In the time of year when hope generally springs eternal, teams that enter the regular season with confidence in their quarterback situation feel better about their chances for a successful season.
The most important part of the quarterback discussion revolves around the starter. However, the full depth chart matters. Since 2022, there hasn’t been a season in which more than half of the teams in the league didn’t turn to somebody other than their starter for at least two games. Several factors come into play, including performance-based benchings and resting starters toward the end of the season. But injuries play a major role, too.
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As we did last year, let’s examine the 10 worst quarterback situations in the NFL entering the 2026 season. As a reminder, this considers each team’s full depth chart. It is not simply a ranking of starting quarterbacks, although the starting situation will weigh more heavily, and the backups will be weighed relative to other backups across the league.
This season, we are using The Athletic’s QB Tiers as a source of guidance. There were 17 quarterbacks that fell into the Tier 1 or Tier 2 category. The weight of having a starter at that level kept those teams above this particular discussion. Last year, teams with rookie starting quarterbacks were exempt from this exercise but this year, there are no teams entering the season with a rookie slated to be the starter.
10. Carolina Panthers
Starter (QB Tier ranking): Bryce Young (Tier 3, No. 22)
Backups: Kenny Pickett, Haynes King
Young is one of the more frustrating quarterbacks in the NFL. He’ll put forth enough bad performances to show that he’s not the answer the franchise thought he would be when they traded up to draft him No. 1. However, just when you start cementing that opinion, he’ll have a game or two that pulls you back in. This season should go a long way toward giving the Panthers some clarity on if Young deserves a second contract.
Pickett is a comfortable backup for Carolina, in that he could be serviceable in the short term, but his presence also won’t make Young, who has already gone through an unceremonious benching, nervous about his job.
9. Minnesota Vikings
Starter (QB Tier ranking): Kyler Murray (Tier 3, No. 23)
Backups: J.J. McCarthy, Carson Wentz
Murray’s recent history on the field doesn’t inspire much confidence, but with the way things are run in Arizona, it’s fair to wonder if the change in scenery will unlock Murray’s full potential. Playing in Kevin O’Connell’s system and with a supporting cast featuring Justin Jefferson, Jauan Jennings and Jordan Addison should help, too. Murray is squarely in the middle of Tier 3, but his upside could take him to the top of that tier.
Minnesota’s backup situation is fairly deep. McCarthy is fine as a No. 2 and last year’s No. 2 for the Vikings, Carson Wentz, profiles as one of the better No. 3 quarterbacks in the league. If Wentz ends up being the No. 2, either because McCarthy is no longer on the roster or even over McCarthy, the floor of Minnesota’s offense should remain solid.
8. Tennessee Titans
Starter (QB Tier ranking): Cam Ward (Tier 3, No. 25)
Backups: Mitch Trubisky
Ward is a tough evaluation because the Titans were so depleted offensively last year in his rookie season. Not only was the talent on the roster lacking, but Ward also dealt with a change in play-calling duties three weeks into 2025 and the firing of the head coach who drafted him four weeks later. Changes on the coaching staff and adding the likes of Wan’Dale Robinson and Carnell Tate should help.
Having a veteran backup in Trubisky, who has 58 NFL starts under his belt, is an upgrade over what Tennessee had last season. Trubisky should be able to step in and handle short stints, if needed.
7. Indianapolis Colts
Starter (QB Tier ranking): Daniel Jones (Tier 3, No. 21)
Backups: Riley Leonard, Anthony Richardson Sr.
This position largely depends on how Daniel Jones is viewed, both from an on-field play perspective and from a medical standpoint. Jones has had a largely subpar NFL career but he found a style of play through the first half of last season that allowed the Colts to win games. Jones may not be viewed as a quarterback who can carry a team to wins, but if he can at least not be a reason they lose, he’ll be doing his part. A big part of the mystery with Jones also revolves around how he rebounds from last year’s mid-season Achilles injury.
Behind Jones are Leonard and Richardson, the same guys that were on the roster last year when the Colts felt they had to go pull Philip Rivers out of retirement for the home stretch. If the Colts have to ride either for long stretches, there’s nothing to suggest that the team won’t be playing for a draft slot instead of a playoff spot.
6. New Orleans Saints
Starter (QB Tier ranking): Tyler Shough (Tier 3, No. 26)
Backups: Spencer Rattler, Zach Wilson
The Saints feel like they may have found the stability at the position they’ve been looking for in the post-Drew Brees era. Shough came off the bench last season and had some promising showings but there wasn’t the sample size necessary to anoint him as the next one. Still, quarterbacks with promising flashes typically get the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. Behind Shough, there’s not a whole lot of hope. Rattler has a 1-13 career record in the NFL and Wilson hasn’t started a game since 2023.
5. Atlanta Falcons
Starter (QB Tier ranking): Tua Tagovailoa (Tier 3, No. 26-tie) or Michael Penix Jr. (Tier 4, No. 32)
Backups: Cooper Rush, Jack Strand
There have been legitimate concerns swirling around Penix since he was drafted by the Falcons, just after they signed Kirk Cousins to a big free-agent contract. With his lack of durability and inefficient play, Penix hasn’t done much to silence those questions. When healthy, he should be the best option for Atlanta, but he was only recently cleared for full 11-on-11 work and the Falcons have yet to determine a starter.
