Backup QBs who could compete for starting jobs in 2024

With five quarterbacks expected to make their season debuts in Week 18, a total of 66 QBs will have started an NFL game in 2023, tying the NFL record for most to play in a season during a non-strike year.

The Cleveland Browns have started a league-high five different signal-callers this season, followed by the New York Jets with four. Only nine teams – the Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Bucs, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints – have had the same starter for all 17 games to date, per the Sporting News.

Here are five quarterbacks who could go from backup to starter in 2024:

1. Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals

Many had written the Bengals off when Joe Burrow went down with a season-ending injury in Week 11, but Browning has stepped in and been as good, if not better than Burrow during his six-game run as Cincy’s starter. He has a 3-3 record and he’s thrown for 1,780 yards, nine touchdowns and six interceptions in relief duty, including three games with 320 or more passing yards. 

Since Week 12, Browning leads the NFL in completion percentage (69.9) and ranks ninth in passer rating (96.5). Browning is 27 years old and a free agent at the end of the season. He would make sense as a transitional starter for a team like the Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings or New England Patriots.

2. Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns

It’s crazy to think Flacco spent the first 11 weeks of the season watching games from his couch before signing with the Browns at the end of November. Though he’s only played in five contests, Flacco has more touchdowns passes (13) than Aiden O’Connell (10), Kenny Pickett (six), Desmond Ridder (10), Zach Wilson (eight) and Bryce Young (10) – all of whom have started 10 or more games.

Though he’s 38, Flacco has shown he still has something left in the tank, throwing for 1,618 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions in his five starts, including four straight games with 300 or more yards and three games with three touchdown passes. Flacco could stick around in Cleveland as Plan B to Deshaun Watson in 2024 or he could start for a team breaking in a rookie QB.

3. Gardner Minshew, Indianapolis Colts

When Anthony Richardson went down with a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 5, not many expected the Colts to ride Minshew to a 9-7 record with a shot at not only making the playoffs but also winning the AFC South.

The 27-year-old Washington State product has proven he’s still capable of playing at a solid level as a starter, throwing for 3,164 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Minshew has had six games with a passer rating over 100 and three games with 300 yards or more. He’s a free agent after the season ends and like Browning and Flacco, could be in line to serve as a bridge starter for a team that drafts a quarterback in April.

4. Sam Darnold, San Francisco 49ers

Though Darnold has had extremely limited playing time this season, he’s shown he still has something to offer. After beating out Trey Lance and Brandon Allen for the No. 2 job during training camp and the preseason, Darnold saw his first real action two weeks ago against Baltimore. He completed 8-of-14 passes for 81 yards, a touchdown and an interception, leading the 49ers on a scoring drive late in the fourth quarter and nearly engineering another one in the final four minutes before he was picked off on a tipped pass. 

Darnold will start the 49ers season finale against the Los Angeles Rams and a strong showing in that game could entice another team to give the 26-year-old another shot next season. His situation isn’t dissimilar to Mitch Trubisky’s a few years ago. Trubisky parlayed his one year as the backup in Buffalo into a starting gig in Pittsburgh the following year.

5. Davis Mills, Houston Texans

There was plenty of interest in Mills during the preseason after C.J. Stroud was named Houston’s starter, but the Texans held onto him just in case. With Stroud sidelined by a concussion, the team turned to Case Keenum over Mills for two games, though he did take over for Keenum against the Browns two weeks ago.

Mills, who is only 25 years old, has two years of starting experience under his belt and his overall numbers aren’t terrible – 5,955 yards, 35 touchdowns, 25 interceptions, 62.8 completion percentage. It’s possible a team like the Broncos, Falcons or Vikings could give him a shot for a year or two while they try to figure out a more long-term solution at the position.