Who Are the Backup Quarterbacks for Every NFL Team? Everything to Know
You know the stars, now let's take a look at the backup quarterbacks on every NFL roster this season.
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A solid backup quarterback is vital for every NFL squad. You never know when your starter is going to get hurt, need a breather, or just run into some kind of rut where he can't get in rhythm. In those moments, the backup is there, ready to change things up and maybe even lead a heroic march to victory.
NFL fans everywhere know the big names at the quarterback position, from Patrick Mahomes to Josh Allen to Aaron Rodgers, so let's take a look at the other guys. With Sunday Night Football now in full swing on NBC and Peacock, here are the backup quarterbacks for each of the NFL's 32 teams, from veterans to newcomers.
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The backup QBs of every NFL team in 2025
Arizona Cardinals - Jacoby Brissett
Though he's spent many season as a backup at this point, Jacoby Brissett's career is full of starting time spread across various teams. He began his career in New England before working as a starter in two of four seasons with the Colts. Since then he's been in Miami, started much of a season in Cleveland, moved to Washington, and then back to New England before landing in Arizona in 2025. Now he's the backup behind Kyler Murray, whose injury problems have meant Brissett's already started one game this season.
Atlanta Falcons - Kirk Cousins
Now in his 14th NFL season, Cousins spent much of his career as a starter, first in Washington and then in Minnesota. In 2024 he joined the Falcons as their new starter, but was benched late in the season in favor of the rookie Michael Penix Jr. Now, Penix is Atlanta's permanent starter, with Cousins serving as his experienced, knowledgeable QB2.
Baltimore Ravens - Cooper Rush
An undrafted free agent who signed with the Cowboys in 2017, Rush is best known for his time in Dallas backing up Dak Prescott, who suffered an injury last season which kept Rush at the forefront of the offense for eight games. In 2025, Rush signed with the Ravens, where he now backs up Lamar Jackson, including starting for Jackson for a Ravens loss earlier this season.
Buffalo Bills - Mitchell Trubisky
The second overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Mitchell Trubisky spent most of his time as a starter in Chicago, where he led the Bears to a pair of postseason appearances before moving first to Buffalo, then to Pittsburgh, then back to Buffalo. He hasn't started a game for the Bills yet as Josh Allen's long streak of starts continues, but when he has played, he's been solid, setting a career-best passer rating across nine games in 2024.
Carolina Panthers - Andy Dalton
After a lengthy NFL career that includes nine season and multiple postseason berths as a starter in Cincinnati, Dalton has moved from Dallas to Chicago to New Orleans to Carolina in recent years. This year marks his third season as a backup behind Bryce Young, and with Young's injury issues in recent weeks, we could be seeing a lot more of him.
Chicago Bears - Tyson Bagent
An undrafted free agent from a small school, Tyson Bagent had to fight his way into the backup positions, but now he's earned his spot behind Caleb Williams. He's been in Chicago since 2023, and in his third season he's Williams' clear QB2, playing in four games in 2024.
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Cincinnati Bengals - Jake Browning
After starting his career as an undrafted free agent in Minnesota, Browning joined the Bengals in 2021, where he's been backing up Joe Burrow. He started seven games and went 4-3 in 2023 when Burrow was out with an injury, and started games in 2025 when Burrow was injured yet again. With Burrow still out, the Bengals traded to get veteran Joe Flacco as their new starter midway through the 2025 season, making Browning Flacco's backup while Burrow recovers.
Cleveland Browns - Shedeur Sanders
The son of NFL legend Deion Sanders, Shedeur came to Cleveland from Colorado, and started his first NFL season as a third string quarterback behind starter Joe Flacco and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel. Gabriel was eventually named the starter and Flacco was traded to the Bengals, moving Sanders up to the QB2 slot. He hasn't yet played a regular season snap due to all of that quarterback shuffling, but as the primary backup, his time is sure to come soon.
Dallas Cowboys - Joe Milton III
A sixth round pick out of Tennessee, Milton spent his rookie season in 2024 in New England, where he backed up Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye. In 2025 he was traded to Dallas, where he's now backing up Dak Prescott, waiting for his moment to get his first-ever NFL start.
Denver Broncos - Jarrett Stidham
After starting his career in New England and then moving to Las Vegas, Stidham joined the Broncos in 2023 as a backup to Russell Wilson, and he's stayed in that position ever since. He played in three games last season, and now serves as backup to Bo Nix.
