Tom Brady has been the New England Patriots’ quarterback since Drew Bledsoe was injured in 2001. With the exception of when he was lost in 2008, Brady has been the starting signal-caller for the Pats. How have other teams fared since 2001 at quarterback?
Arizona Cardinals (19)
The Cardinals went through a bunch of QBs in this time period. They started with Jake Plummer in 2001-02. Next up was Jeff Blake and Josh McCown in 2003. McCown was joined by Shaun King and John Navarre in ’04. Kurt Warner started 10 games in 2005 with McCown picking up the rest. The years 2007-09 saw Warner start 42 games with first-round pick Matt Leinart taking the other six. Derek Anderson, John Skelton and Max Hall divvied up 2010, with Skelton starting seven times in 2011 and Kevin Kolb the other nine. In 2012, it was a quartet: Skelton, Kolb, Ryan Lindley and Brian Hoyer. Things stabilized from 2013-2017 with Carson Palmer making 60 starts. The others were shared by Drew Stanton, Blaine Gabbert and Lindley. The 2018 season saw Josh Rosen start 13 games and Sam Bradford the rest. Finally, Kyler Murray was in control for all 16 games in 2019.
Atlanta Falcons (9)
Matt Ryan has started all but three games for Atlanta since his arrival in 2008. Matt Schaub had one start last season and Chris Redman made a pair in 2009. Before that, Joey Harrington, Byron Leftwich and Redman were the starters in 2007. Michael Vick started all but two games from 2004-06. Schaub had the others. Vick made four starts in 2003 with Doug Johnson making eight and Kurt Kittner the other four. Vick started 15 games in 2002 and Johnson made the other. Chris Chandler had 14 starts in 2001 and Vick made a pair.
Baltimore Ravens (13)
The Ravens have had a fairly stable time at QB since 2001, particularly in recent years. Elvis Grbac and Randall Cunningham were the QBs in 2001. Chris Redman started six games in ’02 with Jeff Blake taking the other 10. Kyle Boller made 34 starts over the next three seasons with Anthony Wright on the remaining 14. The 2006 season belonged to Steve McNair, who also made six starts in ’07. That year, Boller started eight games and Troy Smith two. Joe Flacco came on the scene from Delaware and started every game from 2008-14. Flacco made 10 starts in 2015 with the others done by Matt Schaub, Jimmy Clausen and Ryan Mallett. Flacco was back in charge in 2016 and ’17 and made nine starts in 2018 before giving way to Lamar Jackson, who started seven games that season and all 16 in 2019.
Buffalo Bills (19)
Alex Van Pelt and Rob Johnson split 16 games in 2001. Then came a former Patriot. You know, Drew Bledsoe, the man who was replaced by Tom Brady in New England. Bledsoe started 48 straight games from 2002-04. The next season saw a split between J.P. Losman and Kelly Holcomb. Losman made all the starts in ’06 and seven the next season. The other nine games went to Trent Edwards. In ’08, Edwards started 14 times and Losman two. The 2009-12 run had Ryan Fitzpatrick get the call for 53 games. The remaining 13 went to Edwards and Brian Brohm. E.J. Manuel was the hope when drafted from Florida State. His tenure in Buffalo saw 17 starts between 2013-16. Thad Lewis started five games in 2013 and Jeff Tuel one. Kyle Orton got 12 in 2014. Tyrod Taylor made 42 starts from 2015-17. Matt Cassel had one in 2015. Nathan Peterman started four games in 2017-18. Josh Allen came on board in 2018 with 11 starts. Also, getting the call that year was Derek Anderson, Matt Barkley and LeSean McCoy with one each. Allen started every game in 2018.
Carolina Panthers (14)
The Panthers have been dominated by Cam Newton since his arrival from Auburn. Newton started 124 games between 2011-18. When Newton has not been in charge, the following have seen starts: Derek Anderson, Taylor Heinecke, Kyle Allen and Will Grier. Prior to the Heisman winner arriving, Jimmy Clausen started 10 games in 2010 with Matt Moore getting five and Brian St. Pierre the other. From 2003-09, Jake Delhomme had the keys for most of the starts, 91 in total. Moore had five starts in ’09. In ’07, Vinny Testaverde started six games, David Carr four, Moore and Delhomme three each. Chris Weinke started three games in ’06, one on ’02 and 15 in ’01. Rodney Peete made start one in ’03 and 14 in ’02. One start went to Randy Fasani in ’02 and Matt Lytle in ’01.
