Future QB Rankings: Rating all 32 NFL teams’ situations from worst to best

Touchdown Wire ranks the 32 NFL teams in terms of stability and potential at the game’s most important position over the next 3-4 seasons.

Tom Brady might be the best quarterback ever, but he’s not the best in the NFL right now. He certainly won’t be the best in 2022.

He’s human, after all, and at age 42, regression is inevitable even for someone with six Super Bowl rings. That puts the New England Patriots in an uncertain situation at quarterback two or three years down the road. The New Orleans Saints, with 40-year-old Drew Brees under center, find themselves in a similar scenario.

Other teams, such as the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers, likely will face difficult personnel decisions at the quarterback position much sooner than that. Only a handful of teams, notably the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks, appear secure in their quarterback situation for years to come.

All this got us thinking about the quarterback situations of the future — and where each of the NFL’s 32 teams ranks in terms of preparedness at the game’s most crucial position.

By quarterback situations, we mean the full overview of each team’s quarterbacks group, including backups and a potential succession plan, if necessary. For this exercise, we will define the future as three to four years down the road.

To help form these opinions, we consulted with a blue-ribbon panel of one former head coach, two former general managers and one current general manager. They were asked for their thoughts on each team’s quarterback situation. They provided insight to inform our rankings.

With that in mind, we present Touchdown Wire’s future quarterback rankings for every NFL team, from worst to first:

32. Miami Dolphins

Earlier this season, many observers accused the Dolphins of tanking to earn the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and presumably select a quarterback. Since then, Miami (2-8) has been eclipsed by the ineptitude of Cincinnati (0-10) and Washington (1-9), so the Dolphins might not get the first QB off the board. Currently, the Dolphins have Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen on their roster. Rosen has failed in his playing time. There’s no way he’ll be back next year. The Dolphins have the option to hang onto Fitzpatrick, 36, who’s currently under contract next season at $5.5 million. It makes sense to keep Fitzpatrick around for one more year to help groom a young quarterback. That could be LSU’s Joe Burrow, Alabama’s Tua Tagavailoa (although his recent hip injury now complicates his draft status), Oregon’s Justin Herbert or Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts. Two members of my panel said they like Burrow better than Tagovailoa. Either way, it’s going to take some time to develop a young quarterback.

31. Chicago Bears

For the moment, Mitchell Trubisky is Chicago’s starting quarterback. But it doesn’t appear that he will be in that role next year — although he remains under contract and the team holds a fifth-year option on the No. 2 overall pick from 2017. Given his level of play this season, it’s highly unlikely he will receive the option year, and he might not even see 2020 with the Bears — although the cap hit for cutting him would be slightly more than $9 million. The Bears are 4-6 after going 12-4 last year. There’s one main reason for the decline. That’s Trubisky. My panelists say he’s holding the offense back and could end up keeping a good team out of the playoffs. All four panelists agree Trubisky should be nothing more than a backup. Current backup Chase Daniel’s contract expires after this season. So there’s no telling who will be Chicago’s quarterback next year. Maybe the Bears will draft a quarterback. But with a talented roster already in place, the Bears should be first in line to sign New Orleans backup Teddy Bridgewater as a free agent.

30. Cincinnati Bengals

Veteran Andy Dalton has been benched, and the Bengals are giving rookie fourth-rounder Ryan Finley a shot. There should be no turning back to Dalton, even though he remains under contract for 2020 with a $17.5 million scheduled salary. The Bengals can cut Dalton after the season without any salary cap ramifications. It’s too early to judge Finley. Cincinnati is going to end up with an early draft pick and could have a shot at Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert or Jalen Hurts. The Bengals will be starting over. But, given their current state, that’s not a bad thing. “Dalton had more than enough time and couldn’t win consistently,” one panelist said. “I have no idea what they have in Finley. But they have to draft a quarterback if they’re sitting there at No. 1 or 2.”

29. Washington Redskins

The current situation is a mess. Veterans Colt McCoy and Case Keenum, who clearly aren’t the answer, each is in the last year of their contract. The Redskins have little choice but to play rookie Dwayne Haskins, who has five interceptions and two touchdown passes, the rest of this season. Call it an audition for Haskins. But this situation is complicated because the Redskins currently have interim coach Bill Callahan, who took over when Jay Gruden was fired. There will be a new coach next year, and he might not like Haskins. With an early draft pick likely, the new coach might want his own guy. Give up on Haskins after only one season? Arizona did it with 2018 first-round pick Josh Rosen after drafting Kyler Murray. All four of our panelists said Haskins was overrated when he was drafted.

28-25 / 24-21 / 20-17 / 16-13 / 12-9 / 8-5 / 4-1

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Behind Enemy Lines with Panthers Wire: Kyle Allen or Cam Newton?

The Panthers have lost two of their last three games since winning four straight when Kyle Allen took over at QB. What’s gone wrong over the past few weeks?

The Falcons have won just two games all season, but will look to win their second straight when they take on the Carolina Panthers in Week 11.

To help us preview Sunday’s matchup, we caught up with Tim Weaver, the managing editor for Panthers Wire. Here’s four questions behind enemy lines ahead of this weekend’s NFC South battle in Carolina.

The Panthers have lost two of three games after winning four straight when Kyle Allen took over at QB. What’s gone wrong?

PW: Allen has thrown some bad passes, but the main reason they have been losing lately is their run defense. Since defensive tackle Kawann Short went on injured reserve in Week 3, it’s been steadily getting worse. Last week, they let Aaron Jones run all over them. He scored three rushing touchdowns, and the Packers averaged six yards per carry. I don’t know what the answer is, but Ron Rivera has to figure something out here.

