KANSAS CITY -- Before ranking the 32 NFL teams by how easily they could unload their starting quarterbacks if they wanted to or needed to make a change, let's applaud the Kansas City Chiefs for showing how it's done.
Andy Reid made it look so easy. Not just Sunday night, when his Chiefs scored touchdowns on five of their first eight drives before letting off the throttle in a 45-10 victory over the AFC North-leading Cincinnati Bengals. Bigger picture, the Chiefs made the whole quarterback acquisition process look like first-and-goal from the 1.
Reid needed a quarterback in 2013 and didn't see one worth drafting early, so he acquired Alex Smith and won as many games over the next five seasons as every team but New England and Seattle. When the Chiefs finally saw a college quarterback they could not resist, they traded up for Patrick Mahomes, sat him behind Smith for a year and then unleashed him to rave reviews this season.
Meanwhile, teams like the New York Giants, Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars and the Bengals have stayed the course with average starting quarterbacks who usually haven't been even Smith's equal.
While acting boldly at the position carries risk and Mahomes still must prove himself over time, settling for an average starter is its own gamble.
The Chiefs are not alone. Philadelphia, Minnesota, Houston and to some extent the Redskins all made aggressive moves for quarterbacks in the past few seasons, with generally positive results. Buffalo, Arizona, San Francisco and the New York Jets also made major moves and have a shot at striking it big.
With young quarterbacks such as Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota and possibly even Derek Carr facing uncertain futures beyond this season, we rank all the teams by how easily they could get seek an upgrade behind center. This is not a ranking of how likely teams are to move on from their starters. Rather, it's a ranking of how easy it would be for each team to make a change if one became desirable or necessary.
The numbers listed below each quarterback's name show the 2019 salary-cap charges their teams would incur for keeping, cutting or trading them, according to ESPN's Roster Management System. Cuts would take place after the season, without taking advantage of the so-called "June 1 rule" allowing teams to push cap charges into the future. Moves sometimes would be made before guarantees kicked in.