Chicago Bears (22)
Jim Miller made 13 starts in 2001 with Shane Matthews getting the rest. Miller started eight games in ’02, Chris Chandler seven and CFL legend Henry Burris one. Chandler made six more starts in ’03 as Kordell Stewart got seven and Rex Grossman three. Grossman made another three the next season. Craig Krenzel and Chad Hutchinson each made five and Jonathan Quinn was the starter three times. In ’05, it was Kyle Orton with 15 and Grossman, the other. Grossman started 23 games over the next two seasons. Brian Griese made six in ’07 and Orton three before making 15 in ’08. Grossman was back again with the lone other start in ’08. The next seven years saw Jay Cutler bring some sense of stability to the position in Chicago. The former Vandy star started 97 games. Others who drew starts were Todd Collins, Caleb Hanie, Josh McCown, Jason Campbell and Jimmy Clausen while Cutler was the mainstay. Cutler made five more starts in 2016 as did Brian Hoyer. The leader of the QB pack that season was Matt Barkley at six. Mitchell Trubisky has made 41 of the starts over the last three seasons. Mike Glennon got four and Chase Daniel three.
Cincinnati Bengals (9)
Two quarterbacks dominated the position for the Bengals. Andy Dalton has been the starter. Dalton has made double-digit stars every season since 2011. The former TCU star has gotten the call 133 times. A.J. McCarron, Jeff Driskel and Ryan Finley combined for the other 11. Prior to the Dalton era, Carson Palmer ruled, making 97 starts between 2004-10. Ryan Fitzpatrick got 12 in 2008. Jon Kitna made three of his 46 in 2004. Other names: Akili Smith (two) and Gus Frerotte (three).
Cleveland Browns (27)
And the team that goes through quarterbacks like no other. The names: Tim Couch, Kelly Holcomb, Jeff Garcia, Luke McCown, Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, Ken Dorsey, Bruce Gradkowski, Colt McCoy, Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace, Brandon Weeden, Thad Lewis, Jason Campbell, Brian Hoyer, Johnny Manziel, Connor Shaw, Josh McCown, Austin Davis, Cody Kessler, Robert Griffin III, DeShone Kizer, Kevin Hogan, Tyrod Taylor and Baker Mayfield.
Dallas Cowboys (16)
After Troy Aikman retired, the Cowboys went through a rough patch in 2001. They started four QBs that season: Quincy Carter, Anthony Wright, Ryan Leaf and Clint Stoerner. Chad Hutchinson made nine starts in ’02 with Carter getting the rest. Carter started all 16 games the next season. Vinny Testaverde started 15 games in 2004. Drew Henson got the other game. Drew Bledsoe made 22 starts over ’05 and ’06. Tony Romo arrived and made 10 starts in ’06, too. He became the main QB through 2015. Others who saw starts in that window were Brad Johnson, Stephen McGee, Jon Kitna, Kyle Orton, Kellen Moore and Matt Cassel. Dak Prescott has started the last 64 games for Dallas.
Denver Broncos (17)
Brian Griese made 28 starts for Denver in 2001 and ’02. The others went to Gus Frerotte and Steve Beuerlein. From 2003-06, Jake Plummer got the call 54 times. In that window, Beuerlein, Danny Kanell and Jarious Jackson made random starts. Jay Cutler made his first five starts as a Bronco in 2006 and was the lone QB in the next two seasons. Kyle Orton made 28 starts over ’09-10. Chris Simms got one and Tim Tebow the other three. Tebow made 11 starts in ’11 and Orton made five. Peyton Manning started 57 games from 2012-15. In that last season, Brock Osweiler got the nod nine times. In ’16 and ’17, Trevor Siemian made 24 starts. Paxton Lynch got the call four times and Osweiler made the rest. Case Keenum started all 16 games in ’18 and last season was shared by Joe Flacco, Drew Lock and Brandon Allen.
Detroit Lions (13)
The Lions have seen Matthew Stafford is the quarterback for much of the run between 2009 and now. The former No. 1 overall pick from Georgia has made 149 starts. In the Stafford window, others who have filled in are David Blough, Jeff Driskel, Shaun Hill, Drew Stanton and Daunte Culpepper. From 2006-08, Jon Kitna made 36 starts. The rest went to Dan Orlovsky and Culpepper. Joey Harrington got the call 55 times from ’02-05. Jeff Garcia and Mike McMahon filled in the rest. In 2001, the trio of Charlie Batch, Ty Detmer and McMahon filled the position.
