It’s a foregone conclusion that the Las Vegas Raiders will kickoff the 2026 NFL Draft later this month by selecting Heisman Trophy-winning Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick.
There was already no doubt of that, but then Mendoza dazzled at Indiana’s Pro Day on Wednesday while throwing 56 passes — the majority with his trademark precision, including some beautiful downfield dimes — and putting an exclamation point on his part of the pre-draft process.
But even the best rookie quarterbacks need a trusty veteran mentor and backup, and so on Thursday the Raiders completed another widely expected move by signing Kirk Cousins.
Cousins, who will turn 38 years old in August, continues to have the best agent in the business as he banks another $10 million guaranteed on top of the separate $10 million guaranteed for 2026 already owed by the Atlanta Falcons, minus the offset of the league minimum paid by the Raiders, as part of a convoluted contract broken down below.
Per Spotrac.com, Cousins has now earned more in the NFL than Tom Brady. Mind-blowing, isn’t it? Cousins’ agent Mike McCartney might well be the second-most-prodigious McCartney of all-time at this point.
Cousins was released by the Atlanta Falcons last month two years into a four-year, $180-million contract that included $100 million guaranteed. He is in a different stage of his career than the quarterback the Falcons thought they were getting when they inked that deal, but he nonetheless stepped in for injured starter Michael Penix Jr. last season and led Atlanta to a 5-2 record down the stretch and nearly a playoff berth.
Cousins finished last season with 1,721 passing yards, 10 TDs and 5 INTs in 10 games with eight starts.
The 14-year NFL veteran who spent most of his career with Washington and Minnesota has 44,700 career passing yards, 298 touchdowns and 131 interceptions.
It would be a surprise if the Raiders don’t open the season with Mendoza as the starter from game one, but signing Cousins gives the team the option of easing Mendoza in more slowly if preferred. At the least, the veteran will be a reliable backup and experienced presence to help the rookie transition to the NFL.
With that said, it seems like a fine time to rank the top 10 backup quarterbacks in the league, as it stands now.
First, though, it’s worth acknowledging the fascinatingly wide spectrum of players who share that title.
The Wide-Ranging Spectrum Of NFL Backup Quarterbacks
To put it metaphorically (and have a little fun with it), within the “phylum” of backup quarterback exists various “genuses” — basically, while all backup QBs share some overlapping commonality they come in such very distinct forms.
Here are just several …
– The aging veteran, formerly highly successful starter extending his career just a little longer — this group will henceforth be scientifically classified as the “Joe Flacco Emeritus.” It’s now been eight years since Flacco’s 11-year tenure as the Ravens’ starting QB ended, he’s played for five teams since and is still going in 2026 at 41 years old. And you’re damn right Flacco makes our top 10 list. This is one of the rarer forms of backup QB as ego and pride often make it tough for a former star to accept a minor role. Current examples: Flacco, Cousins, Russell Wilson
– The highly drafted QB who flamed out quickly as a starter but is good enough to be a coveted No. 2 for the next decade — recently renamed simply the “Relegated Mariota” after former No. 2 overall pick Marcus Mariota, who started four and a half mostly lackluster seasons for the Titans and has now been a backup for four teams over the last six years and counting at only 32 years old. Current examples: Mariota, Justin Fields, Mitchell Trubisky
– The highly drafted QB who believes their initial struggles were just a speedbump and that another chance to prove themselves as a successful starter is looming on the horizon. This can only be called the “Defiant Darnold” after former No. 3 overall pick Sam Darnold, who was given up on by the Jets and Panthers, bided his time with the 49ers, proved himself with the Vikings and just won the Super Bowl with the Seahawks. Current examples: Mac Jones
– The highly drafted QB who is getting a curiosity-based second (or third) look as a backup but headed out of the league quickly nonetheless, known as the “Receding Rosen” in recognition of Josh Rosen, the No. 10 overall pick in 2018 who lasted just one season with the Cardinals, then had quick stints with the Dolphins and Falcons and was out of the league at 24 years old. Current examples: Trey Lance and Zach Wilson (although technically a third-stringer since leaving the Jets)
