QB competitions coming into Week 1 of NFL preseason: Commanders, Colts, Texans, Niners and Bucs

Training camps across the NFL are well underway as we prepare to kickoff the first full week of preseason games. Preseason is all about gearing up for Week 1 while trimming the fat of the roster, but for some teams preseason is a pivotal time to figure out who will be taking the starting role in the game’s most important position.

Quarterback competitions are one of the most exciting parts of training camps and preseason. One of the most intriguing battles we will have to keep an eye on is in Tampa Bay after the retirement of Tom Brady, but there are a handful of others battles that will be dominating headlines until Week 1 in early September.

Houston Texans: C.J. Stroud, Davis Mills

There’s no doubt that C.J. Stroud is the future quarterback in Houston, but is he the QB of the present as well? The rookie dual threat gunslinger was taken No. 2 overall in the NFL draft after a fantastic career at Ohio State. NFL coaches and franchises hesitate to toss their rookies into the fire right from the get-go and you have to think that rookie head coach DeMeco Ryans will be weary to name Stroud QB1 before he is ready. The post-Deshaun Watson era hasn’t been kind to the Texans who have had Davis Mills as the place holder until someone with the credentials to fill the role as franchise quarterback comes along. That could be CJ Stroud, but he will need time. The question is how much time will he get in his rookie year?

Indianapolis Colts: Anthony Richardson, Gardner Minshew

Same division as the Texans. Same problem as the Texans. The Matt Ryan experiment was an absolute disaster, as was the Jeff Saturday experiment. Now it looks that Colts owner Jim Irsay and one of the top running backs in the league, Jonathan Taylor, are at odds. Taylor may not even see the football field until Week 1 or longer. So where does that leave the QB position? First year head coach Shane Steichen will have his hands full in his first preseason as rookie QB Anthony Richardson and veteran Gardner Minshew battle for the job. Minshew is the typical back up QB that is great for a team to have but is a pain for a starting QB to have sitting behind him. He’s got personality, he’s got the look and at times he’s shown he’s got the game, but not consistently enough to hold down a starting role. Anthony Richardson will be itching to play, but will he be able to win the QB competition in his first year out of University of Florida?

San Francisco 49ers: Brock Purdy, Trey Lance

This is by far the juiciest QB competition of them all. Ever since the Niners were knocked out of the playoffs in the NFC Championship by the Eagles last season, the question has been circling around the Bay. Who will start at QB Week 1? Brock Purdy had one of the most memorable rookie seasons ever. The only problem is, the Niners drafted Trey Lance two years ago, and he has barley seen the field. He didn’t play in his rookie year, and was injured in Week 2 of his sophomore campaign. Purdy has shown what he is capable of, while Lance has plenty of hype and expectation surrounding him. Niners nation seems to be split on who they want under center, but the only thing that matters is who Kyle Shanahan wants taking the snaps Week 1.

Tampa Bay Bucs: Baker Mayfield, Kyle Trask

We have covered this QB battle a bit since the start of training camp, but it’s no doubt worth mentioning on this list. Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask will be aiming to get the starting job in Tampa Bay after the greatest QB of all time retired in February. We have seen very little of Trask since he was drafted out of Florida two years ago, but has sat back and studied the best to ever do it for two seasons. Mayfield left Cleveland last offseason, and this will be his third team since his Browns departure. His era in Carolina was one to forget, but he had flashes of promise in LA when filling in for Matthew Stafford. Offensive coordinator Dave Canales said the competition has “absolutely tightened.”

Washington Commanders: Sam Howell, Jacoby Brissett

The Washington Commanders have been the poster child for QB inconsistency for the last few years. This season the job is up for grabs between a second year QB with very little experience or a seasoned veteran who has served multiple NFL teams as a backup. Jacoby Brissett was in Cleveland last year, but he has spent time in Miami and Indianapolis among a handful of other teams. Brissett isn’t a guy you hand the keys to the franchise over to, and now the Commanders will have to figure out if Howell could be a guy to take the drivers seat in the nations capital for the foreseeable future.

Carolina Panthers: Bryce Young, Andy Dalton

Will the QB problems that have plagued Carolina finally be solved after taking Bryce Young with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft? That’s the Panthers plan, but will he get the job from Week 1? Young was the first overall pick for a reason, but will he be ready for the QB1 role to start his rookie year? The good news is, if he’s not, the Panthers have a QB who has grown accustomed to being the QB to start the season until the franchises young quarterback is ready to take the wheel. That’s most likely what will happen in Carolina this season, but it all depends on how things go in the preseason.