Green Bay Packers (6)
Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers have held down the position for most of the time since 2001. Favre was at the controls through 2007. Rodgers then took over and has made 174 starts. The other names who have filled in: Matt Flynn, Scott Tolzien, Seneca Wallace and Brett Hundley.
Houston Texans (15)
The Texans arrived in 2002. David Carr was their first pick and made 75 starts through 2006. Tony Banks and Dave Ragone got the rest. From 2007-13, the job belonged to Matt Schaub, who made 88 starts. The rest in that period went to Sage Rosenfels, Matt Leinart, T.J. Yates and Case Keenum. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Keenum and Ryan Mallett shared time in 2014. Mallett and Yates were joined by Brian Hoyer and in ’15. Brock Osweiler made 14 starts the next season with Tom Savage getting the other two. Savage, Deshaun Watson and Yates started in ’17. Watson has made 31 of the last 32 starts. A.J. McCarron made one start in 2019.
Indianapolis Colts (10)
From 2001-10, Peyton Manning started every game for Indy. When his run was up, Curtis Painter, Dan Olovsky and Kerry Collins took turns in 2011. Next up was Andrew Luck, who started every game for the following three seasons. Overall, the former Stanford star made 86 starts as a Colt. Matt Hasselbeck, Scott Tolzien and Josh Freeman saw random duty. Jacoby Brissett has made 30 starts for Indy. Brian Hoyer also got the call once.
Jacksonville Jaguars (14)
Mark Brunell made 30 starts between ’01-’02. Jonathan Quinn and David Garrard each got one. Brunell made three starts the following season when the team turned to Byron Leftwich, who would start 44 games over 2003-06.Garrard made 76 starts during his time as a Jaguar. Quinn Gray got four starts in 2007. Todd Bouman and Trent Edwards each got one in 2010. Blaine Gabbert made 27 starts over the next three seasons. Luke McCown made two in 2011 and Chad Henne got 19. In 2014, Henne made three starts. Blake Bortles got the other 13 en route to 73 overall. Cody Kessler started four times in 2018. Last season was shared by Nick Foles and Gardner Minshew.
Kansas City Chiefs (12)
Trent Green made 88 starts from 2001-06. Damon Huard got the other eight in ’06. Huard made eight more starts in ’07 and ’08 when Brodie Croyle got the call 13 times. Tyler Thigpen made 11 starts in 2008. Matt Cassel took over for the bulk of 2009-12. The former USC QB made 47 stars in that window. Croyle added two more and Tyler Palko, Brady Quinn and Kyle Orton filled in the rest. From 2013-17, Alex Smith ran the offense in 76 games. Chase Daniel made two starts, Nick Foles and Patrick Mahomes one each. Mahomes has started 30 of the last 32 games with Matt Moore filling in when Mahomes was injured in 2019.
Las Vegas Raiders (19)
Derek Carr has started all but two games since 2014. E.J. Manuel and Matt McGloin each got one. Terrelle Pryor, McGloin and Matt Flynn made starts in 2013. Carson Palmer got 24 starts in ’11 and ’12 with Pryor, Kyle Boller and Jason Campbell filling in. Campbell made 12 starts in ’10 and Bruce Gradkowski got the others. Gradkowski started four games in ’09 as Charlie Frye and JaMarcus Russell also were in the rotation. In ’08, Russell made 15 starts and Andrew Walter the other. Russell got a lone start in ’07 with others going to Daunte Culpepper and Josh McCown. Walter and Aaron Brooks shared duties in ’06. Kerry Collins made 28 starts between ’04 and ’05. Marques Tuiasosopo made one in ’03 and ’05. Rich Gannon started 42 games during the span of 2001-04. Rick Mirer made eight in 2003.
Los Angeles Chargers (3)
The Chargers have been stable at quarterback with only three in this run. Doug Flutie made 22 starts between 2001-04. Drew Brees got 42 and the rest belong to Philip Rivers.
