An NFL team without a good quarterback is like a “Terminator” movie without Arnold Schwarzenegger: Awful, helpless, and just asking for trouble.
The key ingredient to long-term success in the NFL is a great quarterback. And is your favorite NFL team consistently at or near the bottom of the standings? Look no further than the history of the club’s failure to develop a quality signal-caller.
Before we start, just a note: renowned QB graveyards like the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders were excluded from this list because Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels both look like the real deal.
So with that, let’s dive into five NFL teams: quarterback graveyards and five QB factories.
Which NFL teams are the best and the worst for a quarterback’s career?
Quarterback Graveyard: Cleveland Browns
Oh boy. Have you ever seen the painfully long list of every Browns quarterback to start a game since they returned to the NFL in 1999? Don’t bother.
That’s the No. 1 indicator that nothing has gone right for the Browns at the QB position, pure and simple. Nothing against Baker Mayfield, but he’s fourth on the franchise leaderboard in passing yards and seventh with wins…even though he only played four years with the franchise.
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Anyway, we can start with former first-round picks and draft busts like Tim Couch, Brady Quinn, and Johnny Manziel. We can also point out that the Browns gave up on Mayfield to trade for Houston Texans Pro Bowler Deshaun Watson in 2022…
You know, like how Watson went on to become literally the worst quarterback in the NFL after coming to Cleveland? Even though he was a top-five QB during his four years with the Texans? Or how about when Mayfield emerged as a star with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers en route to a $100 million extension? Hmm…
Did we mention that the Browns didn’t even make an effort to retain Joe Flacco, who won 2023 Comeback Player of the Year honors after leading them to a rare postseason appearance? They were too busy playing Watson and letting him ruin their 2024 season instead. What a shame.
The Watson-for-Mayfield swap sums up everything that’s wrong with the Browns franchise. If you’re an active NFL quarterback looking to survive in the league long-term, then stay away from the QB graveyard that resides in Cleveland!!!
Quarterback Factory: Green Bay Packers
Does this one really need much of an explanation? The Packers’ five-time NFL champion and two-time Super Bowl champion Bart Starr as their signal-caller from 1956 to 1971, forming a historic dynasty with legendary head coach Vince Lombardi.
Two decades later, the Packers began a new era of dominance with Brett Favre — a three-time league MVP who starred behind center from 1992 to 2007. Favre led the Packers to two NFC title banners and a Super Bowl 31 championship in the 1996 season — putting himself on the Mt. Rushmore of Packers greats.
And when Favre got traded to the New York Jets in 2008? Aaron Rodgers stepped in as the new face of the franchise. The four-time MVP winner led the Packers to five NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl 45 title in the 2010 season — his third year as the starter.
And when did the Packers take the risk and move on from Rodgers in 2023? Jordan Love — a once-highly-panned 2020 first-round draft pick — immediately took over as the next great signal-caller in Green Bay.
So when the Packers draft Jordan Love’s successor 10 to 15 years from now, don’t freak out Packer fans. History says you’re just going from one MVP and Super Bowl-winning QB to another…
Quarterback Graveyard: Carolina Panthers
The Panthers were blessed with mostly great quarterback play from Cam Newton for the first seven seasons of his NFL career. But once injuries began to derail his NFL career in 2018, the Panthers became the site of an ugly quarterback room.
It started when new head coach Matt Rhule pursued and landed journeyman QB Teddy Bridgewater on a three-year deal worth $63 million. Teddy Two Gloves had a “meh” season there and was traded to the Broncos after Rhule decided to take a chance on former New York Jets QB Sam Darnold.
The No. 3 pick of 2018 had two disappointing seasons in Carolina, participating in a QB game of musical chairs that also featured Cam Newton 2.0, Baker Mayfield, and PJ Walker.
Desperate for a franchise QB, the Panthers surrendered a king’s ransom to the Chicago Bears for the top pick in 2023 to select Alabama’s Bryce Young. After a horrible rookie year, Young got two starts in 2024 before getting benched in favor of Andy Dalton.
By the way, Mayfield has reached stardom as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ starting QB. Darnold is playing the best football of his career with the Minnesota Vikings. We’re sure a similar fate awaits Young, but we’re already terrified about the next stating quarterback in Carolina.
