Backup quarterbacks are the most interesting job in sports. It’s one of the few players on the 53-man roster who don’t have a role on game day without an injury. They no longer act as the field goal holder, and there’s no real special teams role for them. They pretty much just hold a clipboard and sometimes wear a headset. Sometimes, the backup quarterback is a young quarterback who is growing in the role, but other times, it’s a veteran former star who is holding onto his career.
Then, there are the career backup quarterbacks. This is where we want to focus our attention. We don’t need to talk about how Patrick Mahomes was a backup to Alex Smith for one season or that Kurt Warner was technically the backup for a few games to Matt Leinart. Here, we’re talking about backups who turn their opportunities in superstardom. Most of these players became legends, especially with the franchises they made their name with. Heck, one even has a statue in front of the stadium.
25. Gardner Minshew
Gardner Minshew has gone from backup to starter for five different franchises. He was also named the opening week starter for the Las Vegas Raiders before getting benched (therefore becoming a backup) only to rejoin the lineup a few weeks later. He just did it again with the Arizona Cardinals, and he continues to be the guy who stands in place for the next guy. He’s replaced injuries to Patrick Mahomes, Nick Foles, and Jalen Hurts, all three of them starting quarterbacks for a Super Bowl winner.
Minshew is the human embodiment of “staying ready.” He is a favorite among league executives as a player who can come in and play well. His biggest issue is health. He’s suffered a litany of injuries in his career, including a likely season-ending elbow injury for the Cardinals.
In his career, which includes 47 starts and 64 games played, he had 12,000 yards and 71 touchdowns against 35 interceptions. For the most part, he is a serviceable quarterback. Minshew Mania in Jacksonville was incredibly fun, ending with 21 touchdowns and just six interceptions. The elbow injury came at a bad time because he looked as good this season as he has in years. With six franchises calling on Minshew to get them through hard times, he deserves his spot on the list.
24. Brian Hoyer
Brian Hoyer was never the most talented quarterback on the field, but his intelligence always made him an option to keep the offense going. He had an ability to master complex offenses and keep the engine going if the starter was lost for the season. This was especially true in New England, but it didn’t come up much since Tom Brady was playing almost every game.
There are certain backups who can always find a job, and few have had the reasoning that Hoyer did to keep it going. He played for 15 seasons in the league, and took snaps for nine franchises. He did this for the Patriots during three different runs. He had decent runs with the Browns (where he took over for Brandon Weeden) and the Texans. He actually beat out his Patriots teammate Ryan Mallett for the starting job.
He continued to get chances because of his ability to overcome his own talent dearth. That was actually helping him get opportunities. There was no concern that things would get worse with time. In fact, his experience would only help.
23. Gary Hogeboom
A really good backup quarterback will stir emotions in a fanbase that will always wonder why they didn’t get a longer leash. Few players invoke that emotion like Gary Hogeboom does for the Dallas Cowboys. Of course, the 1990s dynasty helps them forget the terrors that came in the 1980s, but the strange affinity for Danny White drove fans nuts.
White took the Cowboys to the playoffs most years, but the successor to Roger Staubach could not win a Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Hogeboom started to get attention for his performance in the 1982 NFC Title Game, where he got the team back into the game in the second half. Unfortunately, he threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown that sealed Washington’s spot in the Super Bowl, but it was enough to get people talking about Hogeboom as the long-term starter.
He was a part of a quarterback controversy that did neither White nor Hogeboom any favors. Then, Hogeboom was traded to the Colts, and the controversy was over for good. He never regained the hype he had with the Cowboys, but for years, many believed he could have taken Dallas to the championship.
22. Ryan Fitzpatrick
Fitzmagic was real. There was something about the Harvard grad that made him successful coming in for multiple franchises. His most famous backup duties came as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he replaced Jameis Winston and helped them win multiple games over two seasons. He covered the Bucs during a Winston suspension, throwing for four touchdowns and rushing for another in a huge win against the Saints in 2018. During that suspension, he became the first player in NFL history to throw for 400 yards in three consecutive games.
It was just the Bucs where Fitzpatrick thrived. Early in his career, he made appearances for the Rams and Bengals before getting a starting gig taking over for Trent Edwards in Buffalo. After that, he had sparring gigs with the Jets, Texans, and Titans.
Late in his career, he joined the Miami Dolphins and beat Josh Rosen for the starting gig. They would go back and forth all season, and then Fitzpatrick once again beat out a young QB in Tua Tagovailoa in 2020. Fitzpatrick was more than a backup. He was a fan favorite everywhere he went.