Detroit Lions - Kyle Allen
An undrafted free agent out of Houston, Allen started his NFL career with the Panthers, and started 12 games for Carolina in his second season in 2019. Since then, he's been bouncing around the league as a backup with stops in Washington, Houston, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh. As of 2025 he's in Detroit, serving as QB2 behind Jared Goff.
Green Bay Packers - Malik Willis
A third round pick in the 2022 draft, Willis began his career in Tennessee, starting three games for the Titans in his rookie season. In 2024 he moved to Green Bay to backup Jordan Love, starting and winning two games that season while throwing three touchdowns and zero interceptions. It's no wonder the Packers wanted to keep him around in 2025.
Houston Texans - Davis Mills
A third-round pick out of Stanford, Mills has spent his entire five-year NFL career so far in Houston, serving as the team's primary starting quarterback in 2021 and 2022 before he was replaced by rookie prospect C.J. Stroud, who would go on to be Offensive Rookie of the Year. Mills hasn't seen snaps in 2025 yet, but he's still Stroud's backup, and his time could come at any moment.
Indianapolis Colts - Riley Leonard
Best known for his 2025 season at Notre Dame, in which he led the Irish to a National Championship berth, Leonard was selected by the Colts in the sixth round of the 2025 Draft, and was initially a third-string quarterback. When backup Anthony Richardson was injured, Leonard moved up to QB2 behind starter Daniel Jones, which means he could be in for some playing time at some point this season.
Jacksonville Jaguars - Nick Mullens
Mullens began his career in San Francisco, where he started half of the 2018 and 2020 seasons for the 49ers. In 2021 he hopped to Cleveland, then to Minnesota in 2022. Now in his ninth season, he's become a career backup player, now sitting on the depth chart behind Trevor Lawrence.
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Kansas City Chiefs - Gardner Minshew
Minshew has spent much of his career in and out of starting jobs, leading the Jaguars for most of the 2019 and 2020 seasons and starting 13 games for the Colts in 2023. In between he was a backup in Philadelphia, and in 2024 he started half the season for the Raiders before settling in Kansas City this season. Now he's the backup behind Patrick Mahomes, which means all of that in-game experience will serve him very well if the league's best-known quarterback ever needs a break.
Las Vegas Raiders - Kenny Pickett
Drafted in the first round by Pittsburgh in 2022, Pickett started most of the 2022 and 2023 seasons for the Steelers before joining the Eagles for the 2024 season. As Jalen Hurts' backup, he started one game and collected a Super Bowl ring before moving to the Browns, then joining the Raiders as part of a 2025 preseason trade. He's now the backup in Vegas behind Geno Smith.
Los Angeles Chargers - Trey Lance
The third overall pick in 2021 Draft, Trey Lance has spent his five-season career largely in backup positions, stepping up to briefly start for an injury-plagued 49ers squad in 2021 and 2022, before serving as a backup behind Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush in Dallas over the last two seasons. Now he's in Los Angeles, serving as Justin Herbert's backup and waiting for his chance to step out onto the field and take the helm of the offense.
Los Angeles Rams - Jimmy Garoppolo
Jimmy Garoppolo started his career as a backup for Tom Brady in New England, but he's best-known for his time in San Francisco, where he led the 49ers to two lengthy postseason runs as a starter. In 2023 he moved to the Raiders, and in 2024 joined the Rams, where he's now backing up Matthew Stafford.
Miami Dolphins - Quinn Ewers
A seventh-round draft pick out of Texas, Ewers was, up until very recently, the Dolphins' third-string quarterback, remaining inactive on the roster. In Week 7 he was promoted to the team's official backup behind Tua Tagovailoa, and when the starter struggled that week, Ewers took the helm of the Dolphins offense for the first time. Expect to see more of him as the season wears on.
Minnesota Vikings - Max Brosmer
After a solid 2024 campaign as the starting quarterback for the University of Minnesota, Brosmer was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Vikings. The QB situation in Minnesota is very fluid right now, with former backup Carson Wentz starting in place of an injured J.J. McCarthy. That means Brosmer has moved up from QB3 to QB2 in recent weeks, and might stay there for a while.
