be lower on this list, but with his high potential as a fairly recent #2 overall pick, teams will continue to roll the dice on him for the “potential”—even if it is extremely unlikely that he can deliver on it.
16. Buffalo Bills – Kyle Allen
Kyle Allen has had a couple of nice spot starts as a pro and is a reliable option to slot in in a pinch to run the offense, no doubt about it. Every once in a while, he gets a little ahead of himself and tries to force plays, but he is a high-caliber quarterback for the number two role.
15. Jacksonville Jaguars – C.J. Beathard
C.J. Beathard is one of the more physically gifted backups that we have on this list. He put his skillset on display out in San Francisco a couple of years back when he got a chance to start in Jimmy G’s absence, but more often than not we’ve seen the careless mistakes pile up once he’s out there for too long. Either way, not a bad backup to have.
14. Houston Texans – Davis Mills
So… Things didn’t go great for Davis Mills when he was the starting quarterback for the Houston Texans, but luckily for him, now that C.J. Stroud has been brought into the fold he will, frankly, never have to worry about that again. The competitor in Davis may want to seek opportunities elsewhere, but if I’m Davis, I’m cozying up with C.J. and settling in as his long-term backup.
13. Miami Dolphins – Mike White
Mike White is an interesting one… We saw him put up some absolutely monster games when he was in New York backing up Zach Wilson—and, well, we have seen some major flops as well. If you need a guy to win you a regular season game while your starter is injured though, he is a good choice.
12. Baltimore Ravens – Tyler Huntley
Tyler Huntley is no Lamar Jackson, plain and simple, but he has done an extremely serviceable job in filling in for LamJx.
11. Los Angeles Rams – Carson Wentz
Carson Wentz’s near-MVP season is starting to feel very far away, but still, you could definitely do worse with a backup. He is still a fringe starter by NFL standards.
10. Minnesota Vikings – Nick Mullens
Nick Mullens is definitely one of the most entertaining backups in the league to watch. While many of the second-stringers default to running a rush-heavy offense, Mullens prefers to sling it—and at times he can actually do a good job.
9. Cincinnati Bengals – Jake Browning
Before this season, very few fans knew who Jake Browning was, but with the way that he looked at times filling in for Joe Burrow, he quickly became a household name.
8. Philadelphia Eagles – Marcus Mariota
Marcus Mariota’s pro career may have been a fairly big disappointment thus far all things considered, but the former Oregon standout is a nice option to have as a backup.
7. Carolina Panthers – Andy Dalton
Andy Dalton was a very solid starter for many years in the NFL. He has lost a step and a little pop on his fastball, but as far as backups are concerned—you could do much worse.
6. Tennessee Titans – Ryan Tannehill
At this point, Tannehill is definitely passed his prime physically, but there is no denying that the guy knows how to play the game of football. The major question about Tannehill at this point is his health and if he is willing to sacrifice it to continue in a backup role somewhere.
5. Las Vegas Raiders – Jimmy Garoppolo
The Raiders will likely have some major shakeup in their QB room this offseason, but as it stands, Jimmy Garoppolo is theoretically their backup. Not many backups in this game have led a team to the Super Bowl before!
4. Indianapolis Colts – Gardner Minshew
After the way that Gardner Minshew played this year in Anthony Richardson’s absence, there is a legitimate argument that he is the top “backup” in the game. He just got out-ranked by guys with a larger sample size.
3. Washington Commanders – Jacoby Brissett
Jacoby Brissett is easily one of the best backups in the league. He is just a hair beneath starting-caliber and definitely a guy you want in your locker room.
2. New York Giants – Tyrod Taylor
Tyrod Taylor is the pinnacle of consistency. If he could ever stay healthy long enough, he would likely be a starter instead of one of the league’s top backups.
1. New Orleans Saints – Jameis Winston
There are calls every week for Jameis to get slotted in as the starter in New Orleans and with good reason. The former number-one overall pick has all the arm talent in the world and, at times, has demonstrated sound decision-making.
