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NFL

Quarterback competitions this preseason. Who will be the starter for each team?

Training camps around the NFL are in full swing as the veterans joined the rookies at camp Tuesday. These are the teams that have an open competition at QB.

Update:
Training camps around the NFL are in full swing as the veterans joined the rookies at camp Tuesday. These are the teams that have an open competition at QB.
Icon SportswireGetty

Training camp is officially underway, which means the new NFL season has begun! It’s been a long wait, football fans, but we finally made it. Today veterans around the league joined the rookies who have been at camp for a few days now.

As always, most of the focus around the 32 camps in the league will be centered around the quarterback position. Many teams have their QB1 position filled, but there are a handful of teams where the signal caller position is still up in the air.

It’s been a while, so we are here to refresh you on each team’s quarterback situation from Arizona all the way to Washington.

Arizona Cardinals: Kyler Murray

Murray was an MVP candidate for the first half last season until the Caridnals plummeted in the final stretch of the year. Murray got PAID a few weeks ago signing a five-year deal worth $230.5 million contract. It’s highly doubtful that Arizona splashed out that much to have Murray’s starting job threatened.

Atlanta Falcons: QB competition: Marcus Mariota, Feleipe Franks, Desmond Ridder

The departure of Matt Ryan leaves a vacancy at the QB position that hasn’t been felt in ATL since the year before Ryan was drafted in 2007.

Mariota should be the favorite because he has more experience, although hasn’t exactly proven himself as a starting quarterback since being drafted by the Titans in 2015.

Desmond Ridder is the top candidate to battle with Mariota for the starting job. The rookie drafted out of Cincinnati threw 30 TDs, ran for 6 TDs and threw just eight interceptions in a season that the Bearcats went 12-0.

Franks was Florida’s number one QB before he transferred to Arkansas in 2020 where he threw for just over 2,000 yards in his final collegiate year. He was undrafted out of college, and served as Ryan’s third string quarterback last season.

Baltimore Ravens: Lamar Jackson

Lamar has been, is, and always will be the man in Baltimore as long as he’s healthy. He’s on the verge of getting paid so watch out. He could be on the verge of another MVP season like the one he had in 2019.

Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen

Josh Allen may be the best pure passer in the game right now. He and the Bills have been flirting with the Super Bowl for the last couple years, and no one on the sidelines in Western New York dares to dethrone him in what could be a historic season in Buffalo.

Carolina Panthers: QB competition: Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold

This might be the most interesting competition of all. Baker Mayfield is a bonafide starter in the league. His record or stats may not indicate that he is at the level of say a Russell Wilson or Dak Prescott, but you always got the feeling he wasn’t as appreciated as he should have been in Cleveland.

Sam Darnold had his chance with the Jets, and let’s face it the Jets have been a dumpster fire for the last decade or so. He was traded to Carolina last season and lasted about half the season before the Panthers brought in former starting quarterback Cam Newton which made things go from bad to worse at the end of the season.

Mayfield is the more accomplished quarterback, and if he has a franchise and a fan base that supports him, it might just work in Carolina.

Chicago Bears: Justin Fields

There may have been a QB competition in Chicago last year when Justin Fields and Andy Dalton were battling for the starting spot, but that will not be the case this year. Fields was handed the keys to the truck last year and no one is taking them away this year, especially not Trevor Siemian or Nathan Peterman.

Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Burrow

Is this even in debate? Cincinnati believe they have their quarterback for the next decade or so, and who can blame them? Burrow took the Bengals to the Super Bowl in just his second year, proving he was well worth the No. 1 pick.

Cleveland Browns: QB competition: Deshaun Watson, Joshua Dobbs, Jacoby Brissett

With Baker Mayfield shipped south, you would think that Deshaun Watson would step right into the starting role for the Browns, but his pending legal issues could make this QB competition one of the most interesting.

Before the off the field troubles, Watson was on his way to superstardom. He’s mobile passer who could sling it with the best of them, but all that has been thrown out the window as the possiblity of him missing significant time lingers as law suits against him still await a verdict.

Joshua Dobbs has been in the league since 2017 and attempted 17 passes, so he is far from a threat to Watson or Jacoby Brissett who will come into the preseason as the likely number two quarterback.

Brissett has spent most of his time as an Indianapolis Colt, but was Tua’s back up in Miami last year. He filled in and threw five TDs and 4 INTs while throwing for 1,283 years as the second string QB in south Florida.

