Ranking the NFL’s Backup QBs: From Worst to First Across All 32 Teams – 2025 Edition
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
As Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks like Jeff Hostetler, Kurt Warner, and Nick Foles have shown, the importance of a quality backup NFL signal-caller cannot be overstated. You just never know when a second-stringer‘s time will come, and when they’ll make the most of it.
With that, let’s dive into our 2025 edition of all 32 NFL backup quarterbacks from worst to first.
Who are the best backup QBs in the NFL today?
32. Max Brosmer (Minnesota Vikings)
Brosmer opened the season as a third-stringer before Carson Wentz’s season-ending injury, making him the Vikings’ emergency option if something happens to starter JJ McCarthy.
Brosmer signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent earlier this year and has appeared in three games during garbage time. There just isn’t any significant playing time or game film to go off of, though, so he’s the last-ranked NFL backup QB by default.
31. Tanner McKee (Philadelphia Eagles)
McKee has made one start to this point, suiting up for the Eagles’ meaningless Week 18, 2024 game against the Giants in a winning effort.
McKee was the third-stringer behind Jalen Hurts and Kenny Pickett when the Eagles defeated the Chiefs in Super Bowl 59. Philly later traded Pickett to the Browns, a strong showing of faith in McKee as their QB2 going forward.
30. Tyson Bagent (Chicago Bears)
With then-starter Justin Fields injured, Bagent had to start four games for the Bears in 2023. Though he won two of those games, Bagent only had three touchdowns against six interceptions with a lackluster 71.4 passer rating.
The good news is the Bears have veteran journeyman Case Keenum as a third-stringer in case. But obviously, all of this is moot with the way Caleb Williams has played in year two.
29. Zach Wilson (Miami Dolphins)
Wilson is on the long list of highly-touted QBS from the 2021 draft class that never met expectations. The No. 2 overall pick that year went 12-21 as the Jets’ starting QB with 23 touchdowns against 25 interceptions.
He didn’t see any playing time as the Broncos’ third-stringer in 2024 and took a job with the Dolphins, holding a clipboard for Tua Tagovailoa amid a rough year in South Beach. At this point, Wilson will have to accept deals as a backup QB if he wants to stick around in the NFL.
28. Shedeur Sanders (Cleveland Browns)
With Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett out, Sanders moved up to second-stringer by default. But that didn’t amount to much for the Colorado product and certified media darling, who remains on the bench in favor of Dillon Gabriel.
The Browns have nothing to lose in giving Sanders an opportunity to start, but Kevin Stefanski is adamant about playing Gabriel. That’s the Browns for ya.
Despite no playing time in the NFL, Sanders ranks a little higher here because of his upside over the guys below him.
27. Kyle Allen (Detroit Lions)
Allen spent one season as a primary starter back in 2019, filling in for an injured Cam Newton in Carolina. His bad turnover habits and high sack totals, however, proved costly. 16 picks and 46 sacks in 13 games that year.
So he’s bounced around the NFL as a backup QB, last starting a game for the Texans in 2022. Not a whole lot to see here.
26. Brandon Allen (Tennessee Titans)
The journeyman backup is honestly probably happy to back up rookie Cam Ward instead of getting behind that atrocious offensive line.
Allen has started 10 games in his NFL career, including five for the Bengals in 2020 after Joe Burrow’s season-ending injury. He’s 2-8 and has 11 touchdowns against eight interceptions. He’s better suited as a third-stringer, but Will Levis’ season-ending shoulder surgery moved Allen up the depth chart for 2025.
25. Jarrett Stidham (Denver Broncos)
Stidham has made four career starts, two with the Raiders in 2022 and a couple more with the Broncos in 2023. With such limited playing time through seven seasons, there’s not much Stidham game tape to review here, so we can’t justify ranking him any higher.
24. Joe Milton III (Dallas Cowboys)
The 6-foot-5, 246-pound Milton showed flashes in the Week 18, 2024 game he played for the Patriots last year. And we’ve seen him drop some absolutely dimes in practice and preseason.
