The legal tampering period and NFL free agency: That was so last week.

This week, we have a much fuller picture of each team.

And yet, a number of franchises still have perilously unsettled QB situations, if not for 2026, then certainly for 2027 and beyond.

In this piece, I want to look at every QB room in the league and make a tentative determination about whether that team is set at the position or should plan to make more moves and, if so, which moves.

Evaluating the QB Landscape In The NFL

Stable Veteran QBs on Multi-Year Contracts

Here are 12 teams with veteran QBs under contract for at least two more seasons. It's possible a couple of these guys could find themselves in untenable situations by next year. Anything can (and often does) happen in the NFL.

But generally, these teams likely believe themselves to be set at QB.

All these guys are in the top 24 of my QB fantasy football rankings. They're all relevant players. If any one of them won the MVP or the Super Bowl in 2026, it wouldn't be a surprise.

To access our 2026 fantasy football ranks, use the promo code FREEDMAN for 20% off the FantasyLife+ package.

• Baltimore Ravens: Lamar Jackson
• Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen
• Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Burrow
• Dallas Cowboys: Dak Prescott
• Detroit Lions: Jared Goff
• Green Bay Packers: Jordan Love
• Jacksonville Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence
• Kansas City Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes
• Los Angeles Chargers: Justin Herbert
• Philadelphia Eagles: Jalen Hurts
• San Francisco 49ers: Brock Purdy
• Seattle Seahawks: Sam Darnold

I mention this in my Fantasy QB Tiers article: Allen is probably the only QB I want to draft in the early and middle rounds. He has been a top-2 fantasy QB in every season since 2020, and last year he was the No. 1 QB with 23.2 points per game.

If there were two teams in this cohort that I could see parting ways with their QBs next offseason, it would be the Eagles and Cowboys.

Eagles GM Howie Roseman tends to trade players away a year too early instead of a year too late, and there seems to be a significant amount of organizational dissatisfaction with Hurts and his potentially limited style of play. 

As for the Cowboys: Eventually, they might grow tired of paying Prescott an obscene amount of money while winning less than half their games.

If there's one player in this group I could imagine forcing his franchise to trade him, it's unquestionably Burrow. That dude hasn't seemed happy in years, and since 2023, he has a 19-16 record. It's not hard to envision him wanting out of Cincinnati.

Promising Young QBs With Three Years on Rookie Contracts

Like the teams in the first tier, these franchises believe (or at least strongly hope) they are set at QB for a while.

All of these starters have flashed (some significantly more than others), and all are on rookie cost-controlled deals for at least three more seasons (assuming the teams pick up their fifth-year options).

• Chicago Bears: Caleb Williams
• Denver Broncos: Bo Nix
• New England Patriots: Drake Maye
• New Orleans Saints: Tyler Shough
• New York Giants: Jaxson Dart
• Tennessee Titans: Cam Ward
• Washington Commanders: Jayden Daniels

Of these seven guys, Shough is probably my favorite in fantasy (given his low cost). He fell in the NFL Draft because of his advanced age, but last year, he looked like a typical 26-year-old veteran, not a second-round rookie, especially after the Week 11 bye, when he produced as both a passer (256.9 yards per game) and runner (25.0 yards). He could take a step forward in 2026 with a full offseason to prepare as the starter.

It's unlikely that all these guys will turn into long-term NFL starters with their current teams.

But right now, they're all likely Plan A for their franchises.

Uncertain Veteran QBs on One-Year Contracts

This tier belongs to just two players.

• Los Angeles Rams: Matthew Stafford
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Baker Mayfield

Both teams would probably like to have their QBs beyond just this year, but that's also contingent on performance: If Stafford misses most of the season to injury, or if Mayfield's 2026 resembles his 2025, then the Rams and Bucs could choose to move on.

Still, both QBs have likely done enough for their respective organizations and earned enough goodwill for optimism to prevail in this exercise.

Right now, the Rams and the Bucs are probably heading into the 2026 season hoping that Stafford and Mayfield will be their guys in 2027 and beyond.

Uncertain Young QBs With Two Years on Rookie Contracts

Again, we have another two-team tier.

• Carolina Panthers: Bryce Young
• Houston Texans: C.J. Stroud

The Panthers have already picked up Young's fifth-year option, and I assume the Texans will probably do the same for Stroud.

If that happens, both players will have two more seasons under contract to prove they deserve long-term franchise deals.

I'm skeptical.

Young has improved throughout his career. As a rookie, he was abysmal (5.0 AY/A, 2-14). In his second season, he was benchable (6.0, 4-8). This past season, he was almost tolerable (6.2, 8-8). Still, there's a chasm between "almost tolerable" and "fantasy viable," and Young's on the wrong side of that divide. Last year, he was still No. 31 in passing efficiency, and his rushing regressed (54-216-2 vs. 43-249-6 in 2024). Young is better than he was, but he's not yet good.

Stroud was unfathomably bad in two playoff games last year (3.5 AY/A, 5 INTs, 5 fumbles), and that was after two seasons of disappointing play (7.0 AY/A). Long gone are the glory days of Stroud's 2023 OROY campaign (273.9 yards passing per game), and with little career rushing (13.2 yards per game) to offset his diminished aerial production, he feels like the kind of late-round selection better rostered on someone else's team.

