Ranking the five worst NFL quarterback rooms in 2026

Not everyone is so fortunate. Several teams enter the 2026 season with more questions than answers under center, with one eye already drifting towards a potentially quarterback-heavy 2027 draft.

5. Miami Dolphins

Scott Taetsch / Stringer

Malik Willis earned this opportunity. In limited action across his final two seasons with Green Bay, he completed 70 of 89 passes for 972 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions, adding another 261 yards and three scores on the ground.

Those are striking numbers, but 89 passes across two years remain 89 passes. Willis has started only six NFL games since Tennessee selected him in 2022, and his ugly early work with the Titans cannot be erased entirely.

Behind him are Kyle McCord and Brady Cook. The Dolphins have committed to finding out whether a promising understudy can become a franchise quarterback, with very little protection if the answer is no.

4. Atlanta Falcons

Tua Tagovailoa will start Week One after winning a competition that seemed designed for somebody else to win. His preseason was uneven, and his final years in Miami brought declining performances, injuries, and an eventual release from a contract once worth $212 million.

The alternative is Michael Penix Jr, the eighth pick in 2024 and now recovering from the third ACL tear of his career. Penix has talent, but the Falcons do not yet know how he will perform after returning from another major knee reconstruction.

Atlanta's quarterback room contains two former top-10 picks and an alarming amount of medical paperwork.

3. Arizona Cardinals

Jacoby Brissett has carved out a respectable career by being the quarterback teams call when their preferred plan collapses. Arizona have simply removed the first part of that process and installed him immediately.

Behind Brissett are Gardner Minshew and third-round rookie Carson Beck. The latter led Miami to the national championship game last season, throwing for 3,581 yards and 29 touchdowns, but never recovered the blue-chip status he once held at Georgia.

Beck is now a developmental punt rather than an obvious heir. Competence is possible here. Inspiration feels less likely.

2. New York Jets

Justin K. Aller / Stringer

Geno Smith returning to the Jets is a charming story until somebody checks what happened in Las Vegas.

Smith went 2-13 as the Raiders' starter last season, throwing a league-high 17 interceptions against 19 touchdowns. Now 35, he looks more like a bridge to New York's next quarterback than the beginning of anything lasting.

Fourth-round rookie Cade Klubnik is the only immediate alternative. Once discussed as a potential first-round prospect, Klubnik slipped after failing to convince during his final year at Clemson and endured an uneven preseason.

Jets supporters may spend another autumn studying college quarterbacks by October.

1. Cleveland Browns

Nick Cammett / Stringer

No situation combines poor play, public resentment, and contractual despair quite like Cleveland's.

Deshaun Watson remains a shell of the quarterback who excelled in Houston. Two Achilles ruptures have been added to years of underwhelming performances, while his off-field controversies and fully guaranteed contract ensure he remains deeply unpopular.

Every appearance recalls the trade that cost the Browns three first-round picks and might be the worst in NFL history.

His deputy is Shedeur Sanders, whose rookie season produced 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and a 68.1 passer rating. His 18.9 QBR was among the worst recorded by any qualifying quarterback since the metric was introduced.

Watson is the present, Sanders is the fallback, and neither resembles a convincing future. The Browns could scarcely have engineered a bleaker quarterback room if they had tried.

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