Some big-name National Football League quarterbacks who have fumbled their way through the league in recent years risk getting sacked for good this season if they don’t turn things around.
The list specifically targets frontmen who have played for at least three teams and features a couple of older men in new places and a pair of seasoned QBs for whom losing has been the name of the game.
The four in question are battling to push QB headline hogs Aaron Rodgers of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams to side-drama status, but their play is going to tell the story this season.
Topping the list is New York Giants signal-caller Russell Wilson, who is with his fourth team in five seasons. The 36-year-old, who spent 10 years in Seattle and won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks, has put together a Hall of Fame-caliber career. However, he is staring football mortality in the facemask as he battles rookie Jaxon Dart for the top spot in New York.
While Dart has looked good enough to grab the starting job, coach Brian Daboll has already chosen the veteran over the rookie. But Wilson may have good reason to be looking over his shoulder pads after every pass.
Dart was 14 of 16 for 137 yards with one TD and has added youthful juice to the formula—the kind of juice fans love to slurp up.
Next up is the Seahawks’ Sam Darnold, who once said he thought he was seeing ghosts on the field. He is coming off his most productive season as a pro, but questions linger about the possibility of his production being phantom numbers created by the perfect system to suit his skill set.
The Seahawks let Geno Smith walk and brought in Darnold with the hope that he has figured out how to process and perform. It’s a big gamble, but Darnold has the most to lose in this wager. This is his fourth team in as many seasons, and he didn’t meet the moment in a playoff blowout loss to the Rams last season.
He cannot afford to fail.
Justin Fields of the Jets is on his third team since being drafted in the first round in 2021, and is looking to land the run-happy Jets on the right runway. His athleticism, smooth throwing motion, and arm strength have had observers drooling for years.
But the lack of results and Fields’s propensity to duck and run at the first sign of trouble have opposing defenses confident they can make plays against him in the critical moments.
The 26-year-old was just 1-for-5 for 4 yards in Friday’s loss to the Giants. Fields seems to be reduced to a walking question mark with a strong arm and dazzling speed. The physical talents, though, are getting in the way of his production and, more importantly, wins. The Jets have built a run-based offense that wants to win with its defense, but if Fields can’t operate at a league-average level when called on to throw, he might have to think about tackling a new career.
And finally, there’s the curious career of Kick Cousins. The 36-year-old Atlanta Falcons QB has suffered injuries in recent years, and last season was essentially demoted to backup status.
Most TV talking heads have traded him more than 1,000 times this offseason—most notably to the Rams because of Stafford’s preseason back issues.
Cousins, though, remains an extra arm for the Falcons as second-year QB Michael Penix Jr. moves into the spotlight.
The veteran backup, who comes with a $27.5 million guaranteed salary this season, has a reputation for being shaky in the spotlight. The Falcons are expected to be a major player for the division title, but for right now, it appears that the veteran is more of a high-paid prop on the set of a TV series.
He and the others might soon see a change in scenery.
