At one point during the NFL's late Sunday window this past weekend, four of the eight teams on the field were using their backup quarterbacks. That's not supposed to happen in the NFL, which has embedded deep injury protections for quarterbacks into its rule book to prevent, say, Nathan Peterman from ever taking a snap for the Las Vegas Raiders.
But there was Peterman on Sunday, filling in briefly while starter Derek Carr was examined for a possible injury. Mike Glennon, meanwhile, stepped in for injured New York Giants starter Daniel Jones. Andy Dalton took some snaps while Chicago Bears rookie Justin Fields was examined. And rookie Trey Lance started for the San Francisco 49ers while Jimmy Garoppolo nursed a calf injury.
In most cases, backup quarterbacks are triage in a crisis. The Bears were the only team of the four to win in Week 5, and overall this season, backups -- defined here as someone other than a Week 1 starter -- have lost 10 of the 14 games they've started.
Fortunately for the NFL, they haven't been needed much in 2021. The 37 starts by backup quarterbacks through five weeks is the fewest since 2012 and the third-lowest total since the NFL expanded to 32 teams in 2002, according to ESPN Stats & Information. But five are expected to start in Week 6, and now is a good time to take stock of the quality of reserves around the league. What follows is a cross-section assessment of the best, the worst and a few in between.
Jump to:
Top five | Reliable vets
Lower tier | Untested
THE TOP FIVE
Andy Dalton, Chicago Bears
Dalton held the Bears' seat warm for a game and a half before giving way to Fields. But in two years as a backup, including nine starts for the Dallas Cowboys last season, Dalton has a 47.0 Total QBR, good for No. 25 in the NFL over that period. His teams have won five of his 11 starts. It's worth noting that the Bears have an above-average No. 3 QB, too, in Nick Foles.
Jacoby Brissett, Miami Dolphins
For a player that has never been designated a Week 1 starter by choice, Brissett manages to get on the field a lot. He has appeared in 54 games over the past six seasons, tied for 18th-most in the league during that span. Although his teams are 12-23 in his 35 career starts, Brissett's own performance -- he has completed 60% of his passes for more than twice as many touchdowns (35) as interceptions (15) -- has been better than most backups. He has started the past three games for the Dolphins while Tua Tagovailoa navigates his way back from a ribs injury.
Case Keenum, Cleveland Browns
Keenum's stellar turn as a Minnesota Vikings injury replacement in 2017 -- including 22 touchdown passes, seven interceptions and victories in 11 of 14 starts -- earned him a Week 1 starting role with the Denver Broncos in 2018. Since then, however, he has resumed his role as a super backup. Only 16 active quarterbacks have made more than Keenum's 62 career starts, and all of them are full-time starters.
Taylor Heinicke, Washington Football Team
Heinicke couldn't get on the field in the XFL, but in Washington, he is playing for the offensive coordinator (Scott Turner) who lobbied the Vikings to sign him as an undrafted free agent in 2015. Forced into action when Ryan Fitzpatrick (hip) was hurt in Week 1, he led a wild comeback over the Giants in Week 2 and also had a 290-yard, three-touchdown performance in a Week 4 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Like many players who shouldn't be full-time starters, Heinicke makes some ill-advised throws. But his frenetic style provides a fair bit of upside, too.
P.J. Walker, Carolina Panthers
Walker's name isn't as familiar as some of the others at the top of this list, but he is a sneaky versatile talent who was by far the best quarterback during the XFL's pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The Panthers won his only start last season, and although he threw a total of five interceptions in 56 attempts over five appearances, the projection here is that he would fare as well as any backup could be expected over an extended period of time.
VETERANS YOU CAN TRUST
Chad Henne, Kansas City Chiefs
Henne, 36, has appeared in 71 NFL games, more than all but 17 active quarterbacks. That includes two seasons as the primary starter for the Dolphins and another two with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He settled into a backup role in 2014, but he proved his worth as recently as last season, replacing an injured Patrick Mahomes in a divisional playoff victory over the Browns that sent them to the AFC championship game.
Brian Hoyer, New England Patriots
Hoyer, 35, is in his third and probably final stint as the Patriots' backup. He spent 2014 as the Browns' primary starter and then served a similar role for the 2015 Houston Texans. The 49ers gave him another chance in 2017. Overall, his teams have lost 23 of 39 starts, but Patriots coach Bill Belichick clearly trusts him to run the offense in a pinch if needed.