– The QB who was never really meant to be an NFL starter but nonetheless makes generational wealth as a well-compensated backup for many years. Let’s call this the “Chase-ing Checks Daniel” after former prolific Missouri QB Chase Daniel, who went undrafted in 2009 but ultimately made more than $55 million (per Spotrac.com) as a career backup for the Saints, Chiefs, Eagles, Bears, Lions and Chargers despite starting just 5 games in 13 seasons. Talk about a dream job … Current Examples: Gardner Minshew, Davis Mills, Tyler Huntley, Drew Lock
– The QB who unexpectedly ends up a starter for most of the season once every few years into perpetuity, known as the “Magical Reappearing McCown” in honor of 2002 third-round pick Josh McCown. He played for nine teams over 16 years until the age of 40 while starting 13 games for the Cardinals in 2004, 9 for the Raiders in 2007, 11 for the Buccaneers in 2014, 8 for the Browns in 2015 and 13 for the Jets in 2017. Current examples: Jacoby Brissett (15 starts for the Colts in 2017 and 2019, 11 starts for the Browns in 2022, 12 starts for the Cardinals in 2025 and expected starter in 2026) and again Minshew, the hybrid who belongs to two categories (20 starts for the Jaguars in 2019-20, 13 for the Colts in 2023, 9 for the Raiders in 2024, surely not done yet as Brissett’s backup in Arizona)
**NFL scientists are torn and continue to debate as to which genus Minshew most directly belongs.
– The QB you thought retired six years ago or forgot even existed, but, nope, is still around! Best known as the “Josh Johnson Journeyman” after the QB who signed with 14 teams over his 18-year career while starting just 11 games, including 2 last season for the Commanders. Current example: Kyle Allen, who has played for six teams over eight seasons while making just 2 starts in the last five years and is now back for a second stint as Josh Allen’s backup in Buffalo
– The flier who showed enough upside to make a roster but has shown conclusively they aren’t cut out the NFL, commonly referred to as the “Pick-Prone Peterman” after the strong-armed-but-turnover-ridden Nathan Peterman, who got chances with three teams over six seasons, incredibly threw 5 INTs in the first half of his first NFL start for the Bills and finished with 4 career TDs and 13 INTs. Current example: Brady Cook
Ultimately, there are too many to list in full — including the less captivating groups that account for backups like Jarrett Stidham, Kenny Pickett, Jake Browning, Nick Mullens, etc., who just exist with minimal defining characteristics. Others, like Anthony Richardson, have yet to be formally assigned as research remains ongoing. And new genuses of “backup quarterback” are being unearthed even still!
The most recent exciting finding is the QB who not a single NFL fan had ever heard of until they got thrust into a brief starting spotlight but will likely now have a prolonged career as a backup. There’s no official name yet, but the emergence in recent years of Tyson Bagent (undrafted from Division II Shepherd University in West Virginia, made 4 starts for the Bears and signed a nice 2-year, $10-million extension) and Tommy DeVito (undrafted by the Giants, made 8 starts between 2023-24 and now the Patriots’ backup) has researchers scouring for more.
Anyways, let’s get to the rankings …
(Notable veterans Russell Wilson and Jimmy Garoppolo remain unsigned free agents and thus didn’t factor into the rankings.)
Ranking The NFL’s Top 10 Backup Quarterbacks For 2026
1. Mac Jones, San Francisco 49ers
The No. 15 overall pick in the 2021 draft by the Patriots, Jones started most of three seasons there with diminishing returns, was traded for a sixth-round pick to the Jaguars, was released after one season as the backup in Jacksonville and then reinvented himself last year in San Francisco.
With starter Brock Purdy missing much of the first half of the season due to injury, Jones went 5-3 in eight starts while passing for 2,125 yards, 13 TDs and 6 INTs and sparking fresh consideration that he may warrant another chance at a starting job.
But he remains under contract with the 49ers in 2026, and the team reportedly maintained a steep asking price for Jones in trade talks. He could get his second chance as a full-fledged starter somewhere in 2027 potentially.
2. Kirk Cousins, Las Vegas Raiders
Cousins did seem like he was nearing the end of the line in his first season in Atlanta while coming back from the torn Achilles that ended his Vikings tenure. He passed for 3,508 yards, 18 TDs and 16 INTs, but the oomph/velocity on his throws was noticeably diminished by the time the Falcons replaced him with the rookie Penix.
