Ranking the 5 best and worst QB situations for 2026: 49ers and Browns at opposite ends of spectrum

CBS Sports | American Football | 07/17/2026

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Breaking down the five best and five worst QB rooms

By Jordan Dajani

Football is the ultimate team sport, but some positions are still more important than others. You won’t be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy with lackluster quarterback play. We’ve seen Patrick Mahomes power a dynasty that reached the Super Bowl five times over a six-year span, while the greatest player of all time, Tom Brady, won a record seven Super Bowls during his Hall of Fame career.

A quarterback room is more than just the starter. Half of the starting quarterbacks around the NFL can’t stay healthy for a full season, and it’s up to the backup to come in and guide the offense. The Indianapolis Colts weren’t prepared for Daniel Jones going down, and it sank their season. Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers fared just fine when Brock Purdy was forced to miss some time. The second-string quarterback is the most overlooked position in today’s NFL.

Which NFL teams have the best quarterback situations and which have the worst? Below, we will break down the five worst and five best QB rooms in the league.

The worst QB situations

5. Atlanta Falcons

QBs: Michael Penix Jr., Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Siemian, Jack Strand

One of the more strange moments from this offseason was when the Atlanta Falcons immediately pivoted to Tua Tagovailoa after the Miami Dolphins made the decision to take on an NFL-record $99 million in dead cap just to get rid of him. Tagovailoa led the NFL in passer rating in 2022 and passing yards in 2023, but has struggled with both consistency and injuries since signing that massive $212.4 million extension. It’s also understood that he’s not an electric playmaker who can carry offenses alone with his arm. He played his best football in a Mike McDaniel scheme that relied on timing, yet Miami reached the postseason just twice. Tagovailoa threw a career-high 15 interceptions last year while averaging a career-worst 6.9 yards per attempt. Can he resurrect his career under Kevin Stefanski?

If it’s not Tagovailoa, then it will be Michael Penix Jr. under center for Atlanta. The former No. 8 overall pick is recovering from the third torn ACL of his football career, and is just 4-8 as a starter. Penix is averaging one touchdown pass per start and has completed fewer than 60% of his passes. As a prospect, it was hard not to be intrigued by his arm, but Penix just hasn’t been good enough. His bad throw percentage (24%) ranked worst in the NFL last season, according to Pro Football Reference.

The Falcons’ offense features several fun weapons, including Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts and Drake London. However, if this group doesn’t have a legitimate starting quarterback that can get them the ball, Atlanta is in for its ninth-straight losing season.

4. Miami Dolphins

QBs: Malik Willis, Quinn Ewers, Cam Miller, Mark Gronowski

The Dolphins secured the most intriguing quarterback in this free agency class with Malik Willis. It wasn’t a surprise, as Miami hired a general manager and head coach that Willis was familiar with. Jon Eric-Sullivan, Jeff Hafley and Willis all come over from the Green Bay Packers.

Willis completed 79% of his passes while averaging 10.9 yards per attempt with six touchdowns and zero interceptions in his two seasons with the Packers. He became the first quarterback to complete 85% of his passes in a game while averaging 13+ yards per attempt and rushing for 60 yards. If you want to extrapolate his numbers over three starts, Willis would be a franchise quarterback. The problem is our sample size for Willis is very small. According to Kurt Warner, Willis had just 28 dropbacks over the past two seasons if you take out screen plays, “pick-n-stick” throws at five yards and quick scrambles. He will also be quarterbacking for what is expected to be one of the worst teams in the NFL. De’Von Achane is a fantastic running back, but Malik Washington, Jalen Tolbert and Tutu Atwell are not exactly elite wideouts.

Willis is a huge question mark in general, but even if you’re optimistic about his talent, you have to admit that the rebuilding Dolphins are not in a great situation right now. What are the odds Miami will be drafting a quarterback in the top three next year? It’s expected to be a loaded class with players like Arch Manning, Dante Moore, CJ Carr and LaNorris Sellers.

