Does Benching A Young NFL Quarterback Work?

Since 2020, five notable young NFL quarterbacks have been benched by the teams that drafted them within their first three seasons, including Young. Kenny Pickett, who was drafted in the first round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022, is another. His rookie year was disappointing, and although the Steelers still managed a winning record, there were questions surrounding the first-round QB. 

The 2023 season wasn’t much better for Pickett, and after suffering an injury in week 13, backup QB Mason Rudolph took over as starter. Rudolph would remain the starter for the rest of the season, even after Pickett recovered from his injury in week 16. Head coach Mike Tomlin stuck with Rudolph for the last two weeks of the season and the playoffs, initially framing the decision around Pickett’s injury. 

This benching would end Pickett’s time with the Steelers, as he would request a trade the following season. Unlike the Panthers’ benching of Young, which helped him get better, Pickett never improved. Since leaving Pittsburgh, Pickett has bounced around the league as a backup QB, and he’s currently backing up Young in Carolina. 

Another notable young QB to get benched, not just once, but multiple times, was Zach Wilson. He was the second overall pick in the 2021 draft by the New York Jets. Like the others, his poor rookie season was just the beginning. Wilson’s second Jets season also disappointed until a Week 11 loss to the New England Patriots led head coach Robert Saleh to bench him for failing to take accountability.

Backup QB Mike White took the starting role for the rest of the season until the following offseason, when the Jets acquired Aaron Rodgers to be their starter. Unfortunately, Rodgers tore his Achilles in Week 1, forcing Wilson to retake his starting role until he was benched again permanently for poor play in Week 11 of the 2023 season. That would be the last game he played for the Jets. Similarly to Pickett, Wilson would bounce around the league as a backup QB, and he is now with the New Orleans Saints behind starting QB Tyler Shough. 

Mac Jones is another young QB from the 2021 draft who got benched early in his career for poor play. Jones was taken in the first round by the Patriots and, despite making the Pro Bowl his rookie year and taking New England to the playoffs, his second season was a rollercoaster. Although Jones wasn’t ever benched permanently, he was benched in multiple games multiple times throughout the 2023 season. He was benched in weeks 4, 10, and 12 for backup QB Bailey Zappe midway through games because of turnovers or poor play. 

Jones was eventually traded at the start of the 2024 season to the Jacksonville Jaguars to back up Trevor Lawrence. He’s now with the San Francisco 49ers and has backed up Brock Purdy the past two years. Although Jones has shown flashes and some potential when he’s come in to start, he hasn’t lived up to the expectations of a first-round pick even after his multiple benchings. 

The last young notable QB to be benched in the past decade was Anthony Richardson. He was drafted third overall in 2023 by the Indianapolis Colts. Richardson only played four games in his rookie year before missing the rest of the season with an injury. His 2024 season, however, wasn’t great, and after a Week 8 loss to the Houston Texans, in which Richardson asked to be subbed out because he was tired, he was benched for the next two games.

Head coach Shane Steichen insisted that the benching was because of poor play and not a lack of conditioning and preparation, for which Richardson was heavily criticized. Steichen eventually named Richardson the starter for the rest of the season after two weeks.

After the Colts signed Daniel Jones for the 2025 season, Richardson had to battle for the starting QB job in training camp. Unfortunately, Jones won the battle and was named starter for the rest of the season. Richardson is currently backing up Jones despite requesting a trade in the offseason and hasn’t lived up to his hype since being drafted, even after being benched. 

Does Benching A Young NFL QB Work

Benching a young QB in the NFL who is struggling is often seen as a last resort to help them improve. Based on the history of young QBs who have been benched in the last decade, however, it seems more like giving up. Outside of Young, who seems to be the one outlier, all five notable players who have been benched in the past decade are currently backups and have been since their benchings. 

Although most of these QBs’ careers aren’t over yet and things can change, mostly all of them are on different teams already failing to live up to their drafted teams’ expectations. With the current landscape of the NFL and how teams are expecting their young QBs to produce instantly, benching them is one of the least helpful things to do.