Dallas Cowboys: Dak Prescott

Jerry Jones threw big bucks at Dak last year, and is hoping to reap the rewards this year. Dallas crashed out of the playoffs last season, but the thought in Big D is that Prescott has the tools around him to make this playoff contender into a Super Bowl contender.

Denver Broncos: Russell Wilson

Denver wouldn’t have traded for Russell Wilson if they didn’t believe he could bring them back to where they want to be. Finally it looks like they have some stability at the QB position, and they wouldn’t risk that by putting the Seahawks great into a QB competition with Josh Johnson or Brett Rypien.

Detroit Lions: Jared Goff

Detroit is coming off of a miserable season, but don’t fault Jared Goff for all of their misfortunes. He is a two time Pro Bowler and the only QB on the roster capable of righting the ship in Detroit at the moment.

Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers

Since his threats of leaving GB, Rodgers has cart blanche in Lambeau. Back up QB Jordan Love needs some love, but he won’t get too much as Rodgers back up this season.

Houston Texans: QB competition: Davis Mills, Kevin Hogan and Kyle Allen

With Deshaun Watson gone, the QB competition is as fierce as ever in Houston. Davis Mills showed plenty of courage and perseverance stepping in to a disaster of a situation in his rookie year. Having said that he didn’t do half bad. He passed for 2,600 yards, 16 TD and 10 INTs… Respectable for a first year man who no one expected much of last year.

Kevin Hogan has been in the league since 2016, and if your like me you have never heard of him in your life. He was on the Titans practice squad last year, and has thrown 101 career passes in the NFL.

The most action Kyle Allen has got in the NFL is in 2019 when he was the Panthers starter for 12 games. He has passed for a total of 4,318 yards, but the Texans will likely want to side with their youngster who has proven he can run the offense in his rookie season.

Indianapolis Colts: Matt Ryan

The Colts are used to having steady quarterbacks. Think Peyton Manning, think Andrew Luck. They have been looking for another quarterback of that caliber for years and they finally have it with Matt Ryan. His time is winding down so the Colts won’t dare put him in a competition with Nick Foles even though Foles has a Super Bowl MVP in his trophy cabinet.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence

Last year would have been the year to put Trevor Lawrence into a QB competition. The first overall draft pick was thrown into a nightmare mixture of young players and an out-of-his league coach in Urban Meyer. Despite everything Lawrence threw for 3,600 yards although his TD to INT ratio was 12-17. He’s made it this far so why change now?

Kansas City Chiefs: Patrick Maholmes

If there is a quarterback who has a more secure starting role on his team in league, I haven’t seen him. Maholmes is the quarterback of this generation and proves it season after season.

Las Vegas Raiders: Derek Carr

Derek Carr is going into his ninth year as the Raiders starting quarterback. He has dealt with depleted rosters, fired coaches and off the field drama since his introduction. He finally has a good team around him and a chance bring the Raiders back to where they want to be, and the franchise isn’t going to prevent him from doing that.

Los Angeles Chargers: Justin Herbert

Herbert is the future of LA. Matthew Stafford might be the man in LaLa Land at the moment, but Herbert in on the cusp of superstardom. Soon the Chargers will be the talk of the town and it will be because of their QB1.

Los Angeles Rams: Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford left Detroit and immediately won a Super Bowl. He may be aging, but he is still among the top three quarterbacks in the league. He will still have rock star receiving corp, led by NFL MVP snub Cooper Kupp at his disposal.

Miami Dolphins: QB competition: Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater

Tua or Teddy? That’s the question in South Beach coming into the preseason. Tagovailoa hasn’t quite convinced in Miami despite winning eight of the last nine as the Dolphins QB.

Teddy Bridgewater could have been the next big thing at the QB position but a devastation injury set him back tenfold. Now he is trying to recuperate that staring role, and don’t discard him from being the QB1 on Week 1 for the Dolphins.

Minnesota Vikings: Kirk Cousins

Minnesota had a lot of problems last year, but Kirk Cousins wasn’t on the front line of those shortcomings. The Vikings QB threw for 33 TDs and just 7 INTs while passing for 66.3% in his first year in Minnesota. Cousins has been an after though for much of his career, but he deserves to be the Week 1 starter.

New England: Sam Jones

Bill Belichick entrusted his rookie quarterback from Alabama from Day 1 so why should he rethink his initial though process from a year ago? Jones took the Pats to the playoffs in his first campaign, and for a while New England was the hottest team in the league. There is no reason to doubt Jones and his ability to lead this team, although with Belichick, you never know.

