Is the NFL On Its Way To A 2-Quarterback League?

When it comes to quarterbacks in the NFL, its hard to find a franchise quarterback who dominates year after year. Each generation has their stand out quarterbacks who manufacture Hall of Fame careers. However the NFL is an every evolving league and while it might not be close, could they develop into a 2-Quarterback league?

Finding an elite quarterback in today’s NFL is already tough. They’re so few and far between that only 1 out of 3 teams in the league are truly competitive. The ones that are competitive year after year is even fewer than that. Would NFL fans accept a league where their starting quarterback isn’t the same week to week, or doesn’t finish all four quarters? Probably not.

However, consider baseball for a moment. The MLB season is much longer than the NFL as football plays roughly 10% of the games. But if you look at how MLB handles their stars, they might be on to something. When a starting pitcher in baseball just doesn’t have it or gets into too many bad situations, they bring in relief to try and turn the game around. When it comes to relief they have multiple options to bring in where the NFL would only allow at best two quarterbacks, but it shouldn’t be ignored.

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Take into consideration the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018. Carson Wentz would go down, and Nick Foles came in to take them to the Super Bowl. Though Nick Foles didn’t go on to have success after that, it showed just how important it is to have a good backup quarterback.

Fast forward to the Miami Dolphins this season. Ryan Fitzpatrick would start the season at QB until the team was ready to turn to Tua Tagovailoa take over. With Tagovailoa struggling against the Broncos, Brian Flores would turn to Fitz to try and take over the two-minute drill on their way to a comeback. Ultimately the Dolphins would fall short, but it would spark the offense.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers would flip back and forth from Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick multiple times just two years ago.

Going back to the Eagles, Carson Wentz is struggling this season and Jalen Hurts has stepped in and again provided a spark. Philly took him in this year’s NFL Draft to back up Wentz. The Eagles weren’t the only ones to draft a QB with one in place either. The Green Back Packers would draft Jordan Love in the first round. The Bills would draft Jake Fromm in the fifth.

Right now, NFL teams might just be carrying strong backup QBs as insurance in case the starter goes down. As more teams struggle and fall behind the competition each year, it could be time to make the switch. Too many good athletes waste careers waiting for quarterbacks to develop on bad teams. Organizations invest too much into one guy who might not pan out at the expense of the team.

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Late in their careers, quarterbacks often lose the zip on their ball. Take a look at the careers of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning as an idea of why the league could switch. Manning would retire at the age of 40 and wasn’t throwing nearly as strong as he did his entire career. It was a career full of deep bombs consistently in the game plan. With the exception of the Randy Moss years, Brady has made a career of quick passes and chain movers. Not that he can’t throw deep, but his game is more controlled. He’s the NFL’s version of the knuckleball pitcher who pitches well past normal primes.

If NFL quarterbacks consistently struggle we could see the transition. Many times it takes upwards of 50+ passes to take down solid teams. Too many consistent games like that out of your starting quarterback and the “noodle arm” will set in just the same. Quarterbacks may have different skillsets and change game plans against opponents. Fans might not like the transition but the NFL could benefit from a two-quarterback league.