2023 has been an awful year for NFL quarterbacks.
Injuries have taken out a wide swath of established starters, keeping stars like Aaron Roders, Joe Burrow and Kirk Cousins on the sideline for extended stretches. They’ve stunted the growth of emerging passers like Justin Fields, Anthony Richardson and Kenny Pickett. They’ve forced us to watch entirely too many games featuring Mitch Trubisky or PJ Walker or (loud exhale) Tim Boyle.
That’s created an undercurrent of instability as 2024 looms. Some quarterbacks are firmly entrenched by past play or massive contracts, meaning they’re safe to carry on as starters next fall regardless of how their 2023 ends. Others aren’t quite as lucky. And that’s who we’re talking about today.
This is a breakdown of each NFL team’s quarterback situation. Exactly half the league has a locked-in starter who’ll enter the offseason as his team’s unquestioned No. 1. That leaves 16 teams with situations ranging from “mostly secure” to “entirely unsettled.”
Let’s break down each starting quarterback and where their job security sits for 2024. I’ve broken those 32 passers down into six tiers, ranked by overall safety. We’ll start with the guys who aren’t going anywhere — and take an increasingly in-depth look at the NFL’s most interesting QB situations from there.