The sky-high potential is there, but obviously, we need to see more before ranking Milton any higher. With Dak Prescott holding down the starting duties, Milton only gets his snaps in garbage time.
23. Nick Mullens (Jacksonville Jaguars)
Mullens was a productive backup for the 49ers in 2018 and 2020, throwing 25 touchdowns against 22 interceptions in place of an injured Jimmy Garoppolo. Honestly, pretty good for a backup NFL QB.
Mullens had a rough go as the Vikings’ temporary starter in 2023, losing all three starts with seven touchdowns against eight interceptions. Now in his first season with the Jaguars, it’s clear Mullens is only a high-end backup if he’s playing in a QB-friendly system like Kyle Shanahan’s.
22. Joshua Dobbs (New England Patriots)
The “Passtronaut” showcased his potential in the 2023 season split with Arizona and Minnesota, throwing 13 total touchdowns against 10 interceptions as an understudy.
He spent the 2024 campaign as a backup QB in San Francisco before landing with the Patriots in 2025, where Dobbs enjoys a front-row seat to Drake Maye’s rise to stardom in the NFL. As a 30-year-old, Dobbs will only stick around if he’s willing to accept backup roles the rest of the way.
21. Trey Lance (Los Angeles Chargers)
It’s hard not to feel for Lance, who may or may not have been the guy for the 49ers if not for that season-ending ankle injury in Week 2 of the 2022 season. Brock Purdy took over as the starter and never looked back, and Lance’s career hasn’t recovered.
Lance was the Cowboys’ third-stringer for two seasons before landing with the Chargers in 2025. We still wonder what the former No. 3 pick of 2021 could do with an extended look, but it obviously isn’t coming in LA with Justin Herbert performing like a rockstar as usual.
20. Drew Lock (Seattle Seahawks)
The Broncos selected Lock in the second round in 2019 and felt confident he could emerge as a starting QB. He won four of five starts and had seven touchdowns against three picks that year, but never regained that form and lost his starting job to Teddy Bridgewater in 2021.
Lock returned to Seattle for a second stint after spending 2024 with the Giants. With 28 starts under his belt, Lock isn’t the worst backup option. But he’s far from anyone’s first choice for a second-stringer, either.
19. Malik Willis (Green Bay Packers)
After three lackluster starts as a rookie for the Titans in 2022, Willis had to wait two years to see meaningful playing time again. He started two games for the Packers in 2024 after an injury to Jordan Love, excelling in a game manager role, with three touchdowns and no picks.
Willis handled Matt LaFleur’s offense well and won both starts, cementing his spot as Love’s backup QB for the 2025 NFL season. For Green Bay, it should be an easy decision to retain Willis beyond this season with his rookie deal set to expire.
18. Anthony Richardson (Indianapolis Colts)
Well, Daniel Jones’ epic career year erases the Colts’ mistake of drafting Richardson fourth overall in 2023. Injuries and turnover issues left Indy with little choice, but this doesn’t mean the end of his career.
Richardson has sky-high potential and just needs to find the right home to maximize it. He just needs to look at Jones, Sam Darnold, and Baker Mayfield as examples.
17. Mitch Trubisky (Buffalo Bills)
Trubisky had four shaky seasons in Chicago and never lived up to expectations as the No. 2 pick in 2017. He had a chance to revive his career with the Steelers, but went a lousy 2-and-5 over two seasons there with eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Trubisky returned to the Bills as their backup in 2024, having spent the 2021 campaign as Josh Allen’s understudy. Trubisky won’t start again at this point, but his experience and familiarity with Buffalo’s offense make him an adequate QB2 behind Allen.
16. Kenny Pickett (Las Vegas Raiders)
Well, it’s been quite a four-year NFL journey for Pickett.
