The 2023 NFL season saw a high number of backup quarterbacks take over, either because of injuries or lackluster performances.
Now, two teams in the hunt for a Super Bowl title will be led by backup quarterbacks in the playoffs.
But the rise of second- and third-string quarterbacks taking over isn’t just a trend.
According to legendary NFL agent Leigh Steinberg, the backup quarterback spot is a position NFL teams should seriously consider investing in moving forward.
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"Given the critical nature of the quarterback position and the need for teams to have a franchise quarterback as a starter — someone you can build around for 10 to 12 years, who you can win because of and who, in critical situations, can elevate his level of play — arguably, the second most valuable player on a team's roster is the backup quarterback," he told Fox News Digital in an interview this week.
At least 66 different quarterbacks have started in an NFL game this season, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. That's just two fewer than last season’s 68, which was the highest of any non-strike season.
That’s a telling figure, according to Steinberg.
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"That tells you that it is almost inevitable that, at some point or another, the starter is going to miss time — in the worst case for a whole season, like Aaron Rodgers; in the best case, for a game or two. But given how close the playoff races are, it's pretty clear that, for most teams, they'll end up having to play multiple quarterbacks."
The San Francisco 49ers are a team that comes to mind. During last year's NFC championship game, rookie quarterback Brock Purdy, the Niners' third starting quarterback that season, injured the elbow of his throwing arm early on.
He was replaced by backup Josh Johnson, who was later ruled out with a concussion, forcing Purdy back in.
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"It may be time for teams to start thinking of that second quarterback and that third quarterback as also irreplaceable, because inevitably the burden will go on their shoulders," Steinberg said.
The legendary agent suggested a dynamic similar to what the 49ers used in the late 1980s with Joe Montana and Steve Young (minus the controversy) of having a backup quarterback who has the ability to be a starting quarterback elsewhere.
"A realistic view of the danger and risk here is going to force teams to think very seriously about the quality of the second quarterback and investing the money to make a quarterback, who otherwise could be a starter, content to sit there. Especially with a winning team, because history is replete with examples of where teams without that great quarterback simply don't fare well in the playoffs nor make it to the Super Bowl."
But the league would need to make changes to allow this to happen, Steinberg added.
"I think, from the standpoint of cap, there needs to be a new caponomic approach, and one suggestion I would make is that the league allows a cap exception for the second quarterback."
The 2023 season has been referred to as the year of the backups. Steinberg said he anticipates this influencing the draft, and a lot more quarterbacks will be taken in the first three rounds. He believes more teams with franchise quarterbacks will also be in the market for young signal-callers they can develop for the long term.
On Saturday, Super Bowl champion and MVP Joe Flacco finds himself back in the playoffs, this time with the Cleveland Browns as they take on the Houston Texans. The Pittsburgh Steelers, led by Mason Rudolph, will face off against the Buffalo Bills in a wild-card game Sunday.
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