History tells us it’s not going to go well for him.
Quarterback Factory: Philadelphia Eagles
Philly GM Howie Roseman famously called his organization a “quarterback factory” when he drafted Jalen Hurts in the second round back in 2020.
The move stunned everybody since the Eagles were supposedly committed to Carson Wentz after inking him to a $28 million extension a year earlier. But yes, sir, the “quarterback factory comment has aged beautifully for Philly.
Wentz’s career started falling down the drain in 2020, prompting the Eagles to turn to Hurts. He has since emerged as one of the NFL’s top-10 quarterbacks, finishing second in MVP voting during the 2022 season — the year his Eagles narrowly lost Super Bowl 57 to the Kansas City Chiefs.
And if you wanna go back to the pre-Hurts days…what about journeyman backup Nick Foles leading the Eagles to a Super Bowl 52 championship after Wentz’s season-ending knee injury in 2017? What about Foles’ jaw-dropping 2013 season? Or Michael Vick earning Comeback Player of the Year honors in 2020?
Or, you know, the borderline Hall of Fame production of Donovan McNabb for over a decade?
Quarterback factory, indeed.
Also Read: 9 WORST Quarterbacks In The NFL This Year
Quarterback Graveyard: Denver Broncos
The Broncos made the most of the Peyton Manning era, winning four straight AFC West division titles, two AFC championships, and Super Bowl 50 before he retired in 2016.
Unfortunately for Broncos nation, the franchise has been in complete disarray since The Sheriff’s retirement. Maybe they have something in 2024 first-round pick Bo Nix, but the last eight years were nightmare-fuel enough to put Denver on this list.
Trevor Siemian wasn’t it. Neither was 2016 first-round pick Paxton Lynch, whom the Broncos gave up on after four starts. Bringing back Brock Osweiler one year after an ugly divorce? Some couples are better off away from each other than together, huh?
After his career year that culminated in the Minnesota Vikings’ improbable run to the 2017 NFC Championship Game, Case Keenum signed with the Broncos in free agency. Same mediocre production, so Denver cut ties after one year.
Joe Flacco’s career revival after losing his starting job to Lamar Jackson in Baltimore? Forget about it. 2019 second-round pick Drew Lock? Nothing to see there. Teddy Bridgewater’s short-lived stint in 2021? Nothing memorable, either.
The blockbuster Russell Wilson trade that was supposed to end the Broncos’ painful search for an answer at QB? Uh, we all know how that played out. Good trade for the Seahawks, we suppose.
Guess you can’t be too greedy, Broncos fans. You had two Hall of Famers and Super Bowl-winning QBs in John Elway and Peyton Manning. That’s still much better than most other franchises.
Quarterback Factory: Indianapolis Colts
The Colts’ rich QB history starts with the legendary Johnny Unitas, but there was a lengthy wait between true franchise signal-callers. Once the Colts drafted Peyton Manning first overall in 1998, the franchise was changed for the better.
Manning turned the Colts into an AFC powerhouse, winning four MVPs in the blue and white uniform. He led them to two Super Bowls, winning it all over the Chicago Bears in the 2006 season.
When the Colts and Manning agreed to break up in 2012? No big deal, first-overall pick Andrew Luck filled the big shoes and led Indy to the postseason five times — going as far as the 2014 AFC Championship Game. He shocked the world by retiring before his 30th birthday in 2019, but that didn’t stall the production of quarterbacks at the Colts’ factory.
Just when it looked like he was past his prime, Philip Rivers enjoyed a bounce-back year and led Indy to 11 wins and a playoff berth. His retirement in 2021 forced the Colts to find a new QB, and they settled on Carson Wentz.
Most think of Wentz’s one-year tenure in Indy as a disaster. We remind you that he threw for 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions before his career truly went off the rails as Washington’s starter in 2022.
The one-year Matt Ryan experiment was a failure. But even after rookie Anthony Richardson missed all but four games in his 2023 rookie year, journeyman backup Gardner Minshew II earned his first Pro Bowl nod and led Indy to a 9-8 season — just barely missing out on the playoffs.