Play musical chairs with Mitch Trubisky for the QB1 job in Pittsburgh for two years. Then win a Super Bowl 59 ring as Jalen Hurts’ backup in Philly. Then, get traded to Cleveland to compete for a starting QB job. He then got traded again to Vegas to back up Geno Smith.
Got all that? Good.
Pickett didn’t have the best coaching staff or supporting cast in Pittsburgh. But as a former first-round pick, we’d like to see what he could do in an extended look somewhere.
15. Mason Rudolph (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Now in his second stint with the Steelers, Rudolph started 13 games for the Steelers between 2019 and 2023. His stats were never flashy, but he got the job done as a game manager in a rush-heavy offense.
Rudolph went 3-0 in 2023 to lead Pittsburgh to a surprise playoff appearance, though they were ousted by the Bills in the Wild Card Round. He started five games for the Titans last year, tossing nine touchdowns and as many interceptions on football’s worst team.
Rudolph is just fine as a backup QB option in the NFL. IF you need him to start one or two games, he’s fine. He’s just not a season-long starter if your QB1 goes down early.
14. Teddy Bridgewater (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
This ranking might feel high for a player who hasn’t started a game since 2022, but Bridgewater has been a rock-solid backup and adequate starting QB during his career.
It sucks that his promising tenure in Minnesota ended with a season-ending knee injury in a 2016 practice before Week 1. There’s no telling how his career could have panned out, but a 33-32 record as a starter on mostly bad teams with 75 touchdowns and 47 interceptions isn’t half bad.
13. Spencer Rattler (New Orleans Saints)
Rattler beat out rookie Tyler Shough for the QB1 job and actually looked better than expected on a tanking Saints squad. Though the Saints went 1-7 under Rattler, he had eight touchdowns against five interceptions with little help around him.
The Saints named Shough their starting QB for Week 9, wanting to give the rookie second-round pick a shot. Rattler won’t be a regular starter in the NFL, but he does have a future as a high-end backup QB.
12. Gardner Minshew II (Kansas City Chiefs)
He didn’t cut it in his one season with the Raiders last year, but let’s not forget his success with the lowly Jaguars in 2019. Or when he nearly led the rebuilding Colts to a playoff berth in 2019.
Minshew threw for 68 touchdowns and 34 interceptions over his first six seasons. Not bad for a guy who’s spent most of his career as a backup, and we’re sure he could do something in Andy Reid’s offense if the occasion called for it.
11. Russell Wilson (New York Giants)
Wilson started the Giants’ first three games before getting benched in favor of Jaxson Dart, who put together a superb rookie year given the circumstances.
Wilson couldn’t revive his career under Brian Daboll, who was fired after a 2-8 start. With Wilson losing his starting job for the second time in three years, it’s obvious that he’ll have to accept backup duties the rest of his career or retire.
10. Davis Mills (Houston Texans)
Mills was the Texans’ primary starter in 2021 and 2022, while they were in full-scale rebuilding mode. He actually kept them more competitive than expected and had 33 touchdowns against 25 interceptions over those two years.
The Texans drafted CJ Stroud second overall in 2023 and made him the new starter right away. But Mills has earned his spot on this NFL roster as a backup QB, leading Houston to a surprise Week 10 win over Jacksonville with Stroud sidelined. The dude can play.
9. Tyrod Taylor (New York Jets)
Taylor hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2017, but he’s been a low-key quality backup QB in the back half of his NFL career. Taylor is a decent dual-threat QB who has better ball security than most NFL backups. Remember, he won two games on a tanking Texans team in 2021 and a couple of more on the lousy Giants in 2023.
8. Jimmy Garoppolo (Los Angeles Rams)
Jimmy G’s limitations in San Francisco led to them drafting Trey Lance, when it was actually Brock Purdy who emerged as the succession plan.
As frustrating as Garoppolo was in San Fran, it’s hard to hate on a 43-21-0 career record. Garoppolo managed the game fine in Kyle Shanahan’s system and has a lovely home in Sean McVay’s offense as Matt Stafford’s backup.
