We’ve already covered the teams flirting with season-ending disaster via their quarterback rooms, but what about the flip side? Which NFL teams have the best backup quarterback situations?
Here are my picks.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Starter: Carson Wentz
Backups: Nick Foles, Nate Sudfeld, Joe Callahan
Doug Pederson was an NFL backup quarterback his entire career, so he has plenty of perspective on the importance of the position. Frank Reich, also a career backup and one of the best in NFL history, was his offensive coordinator last season. Needless to say the preseason preparation the Eagles made in their quarterback depth chart not only saved their season when Wentz went down, but gave them the team’s first Super Bowl Championship when Foles was named the game’s MVP.
At least one team put in an offer for Foles this offseason that the Eagles turned down for good reason. Wentz tore his knee up so late last year, there’s no guarantee he’ll be 100 percent when the 2018 campaign begins. In fact, the Eagles would be smart to roll with Foles for at least a month. With the Week Six trade deadline, they could angle up a first round pick from a desperate team looking at their own starting QB injury.
CLEVELAND BROWNS
Starter: Tyrod Taylor
Backups: Baker Mayfield, Drew Stanton, Brogan Roback
You could argue that the Browns are fielding a quarterback roster of backups, but Mayfield will take over sooner than later. Preseason will likely play that out before our eyes during the games, and Hue Jackson will be forced to “change his mind.”
That beings said, Taylor and Stanton have both started and won games in the NFL. Not just any games, but key contests that put their former teams into the playoffs. With Mayfield as the starter, Cleveland has the second best backup group in the entire league.
NEW YORK JETS
Starter: Josh McCown
Backups: Sam Darnold, Teddy Bridgewater
Who has the best backup group? For now it’s the Jets by a pretty wide margin. Like the Browns, their quarterback roster is upside down right now due to rookie potential franchise quarterbacks. Where New York has the advantage is, if Bridgewater is completely healthy, they actually have two franchise quarterbacks.
The word out of OTAs is that Bridgewater is looking so good that he could be preseason trade bate. This kid was the rookie of the year a couple of years ago and led his team to the playoffs and a division title in his second year. If not for a shanked field goal, he would have played in that postseason for a while. This is Darnold’s team, obviously, and McCown is as solid a backup as there is in the NFL, but adding Bridgewater to this QB room puts it on an entirely different level.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
Starter: Jameis Winston
Backups: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ryan Griffin, Austen Allen
Few backup quarterbacks in the league perform better coming out of the bullpen than Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick does so well in that situation that he’s fooled three different teams into thinking he’s a starter at seperate points in his career. He’s started 119 games out of a possible 133. Think about that for a minute.
Winston is the franchise, but the Buccaneers have peace of mind if he does have to sit out that their season will only be ruined by Dirk Koetter’s inept leadership and playcalling, not by the guy playing quarterback. Fitzpatrick was 2-1 as a starter for Tampa Bay last season.
