NFL “QB Situations”

Having not had much time for browsing over the past several days, I sat down this morning to find some new stuff for today’s rant.  The headline that jumped out and bit me on the nose was clearly in the category of “old news” – – and  yet, there it was at the top of the page I found.  Here is the headline:

“Steelers legend Terry Bradshaw rips Aaron Rodgers, team for handling of quarterback position: ‘A failure’ “

Bradshaw minced no words according to this report, going back to the way the Steelers dealt with Kenny Pickett, which Bradshaw thought was off target.  After reading this, I wondered if the Steelers had the worst “QB situation” in the NFL at the moment.  So, I started looking at depth charts and came up with this.

Here are five teams whose “QB situation” is either “not very good” or “too many unknowns to declare”:

• Browns:  Ever since the disastrous trade for and signing of Deshaun Watson, the Browns have had QB issues.  It seems now that they seek to resolve those issues with sheer numbers.  The Browns have 5 QBs on the string – – Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders and the aforementioned Watson.  Maybe Pickett is a late bloomer?  Maybe Flacco still has a pinch of fairy dust in his pocket?  Maybe …
• Colts:  Here is the deal in a nutshell:
  • • Anthony Richardson is a stud athlete whose passing accuracy is about as reliable as a Wi-Fi signal in a hotel lobby.
    • Daniel Jones is up and down as often as a yo-yo.
• Also on the roster are Riley Leonard (rookie 6^th round pick from Notre Dame) and Jason Bean (spend 2024 in the UFL with the Memphis Showboats)
• Saints:  The retirement of Darek Carr is a real problem in New Orleans.  Carr may not – – even at his best – – have been a “Top Ten QB”, but his injury-induced retirement leaves the Saints with Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener as their QBs with NFL experience plus Tyler Shough, a rookie out of Louisville who spent 7 years in the collegiate ranks.
• Steelers:  Indeed, the Steelers are on this list.  As of this morning, they have Mason Rudolph as the starter with 6^th round pick Will Howard as the understudy.  If Rodgers does not show up, maybe they could trade for Kirk Cousins – – and assume the burden of his bloated contract – – but that situation is both up in the air and talent deficient.
• Titans: Yes, they have overall #1 pick Cam Ward on the squad and hope springs eternal with overall #1 selections.  Other than Ward, however, the roster shows Will Levis, Brandon Allen and Tim Boyd.  Let’s just say that the jury is out on Cam Ward, but the jury has returned verdicts on the other three …

            Just to maintain a degree of symmetry in the universe, let me suggest the five teams that I think have the most solid QB situations in the NFL today:

• Bills:  Josh Allen plus Mitchell Trubisky is a solid QB situation.  IN addition, Mike White has been in the league for several years.  Shane Buechele has been with the Bills and the Chiefs since 2021; given the starters for the Bills and the Chiefs, it is not surprising that Buechele has not seen a lot of game action.
• Chiefs:  Patrick Mahomes is the man in KC; the Chiefs signed a capable backup in this offseason – – Gardner Minshew.  Minshew did very well in college under Mike Leach and the “Air-Raid Offense”; he might also do well in Andy Reid’s passing offense.  Bailey Zappe is another QB on the roster with unrefined passing skills.
• Eagles:  Jalen Hurts is for real; there are at least 20 teams who would start him immediately.  Behind him is Tanner McKee who got a start last year in a meaningless regular season game and posted this stat line:
  • • 27 of 41 for 269 yards with 2 TDs and 0 INTs
• Yes, it is a small sample, but as a backup QB, those are impressive numbers.  Also in the building are Dorian Thompson-Robinson (some NFL game experience) and Kyle McCord (rookie from Syracuse).
• Rams:  Matthew Stafford can still play at a superior level and the backup in LA will be Jimmy G. who has proven that he can be an excellent backup in the league but is a bit too injury-prone to be a reliable starter.
• Ravens:  In recent years, there was a huge drop-off from Lamar Jackson to the Ravens’ backup QB.  The team seems to have resolved that in this offseason signing Cooper Rush to be the backup QB; Rush demonstrated his abilities last year with the Cowboys.  Devin Leary is a second-year player out of Kentucky and is also on the depth chart.

I expect some pushback for leaving the Bengals off the “solid QB situation list”.  My reason is that I believe the drop-off between starter Joe Burrow and prime backup Jake Browning is larger than the drop-offs for the five teams on my list.  The depth chart entries behind Browning are Logan Woodside (drafted in 2018 and has yet to “emerge”) and Payton Thorne (undrafted rookie from Auburn).

Finally, since all this started with some observations by Terry Bradshaw, let me close with another thought from Bradshaw:

“I would start with the most important thing a quarterback has to be: poised. If you panic in that pocket, you are no good. I don’t care what else is there; you have to be poised.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………