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Is QB Cam Newton option for Chargers in 2020?

Would quarterback Cam Newton be an option for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020?

What does the future hold for quarterback Cam Newton?

After an injury hampered Newton’s 2019 campaign, his time with the Carolina Panthers appears like it’s coming to an end since the team has seen Kyle Allen as their future signal-caller.

The Panthers would benefit immensely if they elect to move on from Newton, who has one year left under contract, saving $18.6 million.

With all signs pointing to Carolina departing ways, many outlets have been playing matchmaker for Newton.

Recently, The Herd’s Colin Cowherd went on to say that he believes the Los Angeles Chargers would be an ideal landing spot for Newton.

Which team would be the best fit for Cam Newton next season? @ColinCowherd sees 2 options: pic.twitter.com/VjPGbSWfO8

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) November 14, 2019

“The Chargers can’t sell tickets. They’ve got no juice athletically at quarterback. Cam is juice. You can bring Cam into that locker room, and all the (Joey) Bosa’s and the (Melvin) Ingram’s and the Mevin Gordon’s and the Derwin James would be totally into a mobile quarterback that adds juice and sells tickets in LA,” Cowherd said.

In order for the Chargers to even consider bringing in Newton, it would depend on the future with quarterback Philip Rivers. Set to become an unrestricted free agent, the franchise will have to decide whether or not they will extend him.

Rivers, who is turning 38 in December, has said that he wants to play in the new stadium in Inglewood, CA. But that was before the season, and depending on how the rest of the season pans out for the veteran quarterback who’s seen better playing days, his mind could change.

Then there is Tyrod Taylor and Easton Stick, who make up the rest of the quarterback room. There’s a possibility that the team could look to fill the starting job with one of these two if they move on from Rivers, with the most likely option being Taylor.

While Newton would bring a player to L.A. that’s well-known, has some good years left in the tank and fits the mold of a quarterback that coach Anthony Lynn likes in the system, there’s one thing that could sway the team away from making such a big move, the money.

Within the next couple years, the Chargers will to decice if they will pay players like Rivers, defensive end Joey Bosa, center Mike Pouncey, tight end Hunter Henry, running back Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler, wide receiver Keenan Allen and cornerback Desmond King among others.

Los Angeles has enough ammo to make a trade with Carolina, but it’s unlikely that they would want to give any of their key players up, making signing him the only reasonable option.

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Seahawks tied for 2nd-most players on the injured reserve

The Seattle Seahawks are no stranger to the injury bug. They’re still finding ways to win despite having one of the highest injury totals.

Injuries, like in any sport, are a part of the game of football. Some injuries can derail seasons and others can, unfortunately, end careers. The Seattle Seahawks are no stranger to the injury bug, but they aren’t letting it impact them this year.

Heading into their bye week, the Seahawks are tied with the Texans, Jaguars, and Broncos with 13 players on the injured reserve. That is good for the second total, behind only the Falcons. Of that group, Seattle surpasses only the Falcons in terms of money on the IR.

This time of year health can be as big of a factor as anything in post season success

The @Vikings have the fewest players and $ on IR with incredible luck avoiding injuries

The @AtlantaFalcons and @steelers have the most players and $ on IR respectively. See full list below pic.twitter.com/2m6ul7LbPj

— Mike Tannenbaum (@RealTannenbaum) November 13, 2019

The teams at the top of the list, at least financially, lost their starting quarterbacks. The Seahawks find themselves near the top in both categories because of the sheer quantity of players on the IR – although they have been fortunate that the impact felt by many of those losses has been minimal. As such, the team’s record is 8-2, and they just dethroned the last undefeated team in the league.

One of the biggest contributors to Seattle’s cap money tied to the IR is tight end Ed Dickson, who is expected to be activated soon. His return will be a big help on the field, which only adds to the potential of this team down the stretch.

Even though the Seahawks haven’t lost a player like Ben Roethlisberger or Cam Newton, they are still stinging from the losses of starting center Justin Britt and tight end Will Dissly.

Hopefully, the “big money” injury (a la Russell Wilson or Tyler Lockett) isn’t on the horizon and the team can continue to heal.

On the other end of the bye week, the Seahawks will be taking on the Eagles, likely with the help of Dickson.

A healthy Dickson not only lowers the amount of money tied up on the injured reserve, but it also gives Seattle more depth at a key area of need for the rest of the season.

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WATCH: Cam Newton is reportedly open to joining Chicago Bears next season

Cam Newton plans to have surgery on his foot and that the career-long Panther would be open to joining the Chicago Bears next season.

A little more than a week after the Panthers placed Cam Newton on injured reserve, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting that the quarterback plans to have surgery on his foot and that the career-long Panther would be open to joining the Chicago Bears next season.

Newton has one year left on his contract with the Panthers after back-to-back offseason shoulder injuries, and now two consecutive seasons shortened by injury. The Panthers will owe Newton $19.1 million in 2020, with a salary-cap hit of $21.1 million, but that $19.1 million is not guaranteed.

The 30-year-old got hurt during the preseason, then again in Week 2 when a foot injury ended his season. Initially, the injury was not seen as being as severe as it became. Deemed a Lisfranc injury, the left foot injury could be made better by surgery to repair the torn ligament in Newton’s foot.

Surgery and an 8-10 week recovery period would make Newton “very tradable,” (according to Rapoport) to a team like the Bears. The plan is something that Rapoport says “from my understanding, Cam Newton would in fact welcome.”

Bears head coach Matt Nagy is in need of improvement at the quarterback position. Mitchell Trubisky, who the franchise drafted second overall in 2017, has regressed this season.

Tag: Cam Newton