St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams (18)
Since the franchise returned to Los Angeles, Jared Goff has started 54 of the 64 games. Sean Mannion caught one and Case Keenum the other nine. Keenum got five starts in the final season in St. Louis with the rest going to Nick Foles. Austin Davis and Shaun Hill shared duties in 2014. Sam Bradford’s Ram run ended in 2013 when he made seven of his 49 starts for the team. The other nine were Kellen Clemens territory. Clemens and A.J. Feeley also made three each in 2011. Marc Bulger dominated the period from 2002-09. He made 95 starts over that time. Other random names in that period were Kyle Boller, Keith Null, Trent Green, Gus Frerotte, Brock Berlin, Jamie Martin, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Chris Chandler and Scott Covington. Kurt Warner made 23 starts from 2001-03 with 16 coming in ’01.
Miami Dolphins (20)
The Dolphins have been their own QB carousel since Dan Marino retired. From 2001 on, these have been the players to start games at quarterback: Jay Fiedler, Ray Lucas, Brian Griese, A.J. Feeley, Sage Rosenfels, Gus Frerotte, Daunte Culpepper, Cleo Lemon, Joey Harrington, Trent Green, John Beck, Chad Pennington, Chad Henne, Tyler Thigpen, Matt Moore, Ryan Tannehill, Jay Cutler, Brock Osweiler, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen.
Minnesota Vikings (20)
Daunte Culpepper was the man in 2001 and he made 64 starts between that season and 2005. Todd Bouman, Spergon Wynn and Gus Frerotte saw sporadic duty in that time. Brad Johnson started nine games in 2005 and 14 the next year. Tarvaris Jackson got the other two in 2006. Jackson got 12 more in ’07 and five in ’08. In ’07, Kelly Holcomb and Brooks Bollinger also started. Frerotte got 11 more starts in 2008. Brett Favre made 29 starts in 2009 and ’10. Jackson and Joe Webb each saw minimal starts in ’10. Christian Ponder made 35 starts between 2011-13. Donovan McNabb, Matt Cassel and Josh Freeman also got the call in those years. Teddy Bridgewater made 28 starts between 2014-15. The others went to Cassel and Ponder. Next up was Sam Bradford for 15 in 2016 with the lone other start going to Shaun Hill. The Vikings gave Case Keenum control in 2017 and he made 14 starts with Bradford getting the other two. Kirk Cousins has made 31 of the last 32 starts. Sean Mannion started one game in 2019.
New England Patriots (5)
Since Tom Brady replaced Drew Bledsoe in 2001, the only players to start at QB for the Patriots other than the G.O.A.T. are Matt Cassel, Jacoby Brissett and Jimmy Garoppolo.
New Orleans Saints (5)
Aaron Brooks started 77 games for the Saints from 2001-05. Todd Bouman got three games in ’05. After that, Drew Brees took over. Since Brees’ arrival the only QBs to start other than the former Purdue great are: Mark Brunell, Luke McCown and Teddy Bridgewater.
New York Giants (6)
The Giants through these years were dominated by Eli Manning. He held the position for seven games in 2004 and started every one except for Geno Smith getting a call in 2017 for a game. Daniel Jones replaced Manning in 2019 and started 12 games. Before the Manning era, Kerry Collins started 45 game from 2001-03. Jesse Palmer got three. Kurt Warner was the starter for nine games in 2004.
New York Jets (16)
The quarterback carousel has spun often for the Jets, who started out with Vinny Testaverde in 2001. He made 31 starts between that season and ’06. Chad Pennington made 61 starts for Gang Green between 2002-07. Sprinkled in there, too, were Quincy Carter, Brooks Bollinger and Kellen Clemens. Brett Favre started every game in 2008. Mark Sanchez arrived in 2009 and started 62 games over the next four years. Clemens got another start as did Greg McElroy. Geno Smith then started 29 games over the next two seasons with Michael Vick getting the nod three times. It was Ryan Fitzpatrick’s show for 27 games over the following two seasons. Bryce Petty started four games in 2016 and Smith the other. Petty got three more starts in 2017 as Josh McCown made 13. Sam Darnold has started 26 games in the past two seasons with McCown, Luke Falk and Trevor Siemian filling in when the former USC star was injured.