3. Arizona Cardinals

QBs: Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew II, Carson Beck, Kedon Slovis

The Arizona Cardinals were a team expected to be in the market for a new quarterback this offseason, but they did not add one. It appears they are going to roll with Jacoby Brissett, who now wants a contract that resembles what a starting quarterback in the NFL makes. He held out of the Cardinals’ voluntary work before returning to the fold to avoid fines.

Brissett went 1-11 as the starter last year, but threw for a career-high 3,366 yards, a career-high 23 touchdowns and a career-high eight interceptions. He’s had a pretty fascinating career, as Brissett has started for more teams than any quarterback in NFL history, where he’s had a losing record for each franchise with a minimum of five starts per team. However, did you know he’s tied with Aaron Rodgers in owning the lowest interception percentage in NFL history (1.4%)? Brissett is probably considered one of the best backups in the NFL, but a bottom-tier full-time starter.

Arizona did go and sign Gardner Minshew, who has started for four different teams over the last four years. He’s coming off a knee injury and owns an overall record of 17-30 over seven years. The Cardinals hope they have their quarterback of the future in third-round pick Carson Beck, who was the FBS leader in QB wins, passing yards and passing touchdowns over the last three years.

2. New York Jets

QBs: Geno Smith, Cade Klubnik, Bailey Zappe, Brady Cook

Geno Smith is back in New York, and actually became the first quarterback to return to his original draft team since Fran Tarkenton in 1972, according to CBS Sports Research. However, Smith went from one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the NFL to one of the toughest to watch last season.

In his one year with the Las Vegas Raiders, Smith led the league in both sacks taken (55) and interceptions (17) while going 2-13 as the starter. He flailed behind a bad offensive line and with subpar weaponry, which is actually a reason to be optimistic in 2026. The New York Jets‘ offensive line is certainly better than the Raiders’ unit from 2025, and so are the weapons. Smith can rely on Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, Adonai Mitchell, Omar Cooper Jr. and Kenyon Sadiq to carry the load, but he still has to be an efficient distributor of the football. That’s his ceiling as a 35-year-old journeyman.

The Jets also have fourth-round pick Cade Klubnik from Clemson, Brady Cook, who went 0-4 as a starter last season with 2 touchdowns and 7 interceptions, and Western Kentucky legend Bailey Zappe.

1. Cleveland Browns

QBs: Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, Taylen Green

The Cleveland Browns have owned the weirdest quarterback room in the NFL for years now. Deshaun Watson is still on the roster thanks to that five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed deal he signed in 2022. He owns the worst completion percentage, yards per attempt and TD-INT ratio in the NFL in the five years since one of the worst trades of all time. To make matters worse, Watson hasn’t seen any NFL action since Oct. 2024 after tearing the same Achilles twice. Will he be able to win the competition he’s favored in?

It’s true that Shedeur Sanders made the Pro Bowl as a rookie last season, but he also didn’t play well. The son of Deion went 3-4 as the starter, and owned the second-worst completion percentage (57%) plus most interceptions (11) since his NFL debut in Week 11. With that said, Sanders was definitely a better quarterback than Dillon Gabriel. It’s possible he is Cleveland’s best option to start Week 1.

On the one hand, the Browns do have more “options” than a team like the Jets or Dolphins. But that just adds to the confusion and chaos — especially if one can’t separate from the pack! New Browns coach Todd Monken ripped the room after his quarterbacks threw multiple interceptions against zero pass rush in 7-on-7s in May.

The Browns do have a rookie by the name of Taylen Green, who I can’t help but be intrigued by. This is a 6-foot-6 quarterback who tested better athletically than NFL Combine Hall of Famer Anthony Richardson. The Arkansas product ran a 4.36 40-yard dash, registered a 43.5-inch vertical and an 11’2 broad jump. Green led all SEC quarterbacks in yards per rush (5.6) last season, and ranked second in rushing yards (777). This was a weird quarterback class full of lottery tickets, and Green was a gamble I would take. Still, the Browns’ quarterback situation is rough overall.