Time will tell if Richardson can stay healthy and live up to his sky-high potential, but the Colts’ excellent ability to get the most out of their QBs suggests that Richardson will grow into a star.
Quarterback Graveyard: Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jags had stability at QB over their first decade-and-a-half of existence, namely Mark Brunell, Byron Leftwich and David Garrard. Since 2011, however, Duval County has been a cemetery for the game’s most important position.
So, as everyone knows, the decision to trade up and snag Blaine Gabbert 10th overall in 2011 first overall was a disaster. Taking Blake Bortles third overall in 2014 only continued to set this franchise back.
After releasing Bortles in 2019, the Jaguars turned to Super Bowl 52 MVP Nick Foles and gave him a four-year deal worth $88 million in free agency. He lost his starting job to Gardner Minshew after suffering a broken clavicle, and the Jags got the Bears to take on his contract in a 2020 offseason trade.
And remember how Trevor Lawrence was labeled as “generational”? The Jaguars took him first overall in 2021, and the Clemson star has been a giant disappointment for the most part. OR, hear us out….is he just stuck in a QB graveyard?
Quarterback Factory: Minnesota Vikings
This entry will surprise some, but history doesn’t lie. Daunte Culpepper was among football’s best quarterbacks during his peak with the Vikings. 39-year-old Brett Favre was one non-brutal interception away from leading Minnesota to Super Bowl 44 after a dismal one-year stint with the Jets.
Christian Ponder didn’t live up to the hype, but Teddy Bridgewater was solid in his stint with the Vikings and led them to the NFC North division crown in 2015. Though they missed the postseason in 2016, Sam Bradford had a career year with a league-leading 71.6 completion percentage with 20 touchdowns and only five interceptions.
Career journeyman Case Keenum had his best season in 2017, performing the Minneapolis Miracle and leading his squad to the 2017 NFC Championship Game. Kirk Cousins earned three Pro Bowl nods as a Viking and led them to the playoffs twice.
And after Cousins left? No big deal. Sam Darnold put together the best season of his career in 2024, with promising rookie JJ McCarthy out for the year.
The future can’t be brighter for McCarthy in a QB factory in Minnesota.
Quarterback Graveyard: New York Jets
Can we just focus on the Jets’ misery at quarterback since 2008? That was the one year they had the legendary Brett Favre, who had a miserable one-year stop here before enjoying a brief career renaissance with Minnesota in 2009.
We know 2009 fifth overall pick Mark Sanchez helped the Jets to two AFC Championship Games, but an elite defense and rushing game carried him. Remember the forgettable Geno Smith era? Well, he’s done pretty well in Seattle as Russell Wilson’s successor now, hasn’t he?
2018 third-overall pick Sam Darnold was a bust before reviving his career in Minnesota. 2021 second-overall pick Zach Wilson was literally one of the most unwatchable QBs in NFL history.
And uh…at least the great Aaron Rodgers makes headlines with his weird claims on The Pat McAfee Show? At least he makes this dysfunctional organization an even more hilarious circus show, right?
Quarterback Factory: Dallas Cowboys
Love or hate the Cowboys, and you can’t take away their rich history of quarterbacks. Obviously, it starts with Hall of Famer and two-time Super Bowl champion Roger Staubach.
You kids know Troy Aikman as ESPN’s Monday Night Football analyst, but he was also a cornerstone of the ‘90s Cowboys dynasty that won three Super Bowls over a four-year span between 1992 and ‘95.
Dallas hit a rough patch at QB from 2001 to ‘05 following Troy Aikman’s retirement. But the polarizing Tony Romo provided stability at the position from 2006 to 2014, leading them to four playoff appearances during his tenure as the primary starter.
And when Romo went down with a back injury in 2016? Fourth-round pick Dak Prescott emerged as the next great QB in Dallas, helping them to the NFC’s top seed in his rookie year. Have we mentioned that Cooper Rush has played well in relief of Prescott when the occasion has called for it?
Prescott might be more polarizing than Romo was, but he produces like a top-10 QB on an annual basis. From Staubach to Aikmanto Romo to Prescott, the Cowboys have been blessed with a flourishing QB factory over their history.
Also Read: 5 Worst Quarterback Trades In NFL History
