There are teams expected to do a ton this season, and there are others who are unsettled at quarterback. Right now, we have at least four starting jobs up for grabs, as well as one relatively high-profile battle for the backup job. The hope is for teams like the Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints and New York Giants to get the answers they are all looking for.
With us being about a week into NFL training camp, there may be some early signs, indications if you will, of who may end up winning each job. Of course, injuries are a part of the game, as well as how each of these players look in the preseason. Practice may be a better barometer of if a guy can win a job outright or not than anything, but all that really matters is shining bright when the lights are on.
So what I want to do today in the final week of July is to outline who I think is going to win each job of note. The five in question are the starting jobs in Cleveland, Indianapolis, New Orleans and New York, as well as the backup job in Miami to serve under Tua Tagovailoa. I will end up getting a few of these right, but I am eagerly awaiting the unexpected to surprise. I think one of these will catch us off-guard.
Let's start out with the four-man battle over in Cleveland, and then work our way down alphabetically.
Cleveland Browns
Joe Flacco vs. Kenny Pickett vs. Dillon Gabriel vs. Shedeur Sanders
The four-man race for the Cleveland Browns' starting job has nationwide intrigue. Will it be the ageless former Super Bowl champion Joe Flacco, The Fake Slide King Kenny Pickett, or either promising prospect coming up from college football in either Dillon Gabriel out of Oregon or Shedeur Sanders from over at Colorado? To sift through this race, I will let logic cascade over my big ole brain.
I am looking at this really being a battle for QB1 between Flacco and Pickett, with Gabriel and Sanders duking it out for a roster spot as a promising backup. I prefer Flacco over Pickett for so many reasons, mostly because he led the Browns to a playoff berth two years ago. While Sanders intrigues me more than Gabriel, he was a fifth-round pick out of CU, whereas Gabriel was the Browns' third-round pick.
Since Pickett is hurt and Flacco has steadiness and great experience on his side, it has to be him.
Projected winner: Joe Flacco
Indianapolis Colts
Anthony Richardson vs. Daniel Jones
This does not have to be this hard, but the quarterback room has been a revolving door of nonsense for the Indianapolis Colts ever since Andrew Luck first got hurt and then later retired. This team has not won the AFC South since 2014. The Colts have not won in Jacksonville since then either. Will it be the idea of Anthony Richardson in year three or the newcomer Daniel Jones to win this starting job?
To me, few front office executives get to operate without consequence to the degree Chris Ballard has for years in Indianapolis. Unfortunately, this puts head coach Shane Steichen's neck out on the chopping block. Ballard should be good either way. Even though Steichen was around when Richardson was drafted, Jones has looked like a franchise quarterback at times during his career.
If Steichen wants to keep his job, he needs to give the football to the failed former Giants starter.
Projected winner: Daniels
Miami Dolphins
Zach Wilson vs. Quinn Ewers
For the time being, Tua Tagovailoa will remain the starting quarterback for the Miami Dolphins. He will always be one play away from having to medically retire. Thus, I cannot get behind any team that he is leading. Furthermore, he is under contract for an absurd amount. This deal has the chance to be as bad as what Deshaun Watson signed in Cleveland. So if he is the starter, who will his backup even be?
That would be between former failed New York Jets starter Zach Wilson and promising seventh-round pick Quinn Ewers out of Texas. While Ewers is under contract for the next four years, this appears to be a one-year run for Wilson in Miami to salvage his career. While head coach Mike McDaniel raves about Ewers, he has plenty of room to grow. Wilson is already a finished product.
Since I do not think Ewers is quite ready to start, Wilson will get the backup quarterback job for now.
Projected winner: Zach Wilson
New Orleans Saints
Tyler Shough vs. Spencer Rattler vs. Jake Haener
I go back and forth on this one far more than I should, but here is how I view what is going on with the New Orleans Saints' quarterback room right now. Rookie Tyler Shough will be given every chance to succeed from the new coaching staff, as opposed to second-year pro Spencer Rattler and third-year pro Jake Haener. This is because Kellen Moore played a part in Shough being a second-round pick.
I would attest that Rattler is probably the most physically gifted of the bunch, but his brand took one massive hit after another after being a former five-star coming out of high school. Jake Haener may have been coached up at Fresno State, but he is one training camp from having to find a new place to play. Since Shough can potentially be the next Davis Mills, I sense the Saints will roll with him this fall.
It is crucial for the Saints to see if Shough can play before pivoting onto the 2026 quarterback class.
Projected winner: Tyler Shough
New York Giants
Russell Wilson vs. Jaxson Dart vs. Jameis Winston vs. Tommy DeVito
As it is the case in Cleveland, there are too many cooks in the kitchen with the New York Giants. They have a four-man race, but it is three veterans and a rookie duking it out. Tommy DeVito is the hometown hero everyone loves, but he is not a serious candidate to win the job. He has limitations the other three candidates do not have. So will it be Russell Wilson, Jaxson Dart or Jameis Winston?
Ideally, Dart should beat out both veterans in Wilson and Winston. This would help them reset as an organization much quicker, potentially allowing head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen a better chance to keep their job. Since Dart was a bit of a reach as a first-rounder, he will not be the Week 1 starter. With Winston being an erratic goofball, they will go with the cornball in Wilson.
No matter who the Giants end up starting, this team is destined to be arguably the worst in the NFL.