As a backup, Tagovailoa should be one of the better options in the NFL, given that he’s only two years removed from being paid as one of the best starters in the league. Rush is more than serviceable as a No. 3 and the system in Atlanta is better suited for him compared to the strange fit in Baltimore last season. Strand had an impressive preseason and gives Atlanta another developmental option.
4. Miami Dolphins
Starter (QB Tier ranking): Malik Willis (Tier 4, No. 29)
Backups: Brady Cook, Kyle McCord
If we were judging by quarterback cap sheets, the Dolphins would probably fall below every team except the Browns. Tagovailoa’s cap hit will be tough to navigate, but the Dolphins still decided to hand a relatively hefty deal to Willis in free agency. Willis has six starts in four seasons. The franchise also did him no favors by trading away Jaylen Waddle, even if it was the right thing to do.
Behind Willis, the Dolphins have one of the worst backup quarterback situations in the league. None of the three quarterbacks Miami had throughout training camp — Quinn Ewers, Cam Miller and Mark Gronowski — are on the roster anymore. Cook wasn’t even able to stick on the New York Jets roster, despite their lackluster quarterback situation (though it would be foolish to draw conclusions about a quarterback based on how the Jets felt about him). McCord entered the league as an undrafted free agent last year and is an unknown commodity with no NFL experience.
3. Arizona Cardinals
Starter (QB Tier ranking): Jacoby Brissett (Tier 4, No. 33)
Backups: Gardner Minshew, Carson Beck
If you’re in a situation where you not only have Brissett holding out over a contract dispute but, as a team, you decide to give in to his demands, things are not going well. In fairness to Arizona, it didn’t appear the Cardinals had any intention of fielding high-level quarterback play this season. They seem content spending the 2026 season recovering from the Kyler Murray era after releasing him this offseason and turning their hopes for an answer at the position to the 2027 NFL Draft.
Still, at No. 33, Brissett is the lowest-ranked starter in the QB Tiers, with only J.J. McCarthy and Shedeur Sanders falling below him. It’s been years since Minshew Mania had any sort of shine to it, so Minshew’s status as the backup doesn’t inspire much hope. Beck, the rookie third-round pick, had an intriguing NFL debut with his performance in the Hall of Fame Game, but he’s been dealing with an injury for most of camp. If Beck gets healthy and things fall apart ahead of him, it would at least be worth watching how Beck would fare with a fairly decent skill position group around him.
2. New York Jets
Starter (QB Tier ranking): Geno Smith (Tier 4, No. 30)
Backups: Cade Klubnik
The Las Vegas Raiders brought Geno Smith in with the hopes that he could deliver the franchise a postseason berth. Instead, Smith started 15 games and delivered the No. 1 pick, which led to his replacement. The Jets almost had as many games last season with under 100 yards passing (four) as they did over 200 yards passing (five) and had a weak quarterback draft class to work with, so beggars can’t be choosers.
Klubnik, a rookie fourth-rounder, is the only other quarterback on the depth chart but wouldn’t be much better than a low-end No. 2 or a No. 3 on a quality depth chart. By virtue of the lack of talent around him, Smith shouldn’t have to look over his shoulder much. At least, not until the 2027 NFL Draft.
1. Cleveland Browns
Starter (QB Tier ranking): Deshaun Watson (Tier 4, No. 31)
Backups: Shedeur Sanders, Taylen Green, Dillon Gabriel
In explaining the rationale for naming Watson the starting quarterback to begin the season, Browns coach Todd Monken said he felt Watson gave the team “the best chance to move the ball and score points.” What tipped the scales in favor of Watson? A Week 2 preseason performance against the Buffalo Bills’ backups in which Watson completed just five of his 12 pass attempts for 36 yards and threw an interception, leading the Browns to zero points.
For a coach to evaluate that, as well as the startling comments made by Watson postgame, and name him the starter two days later says all that needs to be said about how dire the situation is in Cleveland. Watson’s EPA per pass play ranks 59th out of 60 qualifying quarterbacks since his arrival to Cleveland in 2022, ahead of only New Orleans Saints backup Zach Wilson. Browns ownership all but bid farewell to Watson last year, calling the decision to trade for him a “swing and a miss.” Watson’s overall ineptitude is bad enough, but it’s also troubling that Sanders couldn’t claim such a winnable job and that Gabriel hardly factored into the conversation at all this summer before landing on IR to start the season.
Just outside of top-10: The Denver Broncos were a consideration, as starter Bo Nix sits atop Tier 3 and the backup situation is not very promising. The Pittsburgh Steelers were also in the mix because of the hodgepodge they have behind Aaron Rodgers, but Rodgers held just enough weight to stay out of the top 10. The Houston Texans’ C.J. Stroud tumbled down the QB Tiers, going from Tier 2 to Tier 3, falling 11 spots, but Davis Mills stepped in to go 3-0 as a backup last year. Kirk Cousins is one of the lower-rated starters in the league, but Fernando Mendoza does enough to lift the Raiders up.
