3 NFL QBs who should be benched after Week 2—and their best replacements

The NFL's Week 2 slate has already graced us with plenty of suspense—and plenty of downright incompetent quarterbacking.

Look, QB is the toughest job in the NFL. There's really no way around it. So much responsibility falls on a team's quarterback. All of the great skill players are reliant on a capable quarterback to steward the offense and deliver the football on time and on target to the right folks. As for defenses, well, it's generally hard to find success if your offense is never on the field. The more sustained drives an offense can mount, the more a defense can rest and recuperate in between shifts.

If you're looking to build a contender, it starts with the quarterback. It takes more than a great quarterback to be a great team — football is very much a collective effort — but when so much runs through a single position, it's hard not to focus on that role every week.

As always, the NFL has its share of great quarterbacks and its share of not-so-great quarterbacks. We focus on the not-so-great in this column. Here are the QBs in danger of a demotion, and who might replace them if or when such a moment arrives.

3. Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns outlasted the Jacksonville Jaguars on the strength of elite defense, but it was another middling performance from Deshaun Watson under center. There are reasons aplenty to bench Watson and, to be blunt, he shouldn't even be on the roster.

We shall see if the Browns try to get out of Watson's remaining contract down the road, but for now, he's still the starting QB in Cleveland. Financially, the Browns are almost obligated to start him. Watson's contract carries a cap hit of $27.9 million this season before ballooning to $72.9 million in 2025 and 2026.

In purely football terms, however, it's hard to formulate a serious case for riding with Watson instead of Jameis Winston. The latter has a complicated reputation as a former No. 1 pick who never quite delivered on his immense promise, but Winston still has plenty of arm talent. He's a loose canon, but I'd rather entrust my offense to a loose canon than a defunct canon.

Watson was among the best quarterbacks in the NFL once upon a time. That contract was, at one point, justified. There was even competition to land Watson's services. The Browns certainly wish Watson could rewind the clock, but that's not how life works. Watson's arm is juiceless. He averaged a whopping 5.5 yards per attempt on Sunday, completing 22-of-34 passes for 186 yards and taking two sacks.

He did run for a touchdown in the first quarter, but Watson was broadly ineffective. At best, he did the bare minimum to beat an aggressively mediocre Jags team. Winston will stumble into more than his share of mistakes, but the dude has the sort of aggressive mentality and big-play potential that this Browns offense is missing.

Watson is a sunk cost. The Browns can't keep letting obvious dead weight drag them down out of a feeling of perverse obligation.

2. Will Levis, Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans' offense was stonewalled on fourth-and-goal in the waning seconds of a 24-17 loss to the New York Jets. Aaron Rodgers gets his first win in a Jets uniform, which will surely be the pervasive storyline from this game. What really should be the focus though is how poorly Will Levis executed under pressure. This is straight up a game the Titans should have won.

Levis was responsible for two of the worst turnovers you will see all week. First, he tried to escape a sack by shoveling the football to his RB on third-and-goal inside the red zone. Naturally, it ended up on the grass, and the Jets were gifted a free possession. It was a completely unforced error, essentially handing away three Tennessee points.

On the next drive, Levis threw an interception into double coverage. The fact that Tennessee lost by a single score, by a single possession, is all you need to know. Had Levis not stumbled haphazardly into two completely avoidable mistakes, we may be singing a very different tune right now. There is no doubting Levis' raw talent, but the decision-making is just not there right now.

This comes a week after Levis was even more overtly self-destructive in Tennessee's season-opening loss to the Chicago Bears. The Bears' offense was reponsible for less than 150 total yards and zero touchdowns in a 24-17 win, spurred by two comically bad interceptions from the Titans' sophomore signal-caller.

With Mason Rudolph hot on his heels, and Brian Callahan visibly annoyed at Levis' tomfoolery, it's hard not to think about a potential change at QB in Nashville. Rudolph started in the playoffs a season ago and is plenty capable of helming the offense.

1. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers

Well. This sucks.

The Carolina Panthers can no longer ignore the mounting tension in the locker room and around the fandom. Even Young's teammates are ready to call it quits on the former No. 1 pick.

Is it too early to give up on Young? Maybe. It cannot be overstated how profoundly terrible his situation is with Carolina. Put Young in the Vikings offense a la former Panthers starter Sam Darnold, and perhaps his oulook is different. But, the Panthers can only work with the hand they're dealt. This is the roster, for better or worse, and Young cannot survive behind such a shoddy offensive line.

The 23-year-old was stuck in neutral for Sunday's 23-3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Young completed 18-of-26 passes for 84 yards. That is 3.2 yards per attempt, a truly upsetting number. Young still has not thrown a touchdown this season, but he did pick up his third INT on Sunday afternoon.

Carolina has now been outscored 70-13 through two weeks. This is not sustainable. The Panthers moved heaven and earth to acquire Young a couple springs ago, but that cannot blind the front office and the coaching staff to a simple truth. Young doesn't have it. At least not yet, and it's not worth stalling the development and success of an entire team just to avoid admitting defeat.

Frankly, it's not even good for Young to keep playing. These aren't valuable reps that will help him down the line. He's just being tossed around out there; opposing defenses are taking a mallet to Young's confidence. It's better for his future if the Panthers let Andy Dalton, a steadfast and experienced vet, take the reins until the front office can field a more suitable supporting cast. A year of understudy work could provide the reset and change of perspective that Young so desperately needs.