Cousins’ finish to last season was hard to ignore, though — as is reflected in the substantial new money he just got from the Raiders.
He turned back the clock a bit in a December win at Tampa Bay in throwing for 373 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs, but he was mostly a game-manager the rest of the way — 197 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT (and a rushing TD) vs. the Cardinals, 126-1-0 in an upset win over the Rams, 180-1-1 vs. the Saints.
Most importantly, though, he won. The Falcons were 3-7 when Penix went down with a torn ACL and Cousins got them to 8-9, including wins in the final four games. There simply aren’t many backup QBs who could pull that off.
And that’s still what we’re categorizing him as even though it seems there’s at least a chance he opens the season as a starter to ease Mendoza into his rookie year.
3. Joe Flacco, Cincinnati Bengals
Flacco was traded from the Browns to the Bengals early last season to fill in for Joe Burrow, made six starts for the team (plus four for Cleveland) and finished with 2,479 yards, 15 TDs and 10 INTs.
He expressed his disappointment that he wasn’t given a chance to start somewhere in the NFL in free agency and ultimately re-signed with the Bengals on a 1-year, $6-million deal (plus potential incentives) at 41 years old. He’s the second-oldest QB in the league, assuming Aaron Rodgers returns for another season.
“I feel like I have unfinished business. That’s part of why I’m still here and playing,” Flacco said. “And not being one of those guys to go sign somewhere, yeah, it pisses me off a little bit.”
Flacco was written off a few years ago when no team signed him for the 2023 season, but the Browns added him in November following a season-ending injury to Deshaun Watson and he went 4-1 as a starter while averaging 323.2 passing yards per game to get the team to the playoffs. He was named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year.
He made six starts off the bench with the Colts in 2024, but with mixed results and struggled in four games to start last season with the Browns before the trade to Cincinnati, but he showed with the Bengals he still had plenty of pop left in his arm.
Among the highlights last fall, Flacco threw for 342 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs in a 33-31 win over the Steelers and 470 yards, 4 TDs and 2 INTs in a 47-42 shootout loss to the Bears.
4. Jameis Winston, New York Giants
There’s certainly no more entertaining backup quarterback in the league than Winston, the quirky “gunslinging” former Heisman Trophy winner, No. 1 overall pick by the Buccaneers in 2015 and founding member of the NFL’s exclusive 30/30 club as the only QB to ever throw 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in the same season (2019).
The endearingly bizarre interviews and this touchdown reception from last season are just bonus.
Winston earns his ranking because he remains a capable playmaker at 32 years old and usurped Russell Wilson last season to take over as the Giants’ backup, making two starts in place of injured rookie starter Jaxson Dart.
Winston completed 19 of 29 passes for 201 yards and an interception with a rushing TD in 27-20 loss to the Packers, and then completed 18 of 36 passes for 366 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT plus the aforementioned 33-yard receiving TD in a 34-27 overtime loss at the Lions.
5. Davis Mills, Houston Texans
A third-round pick out of Stanford in 2021, Mills wasn’t good as a starting quarterback for the Texans, going 5-19-1 in 25 starts over the 2023-24 seasons with 33 TDs and 25 INTs.
But he revived his stock quite a bit last year when asked to stepped in for injured starter C.J. Stroud for a few games. Mills went 3-0 in those starts and launched the start of what would be a 10-game winning streak for the Texans.
He passed for 915 yards, 5 TDs and 1 INT overall, including 292 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT and a rushing TD in leading a 26-point fourth quarter rally to stun the Jaguars, 36-29; 274-1-0 in a 16-13 win over the Titans; and 153-2-0 in a 23-19 win over the Bills.
It’s a small sample size but enough to ensure he’ll be a coveted backup for years to come. He signed a 1-year, $7-million extension with Houston for 2026.
6. Gardner Minshew, Arizona Cardinals
A sixth-round pick in 2019 out of Washington State, Minshew has had a successful NFL career while posting 68 TDs and 35 INTs despite a 17-30 record as a starter.
That record indicates you really don’t want to rely on Minshew to start for your team over a full season, but the TD/INT ratio shows that he’s as capable as any backup QB on the right days.