21. Tyler Huntley
There’s something to be said about having a backup quarterback who fits your system perfectly. When a team like the Baltimore Ravens goes all-in on a quarterback like Lamar Jackson, they can’t have Kirk Cousins as the backup. They need someone who can run a Lamar Jackson offense, at least to a certain degree. Tyler Huntley has done that about as well as anyone who is not a starter.
Huntley operates as an efficient point guard from the pocket. Over his NFL career, he has maintained a completion percentage above 60 percent because he won’t take big risks and only takes risks when they are of the high-percentage ilk. Huntley's mobility allows the offense to maintain its core RPO optionality and designed quarterback run concepts without needing a complete offensive overhaul.
Huntley has had some experience outside of Baltimore, most recently jumping in off the street for the Miami Dolphins. He looked pretty good despite the situation, but he was always the right fit when he was in Baltimore.
20. Chase Daniel
If we ranked backups by career earnings relative to snaps taken, Chase Daniel would be in the conversation for the top spot. The undrafted Missouri product turned himself into a 13-year veteran by being the smartest person in the quarterback room. He learned under Drew Brees in New Orleans, then moved on to Kansas City, where he soaked up Andy Reid’s offense behind Alex Smith.
That resume earned him a real payday from the Eagles in 2016, the contract everyone remembers. That deal was set to pay him $21 million over three seasons, but he was let go after a year. He only made a handful of starts across his career, including a few for the Bears in 2019, but that was never his job. His job was to be ready, and to be the guy younger quarterbacks leaned on in the film room.
Teams like the Bears, Lions, and Chargers kept signing him because they trusted what he said in meetings as much as what he did on Sundays. Not everyone gets paid millions to hold a clipboard, but plenty of backups would like to get as close as Daniel did. With career earnings that went over $40 million, he may be the best example of how much a quarterback’s brain can be worth.
19. Tommy Maddox
Can we talk about the XFL champion Tommy Maddox for a quick moment? Yes, this is the guy who won the terrible Vince McMahon-led football league in the early 2000s, and then he got a job in the NFL. While he didn’t have a nickname on the back of his jersey, this former first-round pick (WHAT?!?!) had quite the run in the NFL.
He actually started in Denver, who took him while still employing John Elway. This was the Jordan Love choice of Elway’s career, with the Broncos attempting to take their superstar’s successor while he still felt like he was in his prime. He was eventually traded to the Rams and played a backup role with the Giants before moving on to secondary leagues.
He would join the Steelers after winning the XFL championship, and he played backup to Kordell Stewart before getting his first starting job in 2002, 10 years after he was originally drafted. He actually won Comeback Player of the Year that season. Ben Roethlisberger was drafted, pushing Maddox back to the backup role. He held that for another year, winning a Super Bowl ring with the Steelers.
18. Colt McCoy
Colt McCoy was a college legend at Texas. Those words put together in a sentence almost always lead to a good player getting a chance at the next level, often with a first-round pick. In a lot of ways, McCoy’s NFL career has been defined by bad timing. Cleveland drafted him in the third round in 2010 and threw him into a mess that would have broken a lot of young quarterbacks. Since then, he’s been the guy everyone calls when the starter goes down.
Washington leaned on him more than anyone, especially in 2018, when Alex Smith’s gruesome leg injury put him under center for a team still fighting for a playoff spot. He later got stretches with the Giants and Cardinals, and he was the same calm, professional presence everywhere he went. Teams never worried about what they would get when they called his number.
McCoy doesn’t have a signature moment, but he has something almost as valuable: a reputation as one of the most dependable backups of his era. He’s been paid like it, too, which isn’t easy for a quarterback who rarely gets to play.
17. Damon Huard
Damon Huard is exactly the type of career that makes this list worth writing. He was a backup in Miami and New England, studying from the sideline and waiting for a real chance. For a long time, it looked like that chance would never come.
When Trent Green went down in Kansas City, Huard stepped in and played about as well as anyone in the league. He took care of the football and kept the Chiefs in the playoff race. He threw for 11 touchdowns and just one interception, going 5-3 in that process. His efficiency was remarkable for a guy who hadn’t been given the keys to an offense before, leading the entire NFL in interception percentage.
