Most NFL teams know who their quarterback is in 2025 and nothing barring injury is going to change that. Like, the Buffalo Bills aren't going to wake up one morning during Week 10 and say, "alright, we've seen enough of Josh Allen."
Not all teams have that luxury. Whether because they have a stopgap veteran under center waiting to be replaced by a young guy or they just don't have any good quarterbacks on the roster, there are teams that will make changes at the quarterback position this season.
Here are three quarterbacks who are in danger of being benched during the 2025 NFL season.
3. Russell Wilson, New York Giants
The New York Giants spent a first-round pick on Jaxson Dart this offseason. With Giants head coach Brian Daboll's seat getting warmer and warmer, it would make no sense for Dart to stay on the bench for the entire 2025 season.
That's especially true after OTAs, as Daboll has praised Dart for how well he performed, both on the field and with the mental aspects of picking up on how to be an NFL quarterback.
Dart's already moved up one spot on the depth chart. He began OTAs as the third-team quarterback behind Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, but ended OTAs working with the second team, suggesting he's already surpassed Winston.
That puts Dart just one spot away from the starting role. Barring an outstanding preseason from Dart, Wilson should still be the Week 1 starter, but what happens when the team starts 0-4? Or when November arrives and the Giants are 1-7? At that point, there's zero incentive to stick with Wilson.
2. Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns simply have too many other quarterbacks who need an opportunity to just play Joe Flacco for 17 games.
In 2023, Flacco was a bit of a hero for the Browns, going 4-1 as the team's starting quarterback after the team reached a point of desperation and signed him. He went on to spend last season with the Colts, starting six games and still playing fairly well.
However, this Browns team isn't the 2023 Browns team. That one went 11-6 and made the playoffs. Last year's team plummeted to 3-14, and there's no reason to think the 2025 version looks too much better.
Flacco is a great option for a team that just needs a reliable body to squeeze out wins, but that's not what the 2025 Browns need. What they need is to get some sense of whether either of their rookies — Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders — have what it takes to be the starting quarterback come 2026. One of those guys will start a game at some point in 2025.
1. Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts
The header here could also be Anthony Richardson. One of the two is going to win the Indianapolis Colts starting job, and then at some point Indianapolis will realize that player isn't the answer and will switch to the other to see if he can give the offense a boost.
Jones looks to be in the lead at this point in the battle for the starting role, but is there really anyone out there who thinks Jones is the answer in Indianapolis? Like, I know Sam Darnold proved last year that sometimes a new home could transform a disappointing former top draft pick, but Jones feels like he's shown less over his time in the league than Darnold had, making it feel less likely Jones goes out and has a huge 2025 season.
Plus, the Colts need to see if Richardson can still be salvaged. His accuracy issues looked unfixable in 2024, but the Colts aren't a Super Bowl contending roster that just needs good quarterback play to get over the hump. They're a fringe playoff team that needs a long-term answer at quarterback and shouldn't rule Richardson out until they're 100 percent sure he's not the guy.