Mason Rudolph, Pittsburgh Steelers
Rudolph has started nine games over the past two seasons, and most of them haven't been very good. His 36.2 QBR in 2019 was the worst among all qualified NFL quarterbacks. But the Steelers are 5-4 in his starts, and they have passed up opportunities to upgrade amid two consecutive seasons of concern about starter Ben Roethlisberger's health.
Colt McCoy, Arizona Cardinals
A decade ago, McCoy got a two-season tryout as the Browns' primary starter. He ended up throwing as many interceptions as touchdown passes (20), and ever since has followed the backup circuit from the Browns to Washington to the Giants and now to the Cardinals. His teams have lost 22 of his 30 starts, but coaches are drawn to the feisty playing style that emerges when he gets on the field.
Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
It seems like yesterday when Smith was slogging through two tough seasons as the New York Jets' primary starter. A sucker punch from a teammate during the 2015 preseason broke his jaw and effectively ended his time as an NFL starter. But it's notable that four franchises have trusted him as their top backup, and Russell Wilson's finger injury means Smith is set for his longest stint as a starter in eight years.
Chase Daniel, Los Angeles Chargers
The most incredible part of Daniel's career is that it has lasted 12 seasons even though he has made just five starts. Over that period, he has earned nearly $40 million. Some of that has been by chance; the starters he has backed up have rarely been injured. But front offices and coaches around the league trust him implicitly as a mentor to younger quarterbacks and as a player who won't embarrass anyone when (or if) he gets on the field. For his career, he has eight touchdown passes and seven interceptions.
YOU DON'T WANT HIM ON THE FIELD
Joe Flacco, Philadelphia Eagles
The truth is that Flacco's career as the Baltimore Ravens' starter probably would have ended earlier than it did (2018) were it not for a series of cap-induced contract extensions. He has appeared a shell of his former self during backup stints with the Broncos in 2019 and the Jets last season. The Eagles acquired Gardner Minshew from the Jaguars this summer, and it's anyone's guess what they would do if starter Jalen Hurts missed time.
Mike Glennon, New York Giants
A strong arm and an accommodating personality can get a backup quarterback a long way. Glennon has changed teams every season for the past six years, and he could start in Week 6 given Jones' concussion. But his teams have lost 10 of his past 12 starts, and his stark lack of mobility makes him relatively easy to game-plan against.
Davis Mills, Houston Texans
This designation might be a bit unfair because Mills is a rookie. But if it weren't for a string of unusual events, from starter Tyrod Taylor's injury to the decision to sideline Deshaun Watson, Mills wouldn't be on the field. He has the NFL's second-worst ratio of interceptions to attempts (5.2%), and one has to hope he is not swallowed by the inertia of Houston's organizational dysfunction.
Brett Hundley, Indianapolis Colts
Hundley got a nine-game tryout with the Green Bay Packers in 2017, and it did not go well. He threw 12 interceptions, and the Packers lost six times. He has since bounced between the Seahawks, Cardinals and now the Colts. He jumped Jacob Eason on the Colts' depth chart, but the Colts don't want to find out what would happen if he got on the field.
Blaine Gabbert, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
There might not be a bigger drop off from starter to backup in the NFL. Tom Brady is playing at an MVP level. Gabbert has a career completion percentage of 56.3%, which ranks No. 117 in the league since he was drafted in 2011 among passers with at least 100 attempts. He would surely benefit from the Buccaneers' offensive talent, should he get on the field at a meaningful moment, but that's only part of the way there.
UNTESTED QUESTION MARKS
Mike White, New York Jets
A fifth-round pick of the Cowboys in 2018, White has never appeared in an NFL game. He threw for 63 touchdowns and 15 interceptions over two seasons with Western Kentucky, averaging 8.8 yards per attempt.
Tyler Huntley, Baltimore Ravens
Signed as an undrafted rookie in 2020, Huntley has a similar skill set as starter Lamar Jackson and thus wouldn't require a major scheme change if he has to play. During his college days at Utah, Huntley completed 67.2% of his passes and had three seasons with more than 100 rushing attempts.
Logan Woodside, Tennessee Titans
A seventh-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2018, Woodside appeared briefly in six games for the Titans last season. The Toledo product had 93 touchdown passes in college, including a massive 45-TD season in 2016.
Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
The infamous heir apparent to Aaron Rodgers, Love did not play as a rookie, was uneven during the 2021 preseason and has gotten on the field during garbage time for two regular-season games. A first-round pick out of Utah State, Love could be the starter as early as next year if Rodgers leaves Green Bay.