What makes Huard’s story work is that nobody expected it. Chiefs fans still talk about that stretch as one of the most efficient the franchise has seen at the position, and it earned him a legitimate payday afterward. He was already years into his career at the time of that opportunity. He’s a perfect example of why teams keep a veteran around who can step in and keep the engine running.
16. Derek Anderson
Derek Anderson might have the best “rags to riches” story in NFL history. He’s definitely the most unlikely quarterback to see success in this era of football. In 2007, Anderson came out of nowhere to throw for nearly 3,800 yards and 29 touchdowns, and he led the Browns to a 10-6 season that felt like a miracle at the time. It was one of the best seasons a backup-turned-starter has ever had.
It didn’t last, which is the story of so many of these guys. Anderson struggled to match that production, and the Browns moved on. But he turned that one great run into a long career, bouncing through a handful of teams and always finding another job when a quarterback got hurt.
The best chapter came in Carolina, where he spent years as Cam Newton’s backup and became a respected voice in the locker room. He had one of the strongest arms of his era, and he always seemed to be in the right place when a team needed someone to hold the fort.
15. Zeke Bratkowski
The Packers dynasty of the 1960s doesn’t happen without Bart Starr, but it also doesn’t happen without a reliable second option. Zeke Bratkowski was Vince Lombardi’s insurance policy for years, a veteran who knew the offense inside and out and could step in without missing a beat. In an era when quarterbacks played hurt, that kind of preparation mattered.
Bratkowski had spent time with the Bears and Rams earlier in his career before settling in Green Bay. He was part of the teams that won the first two Super Bowls, even if his role was largely behind the scenes. He came off the bench in big moments and never looked out of place.
He also stuck around the game for years afterward, moving into coaching and helping develop the next generation of quarterbacks. Lombardi didn’t keep guys around who couldn’t help him win.
14. Matt Moore
Another great attribute of good quarterbacks is that when we see their name, it invokes a previous memory. That happens with Matt Moore and a few franchises. Moore has the rare distinction of getting multiple chances and making them count. He first got noticed in Carolina, where he stepped in and helped the Panthers win games when they needed it. That performance earned him a reputation as a quarterback who could handle the pressure of a real starting job.
He carried that reputation to Miami, where he started and showed he could be a competent veteran presence. His most memorable run came in 2016, when Ryan Tannehill went down and Moore took over a Dolphins team with real playoff hopes. He gave them steady play and kept the season alive in a way few expected.
Later, he landed in Kansas City, where he was the type of backup every contender wants. He was ready, he knew the system, and he didn’t need the spotlight. That’s exactly why teams kept calling him year after year.
13. Doug Flutie
Doug Flutie is the most famous name on this list thanks to one of the most famous throws in football history. The Boston College hero who threw the famous Hail Mary was never given a serious shot in the NFL early on, so he went north and became a CFL superstar. When he finally came back, he won over a new generation of fans.
In Buffalo, Flutie made the Pro Bowl in 1998 and earned Comeback Player of the Year honors. He’s also tied up in one of the most controversial decisions in Bills history, when the team benched him for the playoff game that became the Music City Miracle. Bills fans still argue about it today and whether Wade Phillips blew it with Rob Johnson.
The little quarterback with the big heart finished his career as a Patriot, where he famously drop-kicked an extra point. Flutie was never a typical backup, but he always seemed to be the guy fans wanted to see. He’s one of the few players who made the clipboard look like a cult following.
12. Todd Collins
Todd Collins was a long-term backup for one franchise. This is an old-school model that worked well. And it worked well for the Kansas City Chiefs, where he backed up guys like Elvis Grbac, Rich Gannon, and Trent Green. The Chiefs knew they had one slot on the roster they didn’t need to worry about.
By the time he landed in Washington, he looked like a guy who would finish his career holding a clipboard. When Jason Campbell was injured late in the 2007 season, Collins stepped in and led Washington to four straight wins to clinch a playoff berth. It was a stunning run for a 36-year-old who hadn’t started in years, and it came during one of the most emotional seasons in franchise history after the death of Sean Taylor.
Collins didn’t win a playoff game, but he gave his career one last great story to tell. Few backups get a run that meaningful, and fewer still get it at that stage of their careers. It’s why he deserves a spot on this list.
11. Chad Henne
Chad Henne was going to be someone and/or something in the NFL. With the Miami Dolphins, Henne was a second-round pick preparing to play above his head. Leaving the University of Michigan and turning pro made many believe he might be a long-term starter.
