At any given time, a significant percentage of the NFL’s 32 teams are looking to upgrade at the quarterback position. Others are hoping for saviors. And others are in search of potential successors for their current starters. Rarely is anyone completely uninterested in potentially good quarterbacks.
In order to establish a gauge for which teams are more desperate than others, we give you our quarterback desperation rankings.
32. Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck is a stud with three years under his belt and at least a dozen ahead of him. No need to even think about quarterbacks right now.
31. Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers is smack dab in the middle of his prime. The Packers are years away from having to worry about successors.
30. Seattle Seahawks: Russell Wilson is basically in the same position as Luck. Might not be quite as good overall, but he’s a Super Bowl champion and two-time NFC champ.
29. New England Patriots: Tom Brady will be 38 before he plays another game but they’ll give Jimmy Garoppolo a long look before going anywhere else.
28. Pittsburgh Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger is only 32 and coming off a career year. Plenty of gas left in that tank.
27. Miami Dolphins: Rumor is they’re looking to extend Ryan Tannehill long-term. That might be a little ambitious, but there’s no reason for them to chase signal callers right now.
26. Denver Broncos: They’re likely to get Peyton Manning back and there’s a chance Brock Osweiler can become Manning’s successor.
25. Kansas City Chiefs: Hard to believe Alex Smith is still only 30, and he suits what they do. No rush here.
24. New York Giants: Eli Manning’s got a few years left in him and that offense could be jacked with the return of Victor Cruz in 2015.
23. Minnesota Vikings: They owe Teddy Bridgewater one full sophomore season.
22. Dallas Cowboys: Tony Romo will be 35 in April but is coming off his best season yet. Dallas should wait at least until next year to think about potential replacements.
21. Atlanta Falcons: Matt Ryan is still only 29 and has done a decent job despite being part of some bad teams of late. The Falcons can’t think about giving up on Ryan right now. Next offseason, things could be quite different.
20. San Diego Chargers: Philip Rivers is still relatively young at 33 and deserves a couple more seasons without any challenges.
19. Jacksonville Jaguars: They owe Blake Bortles one full sophomore season.
18. Oakland Raiders: They owe Derek Carr one full sophomore season.
17. Baltimore Ravens: Joe Flacco was the Super Bowl MVP just two years ago, but Flacco has never been particularly good outside of that one championship run. It couldn’t hurt to add a flier not named Tyrod Taylor.
16. New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees is now 36, and the guy throws a lot of interceptions. The Saints, who have just two playoff wins in six years, should probably start thinking about who might take over for Brees in the next couple years.
15. Carolina Panthers: Cam Newton is still the man, but his mediocre 2014 numbers are concerning. If he fails to deliver in 2015, they should be on the lookout.
14. Arizona Cardinals: Carson Palmer was great when healthy and they drafted Logan Thomas in the fourth round last year. But Palmer is 35 now, the jury is well out on Thomas and the Cards were a disaster without their starter last season. Might be smart to consider collecting another mid-round pivot this spring.
13. Cincinnati Bengals: It’s fair to start wondering if Andy Dalton is cut out to be a franchise quarterback in Cincy, so the Bengals should be at least mining for potential replacements outside of the first round.
12. Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford just hasn’t been able to do enough with a team that is loaded with talent. This should be a make-or-break season for him.
11. San Francisco 49ers: Colin Kaepernick was somewhat of a mess in 2014, with his inconsistency becoming problematic as his numbers dropped across the board despite a lot of support on both sides of the ball. The only other quarterbacks on the roster are Blaine Gabbert and Josh Johnson.
10. Washington Redskins: Robert Griffin III will likely be given one more year to prove himself (if that) but it’s not looking good for the 2012 No. 2 overall pick. And Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy won’t save the day. The ‘Skins shouldn’t shy away from taking a chance this offseason.
9. Philadelphia Eagles: There’s a very strong chance Nick Foles’ 2013 season was an aberration, and Mark Sanchez isn’t the answer. The Eagles need to consider drafting a quarterback relatively early this year.
8. St. Louis Rams: This all depends on what they do with Sam Bradford, who still possesses a chance to become a great quarterback. But they might have run out of patience there, in which case they’ll be desperate to find someone new.
7. Houston Texans: Maybe they’ve got something in Ryan Mallett or Tom Savage, but neither is close to being a sure thing and the Texans can’t afford to waste J.J. Watt’s best years because they don’t have a reliable starter under center. Gotta keep swinging the bat.
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: A lot of people would have the Bucs higher, but I don’t know why everyone’s already writing off Mike Glennon. Plus, at least they’ll have a choice atop the draft.
5. Cleveland Browns: They can still re-sign Brian Hoyer and we can’t totally deem Johnny Manziel to be a bust after one season in which he threw 35 passes. Still, if I’m the Browns and Marcus Mariota drops to me in the No. 12 spot, I strongly consider it.
4. Tennessee Titans: Time to give up on Jake Locker, and Zach Mettenberger could at least use some competition.
3. Chicago Bears: They appear ready to move on from Jay Cutler, but Jimmy Clausen certainly isn’t going to be the guy.
2. New York Jets: Geno Smith isn’t the answer and they’ve got no other prospects on the roster. That No. 6 overall pick should be used in order to leverage themselves a new potential franchise pivot.
1. Buffalo Bills: They appear to be, like, 99 percent sure EJ Manuel isn’t the answer. And Kyle Orton won’t make the cut. This team is a quarterback away from competing, but they lack a first-round pick.