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New England Patriots - Joshua Dobbs
Now in his ninth season in the league, Josh Dobbs has mostly been a career backup, moving from team-to-team to support starters, including three full seasons when he didn't play a snap on gameday. After starting in Pittsburgh, he jumped to Jacksonville, then back to Pittsburgh, then to Cleveland, Tennessee, and Arizona before briefly taking the helm of the Minnesota Vikings. Across five games, including a comeback victory in his first active time with the team, Dobbs became something of a sensation among the Vikings faithful, but did not finish the season for the team. He then moved to San Francisco before joining the Patriots earlier this year, where he serves as Drake Maye's backup.
New Orleans Saints - Taysom Hill
This year marks Taysom Hill's ninth NFL season, all of them in New Orleans, and he's bounced around the roster quite a bit. He played quarterback in high school, but his excellent mobility made him a prime utility player, and he's played special teams and tight end for the Saints in recent years. He's still listed as TE3 on the Saints roster, but he's also the backup quarterback behind starter Spencer Rattler. It's good to be versatile!
New York Giants - Russell Wilson
A Super Bowl champion during his highlight-packed tenure with the Seattle Seahawks, Russell Wilson is a veteran presence who's now played in Denver, Pittsburgh, and New York. He started the 2025 season for the Giants, but has since been benched in favor of rookie Jaxson Dart, marking his first real tenure as a veteran backup QB.
New York Jets - Tyrod Taylor
A veteran now in his 15th season, Taylor started his NFL career as a backup in Baltimore before moving to Buffalo, where he started for three seasons in the mid-2010s and led the team to one postseason appearance in 2017. Since then, he's been an experienced backup for several teams, including the Browns, Chargers, Texans, and Giants. He joined the Jets squad in 2024, where he now backs up Justin Fields, and has already stepped in this season when Fields has struggled.
Philadelphia Eagles - Tanner McKee
Now in his third NFL season, McKee has spent his entire career so far in Philly, where he originally was the third string quarterback behind Jalen Hurts and backup Kenny Pickett. Now that Pickett has moved on, McKee is officially QB2 for the Eagles, and logged one start (which he won) last season.
Pittsburgh Steelers - Mason Rudolph
A third-round pick in 2018, Rudolph has spent most of his career in Pittsburgh, first backing up Ben Roethlisberger, starting 13 games across five seasons. He briefly moved to Tennessee in 2024, where he backed up Will Levis, before shifting back to Pittsburgh to serve as backup for Aaron Rodgers.
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San Francisco 49ers - Mac Jones
A first-round pick out of Alabama, Jones began his career in New England in 2021, going 10-7 in the regular season and earning a playoff berth. After three seasons with the Patriots as their starter, he moved to Jacksonville, where he started several games in 2024 as a backup for an injured Trevor Lawrence. Now he's in San Francisco backing up an injured Brock Purdy, and he's 3-0 in games played so far this season. When Purdy's out, Jones' backup is Adrian Martinez.
Seattle Seahawks - Drew Lock
Lock started his career in Denver in 2019, and started 13 games for the Broncos during the 2020 season, finishing 4-9. Since then he's been largely a backup, moving from Denver to Seattle and then to the New York Giants, where he started five games during a troubled 2024 season. Now he's back in Seattle, sitting behind starter Sam Darnold, in his sixth NFL season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Teddy Bridgewater
A first-round pick for Minnesota in 2014, Bridgewater started most of the 2014 and 2015 seasons for the Vikings before sitting out 2016 with an injury. Since then he's bounced around quite a bit, with time as a backup in New Orleans before starting again in Carolina and Denver, then moving back into backup territory in Miami and Detroit. Now in his 12th season, he's second on the depth chart behind Baker Mayfield in Tampa.
Tennessee Titans - Brandon Allen
Now in his tenth season in the league, Brandon Allen has started fewer than 20 games, serving as a backup quarterback in Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Denver, Cincinnati, and San Francisco. In 2025 he took his talents to the Titans, where he now serves as backup to dynamic rookie starter Cam Ward.
Washington Commanders - Marcus Mariota
Mariota is a former Heisman Trophy winner who served as a starter in Tennessee for his first five seasons. Though he briefly had a starting job again with the Falcons in 2022, he's largely been a backup since leaving the Titans, stopping off in Vegas and Philly before landing in Washington in 2024. In 2025, with starter Jayden Daniels battling injuries, Mariota got his first start in three years, which he won.
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