Minshew struggled in nine starts for the Raiders in 2024 with 9 TDs and 10 INTs, but what QBs haven’t struggled with the Raiders in recent years? He spent last season backing up Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City but suffered a season-ending injury in his first start taking over for the injured Mahomes.
Minshew signed a 1-year deal worth $5.75 million plus incentives with the Cardinals, where he’s expected to backup Brissett, assuming the team doesn’t draft Alabama QB Ty Simpson.
7. Marcus Mariota, Washington Commanders
A Heisman Trophy winner at Oregon and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft, Mariota had one decent season as a starter for the Titans (3,426 yards, 26 TDs and 9 INTs) in 2016.
After two seasons as a backup for the Raiders, he got a second chance as a starter with the Falcons in 2022 and passed for 2,219 yards, 15 TDs and 9 INTs in 13 starts before being benched for rookie Desmond Ridder.
Mariota has since settled in as a journeyman backup QB for the Eagles in 2023 and the Commanders the last two seasons. He went 2-6 in 8 starts filling in for the injured Jayden Daniels last season, tossing 10 TDs and 7 INTs.
Mariota is just not a very exciting option at this point, but due to the lack of compelling backup QBs in the NFL he nonetheless makes this list. He re-signed with the Commanders on a 1-year deal with $7 million plus incentives for 2026.
8. Justin Fields, Kansas City Chiefs
This may be the most debated decision on the list. Some will never give up on Fields’ potential, but the No. 11 overall pick in the 2021 draft has now been benched in three straight seasons by three different teams (the Bears, Steelers and Jets).
It’s clear he’s not an NFL starting quarterback, but maybe he can rebrand himself as intriguing backup and short-term fill-in with his dynamic rushing ability.
But Fields’ limitations as a passer make it hard to get too excited for his long-term prospects. It’s not that he is even turnover prone — he simply doesn’t make enough plays through the air. He had just 12 TD passes (with only 2 INTs) over 15 starts the last two seasons. He had fewer than 55 passing yards in four of his nine starts for the Jets.
He is what he is at this point, though Andy Reid will surely find a way to exact some value from Fields’ athleticism now that he’s in Kansas City.
9. Teddy Bridgewater, Detroit Lions
It’s actually hard to know what Bridgewater is as a quarterback these days, but that’s where we are here with the thin pool of compelling NFL backups.
Bridgewater, a first-round pick of the Vikings in 2014 who was derailed early in his career by injuries, last saw significant action with the Broncos in 2021 when he made 14 starts and passed for 3,052 yards, 18 TDs and 7 INTs.
He’s been largely untested as a backup the last four years in Miami, Detroit and Tampa Bay and retired briefly to coach high school football in 2024 before returning to Detroit at the end of that season. He’s back with the Lions in 2026, but he’s attempted just 15 passes over the last three years.
Presumably, given his record of performance when he has played across his career, he would be a reliable backup should the Lions need him.
T-10. Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons
We’re just assuming that newly signed Tua Tagovailoa wins the starting job in Atlanta over Penix, the third-year former first-round pick working back from yet another major knee injury. But that’s just an assumption at this point.
Penix completed just 59.6% of his passes for 2,752 yards, 12 TDs and 6 INTs while going 4-8 in 12 starts over two shaky seasons with the Falcons so far.
But he was such a phenomenal college quarterback with a big arm and elite touch on his downfield passes that it’s too soon to give up on him. In fact, maybe he wins the starting job outright, but for our purposes we’re regarding him as the likely backup.
T-10. Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts
The Colts seem ready to move on from the No. 4 pick in the 2023 draft now that he’s been fully replaced by Daniel Jones, and Richardson in turn seems eager to get out of Indianapolis, but no trade has yet materialized.
So for now he remains as Jones’ backup. It’s anyone’s guess what will become of Richardson’s career from here, but there is at least some intriguing upside that simply doesn’t exist with most backups. Maybe he’ll never fulfill that upside, but he’s got a rocket arm and true dual-threat mobility.
Unfortunately, so far that’s just materialized into a meager 50.6% completion rate, 2,400 yards, 11 TDs and 13 INTs with 634 rushing yards and 10 TDs in 15 career starts.
