If there’s one theme that’s emerged about quarterbacks so far this season, it’s that this is the year of the backup. In Week 5, one quarter of the league’s 32 teams fielded quarterbacks that weren’t expected to be starters before the season.
That can be a good thing or a bad thing. The Colts, Saints and Panthers have shown they can win with backups. The Redskins, Steelers, Bears and Jets haven’t been as fortunate.
In this week’s QB watch, let’s take a look at which quarterbacks, who were once backups, are trending up and down.
Trending down
Luke Falk, New York Jets
With the possible exception of the Pittsburgh Steelers, no team has had worse luck at quarterback than the Jets. Starter Sam Darnold was diagnosed with mononucleosis after the season opener. Backup Trevor Siemian stepped in and promptly suffered a season-ending ankle injury. The team has been forced to play Falk, and he’s produced in a manner that you would expect from a third-stringer. In Sunday’s loss to Philadelphia, Falk passed for only 120 yards and threw two interceptions. But he really had no chance as he was sacked nine times. The good news is Darnold was able to practice without contact last week and is close to returning. That could happen this week. But the Jets will be cautious. Mononucleosis can cause an enlarged spleen, which can be dangerous if you’re hit in the wrong spot. The Jets held Darnold out Sunday because his spleen remained enlarged. They will check him again later this week.
Trending down
Colt McCoy, Washington Redskins
McCoy got his first start Sunday since suffering a broken leg last season. He looked rusty, throwing for just 119 yards and one interception in a loss to New England. But that may be the only game McCoy starts this year. Head coach Jay Gruden was fired early Monday morning. Besides an 0-5 record, another reason for the move was that Gruden didn’t see eye to eye with owner Dan Snyder and personnel chief Bruce Allen on the quarterback situation. Gruden preferred McCoy and Case Keenum, who started the first four games, over rookie Dwayne Haskins. In fact, there have been reports that Snyder and Allen drafted Haskins against Gruden’s wishes. It’s likely that interim coach Bill Callahan has been given orders to play Haskins soon.
Trending down
Mason Rudolph, Pittsburgh Steelers
Although expectations were low to begin with, Rudolph showed some grit and intangibles after Ben Roethlisberger went out for the season with an elbow injury. But Pittsburgh’s bad luck at quarterback got even worse in Sunday’s loss to Baltimore. Rudolph absorbed a vicious hit to the head by Ravens safety Earl Thomas and suffered a concussion. We’ll wait for the Steelers to provide an official update. But it’s probably safe to assume that Rudolph suffered a concussion severe enough to cause him to miss playing time. So the Steelers now turn to Devlin Hodges as their starter. Who’s he? He played four years at Samford and threw for 111 career touchdown passes. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Steelers and was on the practice squad until Roethlisberger was injured. But Hodges looked sharp after stepping in for Rudolph, completing seven of nine passes without an interception.
Trending up
Jacoby Brissett, Indianapolis Colts
Even though Brissett has started all five games, it’s fair to categorize him as a backup. After all, that’s what Brissett was supposed to be right up until Andrew Luck’s unexpected retirement late in the preseason. Brissett has stepped in and gotten the job done, even if he’s not putting up the big numbers the Colts were accustomed to with Luck. In Sunday’s upset win at Kansas City, Brissett threw for 151 yards. Brissett is a game manager, and he’s helped out by running back Marlon Mack and a good defense. But there will be games later in the season where defenses will challenge Brissett to beat them. That will be the key to his future. Brissett is still under contract for one more season. If he gets to a point where he shows he can be more than a game manager, the Colts will try to lock him up with a long-term contract.
Trending up
Teddy Bridgewater, New Orleans Saints
There’s a reason why the Saints made Bridgewater the highest-paid backup in the league with a one-year $7.25 million contract. We saw it on Sunday. In his first two starts, Bridgewater was an effective game manager. But coach Sean Payton opened up the full playbook against Tampa Bay and Bridgewater responded with four touchdown passes and 314 yards while completing 76.5 percent of his passes. But Bridgewater’s time as the starter is coming to an end soon. Drew Brees, who had surgery on his right thumb, has started throwing again. When that happens, Bridgewater will become the best backup quarterback in the league, and he’ll be better than a number of starters elsewhere. That’s why Bridgewater could be looking at a big payday. He’ll be the most coveted quarterback in free agency. That is, if he hits free agency. New Orleans coach Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis have to start preparing for the day when Brees, 40, decides to retire. It will be costly to sign Bridgewater to a long-term contract, but he’s already shown he can fill Brees’ shoes.
Trending up
Kyle Allen, Carolina Panthers
When Allen won his first start of the season, it didn’t draw a lot of attention because it came against the lowly Cardinals. But he followed that up with a victory against Houston and another win against Jacksonville on Sunday. This guy is no longer a fluke. Allen can play. He’ll probably never put up the same numbers that injured starter Cam Newton does when he’s on top of his game, but Allen doesn’t appear to be prone to making the big mistakes Newton sometimes does. In his three starts, Allen, who went undrafted out of the University of Houston last year, has thrown for five touchdowns and zero interceptions. He threw for 181 yards and a touchdown against the Jaguars. Allen is a game manager at this point, but there’s nothing wrong with that. As long as Allen can keep getting the ball into the hands of running back Christian McCaffrey, the Panthers will be fine. There’s no timetable on when Newton will return. When Newton is healthy, he’ll immediately be the starter. But Allen will give the Panthers a backup who’s a proven winner.
Pat Yasinskas has covered the NFL since 1993. He has worked for The Tampa Tribune, The Charlotte Observer and ESPN.com and writes for numerous national magazines and websites. He also has served as a voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