New Orleans Saints: QB competition: Jamies Winston, Andy Dalton, Taysom Hill

The situation in New Orleans may be the most messy of all. Jamies Winston is coming off of a serious knee injury. He was the Saints starter for the first part of the season, and didn’t play terribly. The Saints sunk as soon as he went down with his injury, and couldn’t recover.

Andy Dalton was brought in from Chicago, and while he is a veteran with plenty of experience do you really want to give him the staring role? He’s a solid QB, but has never proven himself quarterback that can win you games late in the season. He has four playoff games to his name, and has one TD and six INTs in those games.

Taysom Hill seems to be one of those guys that is so valuable at every position, that they don’t want to lock him into a starting role at QB. He can play running back and wide receiver along with being a competent thrower of the ball, but that doesn’t translate into a starting role for the Saints.

New York Giants: QB competition: Daniel Jones, Tyrod Taylor

Time is running out for Daniel Jones. He was supposed to be the QB of the future for the Giants, but that has never panned out. He is 12-25 in his Giant career, but if there is one upside he has 45 TDs and 29 INTs in his three years as New York’s QB1. They will need to see a bit more from their number 6 overall pick in the 2019 draft or Tyrod Taylor will come creeping in.

Taylor is coming off of a season in which he was sidelined with a hamstring injury until late in the campaign. Taylor has played a back up role for the majority of his career, but he is a good enough quarterback to make the Giants coaches think twice before crowning Jones as the QB1 too soon.

New York Jets: Zach Wilson

The worst is in the rear view for Zach Wilson, or at least that’s what he will be hoping. He was thrown to the wolves in his first year as the Jets QB and made it out alive. He showed great signs of improvements when he returned from his minor midseason knee injury. He is the starter in New York until further notice.

Philadelphia Eagles: Jalen Hurts

How could you not give a second year quarterback who took the Eagles to the playoffs the keys to the car in his third year? Hurts is as volatile of an option in the passing game as he his in the running game.

There may be a few pulling for Gardner Minshew to be the starter, but Philly knows that if they want to win consistently, Hurts is their man.

Pittsburgh Steelers: QB competition: Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph

You would think Trubisky would open up camp as the favorite to start Week 1, but he has had opportunity after opportunity and failed to convince. There are big shoes to fill in Pittsburgh after Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, and if the Steelers aren’t convinced Trubisky is the man for the job they could go with Pickett who played at the University of Pittsburgh, leading them to a 11-2 record throwing 42 TDs and just 7 INTs

Mason Rudolph has been the back up in Pittsburgh since 2018, and will finally get a chance to compete for the staring job.

San Francisco 49ers: QB competition: Trey Lance, Jimmy Garoppolo

Somehow Jimmy Garoppolo is still in San Fran. That doesn’t change Kyle Shanahan’s idea to have Trey Lance as the quarterback for the upcoming year. Lance has barley got to showcase his talents, and as long as a quarterback that has taken his team to two different Super Bowls is around he will be locked in a QB competition, even if the Niners don’t want to admit it.

Seattle Seahawks: QB competition: Drew Lock, Geno Smith, Jacob Eason

The Seahawks could be a bit lost at the QB position after the departure of Russell Wilson. Drew Lock was brought in as collateral in the Russell Wilson trade, but that doesn’t mean he will waltz right into Seattle as the starter.

Geno Smith had some good games in relief of Wilson, but will he be the man that Pete Carroll relies on?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tom Brady

Imagine Brady comes out of retirement to ride the bench. It isn’t, and never would be the case. Blaine Gabbert and Kyle Trask sit behind him and will battle it out for the second string spot, although the Bucs are molding Trask to be the successor of Brady when Tom Terrific finally hangs it up.

Tennessee Titans: Ryan Tannehill

Say what you want about Ryan Tannehill, but he led the Titans to a top seed in the AFC last year without Derrick Henry. Tennessee has constantly been in the running to go to the Super Bowl since he has taken over in Nashville. Don’t expect that to change this year.

Washington Commanders: QB competition: Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke

This is one of the most interesting cases of a QB competition in the league. Carson Wentz is a proved quarterback that hasn’t been able to find a steady home. He was ousted by Nick Foles in the Eagles Super Bowl winning season, and then went to Indy last year where he lasted for just a season. Now he finds himself battling against a fan favorite in Taylor Heinicke who’s heart, and background makes him a realistic option for the Week 1 QB1 spot.