He didn’t get it done in Miami, and Jacksonville had a moment here or there, but Henne’s best moment came in the playoffs. When Patrick Mahomes hurt his ankle in the 2022 divisional round against the Jaguars, Henne came off the bench and led the drive that sealed the win. He made big throws on third down and put Kansas City in position for the game-winning field goal.
That moment is a big reason the Chiefs went on to win the Super Bowl, and Henne got a ring out of it. It was the kind of performance that every backup dreams about, and he delivered it when the season was on the line. Chiefs fans will never forget it.
10. Case Keenum
It takes a special kind of quarterback to get a stadium to go berserk in a divisional playoff game, but Case Keenum did it. He bounced around the league for years, actually going back and forth between the Texans and Rams (with two stints in each), before he finally found a home in Minnesota. Nobody saw what was coming.
His 2017 season with the Vikings was a movie. With Sam Bradford hurt and Teddy Bridgewater still recovering, Keenum took the job and led Minnesota to 13 wins. Then came the Minneapolis Miracle, when Keenum hit Stefon Diggs on the final play against the Saints to win the game. It’s one of the most famous plays in NFL playoff history.
Keenum bounced around after that, with stops in Denver and Washington, but he’ll always be remembered for the run that made an entire state believe. Not many backups get a moment like that. Fewer still get to say they were the one throwing the ball.
9. Josh McCown
Josh McCown was 42 years old, and teams were still reportedly calling him to play a backup role with franchises. Can you imagine the type of legacy a player has to have to still be getting calls when he’s coaching a high school team? That’s the life of Josh McCown. He was on a roster from 2002 to 2020. He played for 12 different franchises. His career is pretty insane as a guy who never actually got a long-term starting shot.
His best stretch came in 2013 with the Bears, when Jay Cutler got hurt and McCown went out and posted a ridiculous touchdown-to-interception ratio. It was one of the best short runs a backup has ever had, and it earned him a real starting job afterward. For a few weeks, he looked like one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
Years later, he had a strong season with the Jets and mentored a young quarterback class in Philadelphia. McCown never got the star treatment, but he earned something better: the respect of everyone in the league. That’s why he’s this high on the list. That respect made him gainfully employed for almost two decades.
8. Don Strock
Don Strock spent most of his career behind Bob Griese and David Woodley in Miami, but one game made him a legend. In the “Epic in Miami” against the Chargers in the 1981 playoffs, Strock came off the bench and threw for over 400 yards as the Dolphins tried to come back. It was one of the greatest relief efforts the game has ever seen.
That game included the famous hook-and-ladder play at the end of the first half, which Dolphins fans still talk about. Strock helped Miami erase a huge early deficit, putting them in position to win. The Dolphins lost in overtime, but his performance became the stuff of NFL lore.
He was the ultimate steady hand in a long NFL career, and in an era when backups rarely got attention, he made sure people remembered him. Strock didn’t need a starting job to leave a mark. All he needed was one afternoon.
7. Mike Tomczak
Mike Tomczak is one of those backups whose career benefited from great timing. He joined the Bears as a rookie in 1985 and was part of the team that won Super Bowl XX, one of the most dominant squads in league history. He was there for all of it, learning behind Jim McMahon and waiting for his shot.
After McMahon left, Tomczak became the starter for the Bears, but it didn’t last long. A couple of years later, he was backup again. When his run in Chicago ended, he kept finding work, bouncing between the Packers, Browns, and Steelers.
He held down jobs for more than a decade in a league that was brutal on quarterbacks. Tomczak was proof that being in the right place at the right time can lead to a long career. It also doesn’t hurt to have a Super Bowl ring on your résumé.
6. Matt Cassel
Matt Cassel is the rarity on this list because his backup role started in college. He famously backed up two Heisman Trophy winners in Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC. Somehow, despite playing exactly zero college games, he was drafted in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft. Popular names who went undrafted that season include Brandon Browner, Cameron Wake, John Kuhn, and Josh Cribbs. Also, Miami QB Brock Berlin went undrafted that season.
Cassel proved the Patriots right for giving him a shot. When Tom Brady went down for the first time in his career, in the first regular-season game after going undefeated, it seemed like a rare lost season for Bill Belichick’s crew. In what’s considered his best coaching performance, he led the Pats and Cassel to an 11-win season. He somehow didn’t get a playoff opportunity with that output,
The Chiefs then traded for him, and in 2010, he made the Pro Bowl and led Kansas City to an AFC West title. Not bad for a guy who had never started a college game. Cassel proved that sometimes the right system and a little luck can turn a backup into a star, even if only for a while. He’s one of the few players who can say he replaced Tom Brady and didn’t embarrass himself.
