Joe Flacco is once again a QB1 in the NFL. So is Russell Wilson. And Aaron Rodgers. Geno Smith, too. Heck, even Daniel Jones might be.
A kneejerk reaction of “Why?” would be understandable as it relates to these apparent has-beens, yet there’s no one-size-fits-all NFL answer to that question. However old men – in terms of football years anyway – serving as Band-Aids for teams in some manner of distress actually make a lot of sense for nearly all parties involved.
It’s no secret franchise quarterbacks don’t grow on trees. There are maybe 12 teams in the league that can confidently claim they’re securely settled at the position for the foreseeable future, both in terms of performance and finances. Maybe. (And, admittedly, "the foreseeable future" in the NFL has been known to shift as suddenly as the timeline of a “Terminator” movie.)
There might be another dozen or so clubs hoping they’ve got the right guy on their roster, and early returns from the likes of C.J. Stroud or Drake Maye or Bo Nix, for example, suggest that’s probably at least a solid assumption.
Then you’ve got Flacco’s Cleveland Browns. And Rodgers’ Pittsburgh Steelers. And Wilson’s New York Giants. And Smith’s Las Vegas Raiders. With the probable exception of Smith, each of these organizations will likely start 2026 with another guy behind center. So why tread water with any of these temps now given each of these teams − save Pittsburgh − seems very likely bound for a last-place finish in 2025?