In fantasy, neither guy is someone I want, and in reality, although they still have two more years to evaluate, I wouldn't be surprised if the Panthers and Texans had new starting QBs in 2028.

Promising Veteran QBs on Tentative Multi-Year Contracts

With this tier, we approach the tipping point.

Here are teams that have a promising veteran signed to a multi-year deal … but if he underperforms in 2026, he will very likely be replaced by a young player (perhaps a rookie) in 2027.

• Indianapolis Colts: Daniel Jones
• Miami Dolphins: Malik Willis

The Colts assigned the transition tag to Jones this offseason before giving him a two-year, $88-million contract. And Willis signed a three-year, $67.5-million contract with the Dolphins as the No. 1 QB in this year's free agency class.

I'm dubious about Jones. He revived his career last season with the Colts (career-best 8.1 AY/A), but then he suffered a Week 14 season-ending Achilles tear, and before his Week 12 calf/fibula injury, "Vanilla Vick" had exhibited less enthusiasm as a runner (14.3 yards per game vs. 31.1 in 2019-24 with Giants). Jones hopes to be ready for Week 1, but that's not a guarantee, nor is a repeat of his 2025 success. Sometimes skeptics are realists with cooler clothes.

But I'm highly enthusiastic about Willis, who is my preferred late-round QB option this year. He had first-round hype as a 2022 prospect, but he fell to Day 2 because of his raw playing style and height (just under 6-1). Indeed, Willis was unrefined in his first two years with the Titans (3.3 AY/A, 17.5% sack rate), but he marvelously revitalized his career in the two following seasons as the Packers backup (12.3 AY/A, 12-174-3 rushing in three starts).

Willis has an uncertain future, but his upside makes him an intriguing player in both fantasy and reality.

Solution QBs for Specific Teams

Right now, these two teams almost certainly don't have their Week 1 starters.

• Las Vegas Raiders: Aidan O'Connell
• Pittsburgh Steelers: Mason Rudolph & Will Howard

But both franchises have straightforward solutions to the current state of their QB rooms.

As I highlight in my most recent 2026 mock draft, the Raiders are all but destined to take Fernando Mendoza (Indiana) with the No. 1 pick.

Mendoza is the No. 1 player on my NFL Draft big board. He's an incredibly clean prospect. In my opinion, he's multiple tiers above the other QBs in the class. If he's the only QB who goes in Round 1 this year, I won't be surprised. In Mendoza, the Raiders hope they have their franchise QB.

Check out my Fernando Mendoza scouting report as well as our 2026 NFL Draft Guide.

As for the Steelers, they seem likely to re-sign Aaron Rodgers (assuming he wants to continue to play). He had a serviceable season last year with the team (7.0 AY/A), and now he has the opportunity to reunite with new HC Mike McCarthy (his HC on the 2006-18 Packers).

While Rodgers isn't a long-term option, he's at least an acceptable short-term one.   

Short-Term Veteran & Young QB Committees

This is the tipping point. All the teams from here on out could have new QBs in 2027, most likely a rookie from what's expected to be a loaded class.

In this tier, we have three teams with mixed QB rooms featuring a veteran QB on a one-year deal and a young QB with multiple years left on a rookie contract.

• Atlanta Falcons: Tua Tagovailoa, Michael Penix
• Cleveland Browns: Deshaun Watson & Shedeur Sanders
• Minnesota Vikings: Kyler Murray, J.J. McCarthy

These QB rooms are all quagmires.

Tagovailoa had an NFL-high 9.2 AY/A in 2022. Watson had an NFL-best 4,823 yards passing in 2020. Murray was the OROY in 2019. All of them have had great moments in their careers.

But now they're all at best reclamation projections. At worst, they're burnt bridges to the future.

As for the young guns: Penix is recovering from his third ACL tear since 2018, Sanders had an abysmal 5.1 AY/A last year as a fifth-round rookie, and McCarthy in his second season was barely better (5.4). If these guys were definitely good, they wouldn't be dealing with competition from veteran retreads.

Maybe one of these guys will impress enough in 2026 to hold down the starting job in 2027, but the balance of probability is that the Falcons, Browns and Vikings will be active participants in the QB market next season.

Stopgap Veteran QBs

The depressing final tier: Two teams with veteran QBs who are hopeful bridges to a future only vaguely imaginable.

• Arizona Cardinals: Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew 
• New York Jets: Geno Smith

Both teams have top-three picks in the draft … but there's no QB available after Mendoza who warrants that kind of investment.

Ty Simpson (Alabama) is a reasonable option for either team at the top of Round 2. In fact, the Jets might even decide to reach for him at No. 16.

And there are still a few viable veteran QBs available via free agency: Kirk Cousins, Russell Wilson, Joe Flacco, Jimmy Garoppolo. If any of these guys signed with the Cardinals or Jets, it wouldn't be surprising.

But no one currently on the rosters now or hypothetically on the rosters in the future is good enough to keep the team from drafting a rookie QB next year.

Someone will start for the Cardinals and Jets in 2026, but they're already playing for 2027. 

Join Our Newsletter

Trusted by 400,000+ fantasy football players. Get access to Fantasy Life's free award winning newsletter and tools, all in one step.

Email Address

Subscribe

By registering or logging in, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.