5. Charlie Batch
Charlie Batch is a Pittsburgh guy through and through, and his career with the Steelers as Ben Roethlisberger’s backup is a big part of why he’s beloved there. He won two Super Bowl rings with Pittsburgh and stepped in several times when Roethlisberger was hurt. Each time, he kept the offense moving and gave the team a chance.
He had already started with the Lions earlier in his career, but that was a very bad era of Lions football, and Batch wasn’t the issue. In Pittsburgh, he got to embrace his role of mentor and teammate. Batch gave the Steelers a steady veteran option, and he was exactly what a franchise quarterback needed in the next locker room stall.
He also became known for his community work around the city, which only deepened his connection to the fan base. For fans in Western Pennsylvania, he’s one of the most beloved backups of the last 20 years. It’s hard to argue with a career built on being ready and being good.
4. Frank Reich
Frank Reich is a name that usually is associated with coaching in 31 of 32 markets. In Buffalo, he was the guy who was there when they needed him most. Reich is the architect behind the greatest comeback in NFL history. In the January 1993 playoffs, Jim Kelly was hurt, so Reich came in with the Bills trailing the Oilers by 32 points in the second half. He led Buffalo to a stunning overtime win that’s still known simply as “The Comeback.”
Reich was no stranger to big rallies. At Maryland, he led one of the biggest comebacks in college football history, a 31-point rally against Miami. He had a habit of showing up when things looked darkest, and he made the most of every opportunity.
The best part of his story, though, is what came later. Reich went into coaching and served as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator, where he helped a guy who is still to come on this list to win a Super Bowl.
3. Jeff Hostetler
Exactly two fanbases know about Jeff Hostetler despite him being a Super Bowl champion. West Virginia Mountaineers fans love Hostetler, who left Penn State to go over the border and become a legend in Morgantown. Then, there’s the New York Giants fans who thank him for his services in Super Bowl XXV. He beat the legendary 49ers on the way.
The reason this isn’t discussed more is because this was the “Wide Right” Super Bowl. The pain felt by Bills fans is going to have a long-standing legacy over a guy taking over for Phil Simms and winning the championship. Both are significant, but one obviously holds more water, especially since the Giants had a previously won Super Bowl on the books.
Later, he went to the Raiders and made a Pro Bowl in 1993, proving he could be a starter when given the chance. He had waited for years behind Simms, and when his chance came, he made the most of it. It’s hard to overstate how rare that is. Plenty of backups get a start, but very few take over a team in the middle of a title run and finish the job.
2. Earl Morrall
This one might not be a name that brings up a fond memory. This one might be a generation too early to be in the conversation, but he definitely deserves recognition. Earl Morrall played for 21 seasons and always seemed to show up when a team needed him most. In 1968, Johnny Unitas went down, and Morrall took over and earned MVP honors while leading the Colts to a 13-1 record. He even took them to Super Bowl III, though that’s a game he’d probably like to forget.
Then he did it again in Miami. When Bob Griese was lost for much of the 1972 season, Morrall took over and led the Dolphins through most of the perfect season, finishing the year undefeated. It remains one of the most incredible relief efforts in league history, and it’s the kind of thing that doesn’t happen anymore.
He also helped the Colts win Super Bowl V after coming in for an injured Unitas. Morrall was never the face of a franchise, but he was the guy teams trusted when their season was on the line. That might be the most valuable skill a backup can have.
1. Nick Foles
Nick Foles is the true “best-case scenario” when it comes to a backup quarterback. He started as a typical backup with the Philadelphia Eagles. He had a ton of hype with backers across the fanbase as Michael Vick was struggling as his aging curve became a factor. Andy Reid made him the starter for a few games, but after Chip Kelly took over, Foles actually made the Pro Bowl in that first season.
Then, things went downhill. The Eagles traded Foles to the Rams as part of the Sam Bradford return. He was the starter for the Rams for one season, but he asked for his release after they drafted Jared Goff. He would play backup for the Chiefs, before returning to the Eagles. That’s where he became a legend.
Philly Special. A bronze statue outside Lincoln Financial Field. Outdueling Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. Winning Super Bowl MVP after throwing for 373 yards and three touchdowns in the big game. That doesn’t even include the fact he caught a touchdown! It was the most epic performance from a backup ever, and it’s why Foles takes the top spot on this list.
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