Philadelphia Eagles (12)
Donovan McNabb dominated from 2001-10. Koy Detmer, Mike McMahon, A.J. Feeley and Jeff Garcia saw spot duty during McNabb’s run. Next up was Michael Vick and Kevin Kolb in 2010. Vince Young joined Vick in 2011 for three starts. Nick Foles, Mark Sanchez and Sam Bradford started. Then there was and is Carson Wentz with Foles back again for the Super Bowl run. Wentz is back in charge now.
Pittsburgh Steelers (10)
Ben Roethlisberger has been the mainstay in the Steel City since 2004. Others to see starts during Big Ben’s run are: Tommy Maddox, Charlie Batch, Dennis Dixon, Byron Leftwich, Michael Vick, Landry Jones, Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges. Prior to Roethlisberger’s arrival. Maddox and Kordell Stewart saw work as the statrter.
San Francisco 49ers (16)
Jeff Garcia made 45 starts between 2001 and ’03. The other three went to Tim Rattay, who started nine games in ’04 with the rest going to Ken Dorsey. Alex Smith came around in ’05 and shared duties with Dorsey, Rattay and Cody Pickett. From ’06-12, Smith made 65 starts. In the times he was not able to play, Trent Dilfer, Shaun Hill, Chris Weinke, J.T. O’Sullivan and Troy Smith made starts. Colin Kaepernick made seven starts in 2012 and 58 overall by the end of 2016. Blaine Gabbert was the starter 13 times in ’15 and ’16. In 2017, the trio of C.J. Beathard, Brian Hoyer and Jimmy Garoppolo took turns. The next year Garoppolo started three games before being injured. Beathard and Nick Mullens filled in for Jimmy G, who started every game in 2019.
Seattle Seahawks (6)
Russell Wilson has ruled since coming to Seattle from Wisconsin. He has started every game since 2012. In 2001, the person who had the controls to the offense was Matt Hasselbeck. The former Boston College star made 131 starts for the Seahawks. During his run, Charlie Frye, Seneca Wallace and Charlie Whitehurst filled in. The year without Wilson or Hasselbeck? That was 2011 when Tarvaris Jackson and Whitehurst played.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (16)
Brad Johnson made 45 starts between 2001-04. Rob Johnson made two in 2002 and Shaun King made one. Brian Griese made 10 starts in 2004 and Chris Simms made a pair. The following season Simms made 10 starts and Griese did the rest. Simms saw three starts in 2006, Tim Rattay two and Bruce Gradkowski 11. Jeff Garcia made 24 starts over the next two seasons. Griese got five opportunities and Luke McCown a trio. In 2009, Josh Freeman got nine starts, Josh Johnson four and Byron Leftwich three. Freeman actually made 50 starts between 2010-13. Johnson made one and Mike Glennon 13 of his 18 overall. Josh McCown resurfaces, again, with 11 starts in 2014. Since 2015, Jameis Winston has gotten the nod 70 times. Ryan Fitzpatrick made the other 10 starts.
Tennessee Titans (16)
Steve McNair started 67 games for the Titans between 2001-05. The gaps were filled in by Neil O’Donnell, Billy Volek and Matt Mauck, who got one in 2005. The next five seasons were a back-and-forth between Kerry Collins and Vince Young. The only other QB to start a game was Rusty Smith in 2010. Matt Hasselbeck made 21 starts between 2011-12. Jake Locker got the other 11 and seven more in 2013. Ryan Fitzpatrick started the other nine that season. Zach Mettenberger, Locker and Charlie Whitehurst took turns in 2014. From 2015 on, Marcus Mariota made 61 starts. Mettenberger, Matt Cassel and Blaine Gabbert all saw time between 2015-18. In 2019, Ryan Tannehill replaced Mariota and started 10 games.
Washington Redskins (19)
Doesn’t matter where you start, Washington is a carousel unto itself. Between 2001-19 the following have started games: Dwayne Haskins, Case Keenum, Colt McCoy, Mark Sanchez, Josh Johnson, Kirk Cousins, Robert Griffin III, John Beck, Donovan McNabb, Rex Grossman, Jason Campbell, Todd Collins, Mark Brunell, Patrick Ramsey, Tim Hasselbeck, Shane Matthews, Danny Wuerffel, Tony Banks and Jeff George.
In summation
Since 2001, in one form or another, counting players starting for multiple teams individually, there have been 442 starting quarterbacks in the NFL. Since replacing Drew Bledsoe, Tom Brady has seen only three other players start at the position for the Patriots.
