RANK AND VILE
Trubisky- Foles tandem does not rate well on NFL’s QB landscape
The Bears say they’re satisfied with their quarterback room, but there aren’t many teams in the NFL — four, maybe? — that would volunteer to trade places with them.
Below, we rank the quarterback situations for all 32 NFL teams, with the members of their two- deep in parentheses:
THE BOTTOM FIVE 32. Patriots ( Jarrett Stidham, Brian Hoyer)
Is coach Bill Belichick really going to turn his team over to someone who has thrown four passes in his NFL career? Either he knows something we don’t, or he’s trying to prove he’s the smartest guy in the room. Probably both.
31. Jaguars ( Gardner Minshew, Josh Dobbs)
The Jaguars were thrilled to trade Nick Foles and let the mustachioed Minshew start all season. They’ll be even more thrilled to draft Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence next year after what appears to be a tank job.
30. Redskins ( Dwayne Haskins, Kyle Allen)
The 15th pick in the 2019 draft, Haskins went 2- 5 as a starter and threw as many interceptions as touchdown passes. His 76.1 passer rating was last among those who started seven or more games.
29. Broncos ( Drew Lock, Jeff Driskel)
General manager John Elway declared Lock the team’s quarterback of the future after he went 4- 1 in a late- season rookie cameo. Three of those victories came against the lowly Chargers, Raiders and Lions. Driskel is a shaky second- stringer.
THE NEW YORKERS 27. Giants ( Daniel Jones, Colt McCoy)
Jones won his first two starts, then lost nine of the last 10 games he started as a rookie. A healthy Saquon Barkley would be his most welcome upgrade in 2020.
26. Jets ( Sam Darnold, Joe Flacco)
Darnold went 6- 2 to finish the season and, unlike his Giants counterpart, won’t have to adjust to a new coach and coordinator during the virtual offseason.
25. Bills ( Josh Allen, Matt Barkley)
No second- year quarterback made a greater leap than Allen, who continued to be a running threat ( 510 yards) and moved his passing numbers closer to league average. He engineered four fourth- quarter comebacks and led the Bills to the playoffs.
THE BRIDGE? 24. Panthers ( Teddy Bridgewater, Will Grier)
Is Bridgewater, who turns 28 in November, the bridge to a draft pick in the next two years? That depends on whether he stars in coordinator Joe Brady’s fun new scheme. Bridgewater and Brady, LSU’s star assistant last year, worked together with the Saints.
RECENT FIRST- ROUNDERS 23. Chargers ( Tyrod Taylor, Justin Herbert)
The Chargers swear they like Taylor, but they didn’t take Herbert sixth overall so he could spend the season behind someone who has made three starts in the last two seasons.
22. Browns ( Baker Mayfield, Case Keenum)
For all the preseason hype, Mayfield’s second year wound up being markedly worse than his first. His passer rating fell from 93.7 to 78.8, and only Jameis Winston threw more interceptions.
21. Dolphins ( Tua Tagovailoa, Ryan Fitzpatrick)
Tagovailoa will be special. He’ll be in the top 10 of the 2022 power rankings. He’ll get a rude welcome as a rookie, though, after recovering from a grisly hip injury.
20. Bengals ( Joe Burrow, Ryan Finley)
Burrow just posted the greatest season in the history of college quarterbacks. He led the nation in passing yards, touchdown passes and passer rating and beat seven top- 10 teams. Will the Bengals mess him up?
MIDDLE CLASS 19. Rams ( Jared Goff, John Wolford)
Coming off a Super Bowl appearance, the Rams gave Goff a four- year, $ 134 million extension that — after a so- so season and a restructure — makes him untradable.
18. Raiders ( Derek Carr, Marcus Mariota)
The Raiders showed so little faith in Carr that they gave Mariota $ 17.6 million over two years — and $ 7.5 million guaranteed — to back him up. Controversy brewing?
17. Steelers ( Ben Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph)
It never has been easier to forget about Roethlisberger, who missed 14 games with an elbow injury last season.
16. Lions ( Matthew Stafford, Chase Daniel)
A healthy Stafford is a top- eight quarterback in the league. After making every start for eight full seasons, a broken back limited him to eight starts in 2019.
15. Vikings ( Kirk Cousins, Sean Mannion)
Cousins gets knocked for merely being average, but give him this: He went 10- 5 as a starter last season and beat the Saints in a road playoff game.
14. Falcons ( Matt Ryan, Matt Schaub)
Ryan has thrown a league- high 1,224 passes in the last two seasons. For the good of his career, he should hope the signing of running back Todd Gurley changes that.
13. Colts ( Philip Rivers, Jacoby Brissett)
Rivers pulled a reverse Unitas: After playing his whole career with the Chargers, he’ll finish it with the Colts. Will it be as embarrassing? Rivers will benefit from a better offensive line and from skipping the weather in Denver and Kansas City.
UPPER- MIDDLE CLASS 12. Cardinals ( Kyler Murray, Brett Hundley)
Murray’s 5- 10, 207- pound frame held up just fine as a rookie. His 542 rushing yards trailed only Lamar Jackson among quarterbacks. By the end of the season, Murray looked like a star. Now he has DeAndre Hopkins as a weapon.
11. Eagles ( Carson Wentz, Jalen Hurts)
The Eagles say they’ll use Hurts in special packages and not to challenge Wentz, who threw 27 touchdown passes and seven interceptions and played all 16 games last season.
10. Titans ( Ryan Tannehill, Logan Woodside)
Tannehill led the NFL with an absurd 117.5 passer rating and sparked the Titans to the AFC title game. The Titans are paying a fortune —
$ 91 million in likely guarantees — to see if he can do it again.
9. 49ers ( Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Mullens)
Garoppolo went 13- 3 and guided the 49ers to the NFC title in his first full season as the starter. The Rolling Meadows High School alum was one overthrown pass from being the Super Bowl hero.
ELITE EIGHT 8. Cowboys ( Dak Prescott, Andy Dalton)
Since being drafted in the fourth round, Prescott has made every single start and won 40 games in four seasons. The Cowboys need to pay him.
7. Buccaneers ( Tom Brady, Blaine Gabbert)
The bet here is that a new home and, more important, new targets in Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and O. J. Howard will reverse Brady’s slow decline from the last few seasons. Oh, and he brought ‘‘ Gronk’’ with him.
6. Texans ( Deshaun Watson, AJ McCarron)
Watson watched head coach- turnedwannabe GM Bill O’Brien trade away his best weapon in DeAndre Hopkins. The Texans are in danger of wasting a generational talent.
5. Seahawks ( Russell Wilson, Geno Smith)
Wilson’s 100 passing touchdowns in the last three seasons are 15 more than the next- closest player. His passer rating during that time ranks third among those with at least 22 starts — behind only Drew Brees and Patrick Mahomes.
4. Packers ( Aaron Rodgers, Jordan Love)
Drafting Love in the first round will spark Rodgers, for better or worse. Bet against him at your own peril. He went 13- 3 last season and had the lowest interception percentage in the league.
3. Ravens ( Lamar Jackson, Robert Griffin)
Jackson, the reigning MVP, threw an NFL- best 36 touchdown passes and finished sixth in rushing yards last season. Unless NFL coaches solve the Ravens’ offense this offseason, Jackson — who is still on his cheap rookie deal — just might revolutionize the sport.
2. Saints ( Drew Brees, Jameis Winston)
Brees will be backed up by Winston, who led the NFL in passing yards last season. Throw in Taysom Hill — who had 50 passing yards, 50 rushing yards and 25 receiving yards in their playoff game — and the Saints have the NFL’s most well- rounded room.