He’s a very steady and capable backup option for any NFL team with a QB-friendly system like McVay.
7. Marcus Mariota (Washington Commanders)
Mariota never panned out as the No. 2 pick of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Titans, but his bank account is still flowing in cash thanks to his lengthy career as a backup.
Mariota works as a backup because he’s dynamic as a runner and does a fine job protecting the football. He works in Washington’s rush-heavy offense as Jayden Daniels’ understudy, but he has significant limitations as a passer. Hence, you know why he’s a backup now.
6. Tyler Huntley (Baltimore Ravens)
With Cooper Rush struggling to fill Lamar Jackson’s footsteps, the Ravens brought back “Snoop” and started him in Week 8 against the Bears. Huntley, who had started nine games for Baltimore over the 2021, 2022, and 2023 campaigns, threw for 186 yards and tallied 53 rushing yards in a potential season-saving 30-16 victory.
It’s not always flashy, but Huntley’s dual-threat game makes him the ideal understudy for Lamar Jackson in Baltimore. As long as Huntley stays with the Ravens, he’s a top-10 backup in the game.
5. Andy Dalton (Carolina Panthers)
Dalton replaced a struggling Bryce Young last year and started five games before injuring his thumb in a car accident. Young was thrown back into the starting job and played well down the stretch, keeping Dalton on the sidelines.
Dalton had to suit up for the Panthers’ Week 8 loss to Buffalo with Young nursing an ankle injury, throwing for 175 yards and no touchdowns in a 40-9 loss.
But Dalton’s numbers as a Panther have been better than Young’s, so you can make the case that the “Red Rifle” should finish 2025 as the starter over the 2023 first-overall pick.
4. Kirk Cousins (Atlanta Falcons)
When the Falcons handed Cousins $180 million in 2024 free agency, the plan wasn’t for him to be benched eight months later. But life comes at you quickly in the NFL.
Cousins had to start Atlanta’s Week 8 game against Miami with Penix sidelined. He had 173 passing yards and no touchdowns in a gross 34-10 loss.
The Cousins-Falcons marriage has been worse than the Kim Kardashian-Kris Humphries one, yes. But as far as NFL backup QBs go, you could do a lot worse than a four-time Pro Bowler with over 40,000 career passing yards and nearly 300 touchdowns.
3. Joe Flacco (Cincinnati Bengals)
As today’s kids say.. “Unc’s still got it.”
Two years after winning Comeback Player of the Year honors in Cleveland, Joe Flacco just keeps slinging it left, right, and center. This time with the Bengals.
After losing his starting job in Cleveland to Dillon Gabriel, Flacco was traded to the Bengals, with Jake Browning struggling to fill Joe Burrow’s footsteps. Flacco threw 11 touchdowns and only two picks in his first four starts with the Bengals, giving the offense some hope without Burrow.
Flacco can still play, folks. No way he retires after this year…right?
2. Jacoby Brissett (Arizona Cardinals)
Brissett played so well in his first three games as Kyler Murray’s replacement that the Cardinals named him their starter before the 2019 first-overall pick landed on the injured reserve with a foot injury.
Brissett has been one of football’s best journeyman QBs and reliable backups, elevating the Arizona offense during Murray’s absence. Amid reports that Murray and the Redbirds could be headed for a divorce, Brissett is making a compelling case to remain their starter beyond 2025.
1. Mac Jones (San Francisco 49ers)
Maybe it’s the Kyle Shanahan system. Maybe it’s just Jones finally having a half-decent roster around him. Or a bit of both? Either way, the man has balled out in San Francisco.
With Brock Purdy missing most of the season, Jones has stepped in and saved the 49ers’ season with Pro Bowl-caliber production. You can make a case that Jones deserves to start the rest of the way, but Purdy’s lucrative extension means he’s still the QB1.
If anything else, though, Jones has shown the NFL he was a victim of Patriots’ coaching malpractice under Bill Belichick and can be a starter in the proper system.
