No position in sports commands attention and scrutiny like quarterback. Football is a game of 11 players on each side of the ball and yet each matchup is a duel of quarterbacks. Super Bowl rings matter for the legacy of quarterbacks, not left guards.
Failure to perform at quarterback can find you riding the pine. And this season, we’ve seen plenty of starters lose their jobs as they struggle to meet expectations.
As the league has embraced more passing, the importance of the backup quarterbacks has grown to either keep the offense rolling in the case of an injury or, as we’ll discuss here, try to provide a shot in the arm to a struggling offense. Here’s a look at all the starting QBs benched this season.
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Starting Quarterbacks Benched Through Week 15
The following QBs have been benched after lackluster performances, to say the least: Joe Flacco, Tua Tagovailoa, Jake Browning, Russell Wilson, Spencer Rattler and Justin Fields.
Cleveland Browns
Joe Flacco benched for Dillon Gabriel benched for Shedeur Sanders
Cleveland has not had an answer at quarterback all year. With four quarterbacks in training camp and the winner being 41-year-old Joe Flacco, there wasn’t much room for optimism heading into the season.
After a 1-3 start, the Browns benched Flacco for Dillon Gabriel, who they drafted in the third round. Gabriel responded by going 1-6 in his stint as a starter, with the offense scoring more than 20 points just once. Gabriel struggled mightily to move the ball downfield and took 18 sacks in his seven starts.
When Gabriel was injured in Week 11 against Baltimore, Shedeur Sanders stepped in as the starter. After winning his first game against one of the league’s worst teams in the Raiders, he lost three straight, failing to score more than 8 points twice.
Gabriel never gave the Browns a deep passing threat. Sanders hasn’t been spectacular but has at least made big plays at times.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski said that Sanders will start the rest of the season. They close out with a home matchup against the Bills and then divisional matchups against the Steelers and Bengals. It’s unclear whether any quarterbacks on the current roster will be the Week 1 starter in Cleveland next season.
Miami Dolphins
Tua Tagovailoa benched for Quinn Ewers
The Miami Dolphins had been on a four-game winning streak heading into a Monday Night Football game against the Steelers. If there’s one thing that the Dolphins have struggled with in recent years, it’s playing in cold weather.
With sub-30-degree temperatures, the Dolphins once again disappointed. Down 28-3, they were able to put up enough junk points to make it look closer on paper, but Miami was never in this game.
There had been rumors that Tagovailoa would be benched all season. He is in the midst of one of the worst seasons of his career, leading the league in interceptions. He’s openly questioned the coaching staff and leadership of the team, and there were times in the game where he and the Miami offense felt like they had given up.
With Miami now eliminated from the postseason, they turn to rookie Quinn Ewers out of Texas for at least Week 16. Ewers is a once highly touted prospect who sputtered in his final year in college to end up as a seventh-round pick. In his lone game action this season in mop-up duty against the Browns, Ewers was 5-of-8 for 53 yards and was sacked twice.
The questions about Tua’s and head coach Mike McDaniel’s future with the Dolphins are going to be some of the most burning questions of the offseason.
New Orleans Saints
Spencer Rattler benched for Tyler Shough
Shough was drafted in the second round by new head coach Kellen Moore, so there was always the possibility that they would switch to him once the season got out of hand. For the Saints, the season got out of hand pretty quick.
Spencer Rattler, who struggled as a rookie last year, went 1-6 this year as a starter. Since switching over to Shough, the Saints have at least come away with more wins. They’re 3-4 in his seven starts, with all three wins against division opponents.
Overall, Shough’s performance has similar to Rattler. Through six starts, he has 1,484 yards passing, six touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s also taken 22 sacks.
The performance of both QBs suggests that the answer at quarterback is not on the roster, the problems on offense run deeper than the QB or both.
New Orleans closes out their season with a trio of bottom feeders in the Jets, the Titans and the Falcons. Shough will continue his audition for the rest of the season, and then it will be time to see if New Orleans decides to look at the draft again for a quarterback.
New York Jets
Justin Fields benched for Tyrod Taylor
Fields started the year looking like a rental for the Jets as they tried to piece together their future. After an impressive debut against the Steelers, Fields struggled mightily through the rest of his starts, failing to throw for 100 yards three times and going 2-8 as a starter.
The veteran Taylor is certainly not the long-term answer for the Jets at quarterback. And rookie Brady Cook, who has filled in for Taylor who is out with a groin injury, probably isn’t the Week 1 starter in 2026 either.
The Jets will once again probably turn to the draft, especially now that they’ve amassed a number of first-round picks by trading Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner.
Cincinnati Bengals
Jake Browning benched for Joe Flacco
It seems like a lifetime ago, but Joe Flacco has been on two teams this year. When Joe Burrow injured his toe in Week 2, Browning stepped in and helped lead the Bengals to a comeback victory. But that was unfortunately the highlight.
Browning struggled for the rest of his time, and once Flacco was benched by the Browns, the Bengals were able to swing a trade for the veteran in the hopes of remaining competitive.
To his credit, Flacco and the offense put up more than 33 points in four straight weeks, but three of them were losses. The trouble with the Bengals was never about scoring points. It was about stopping the other team from scoring them.
Now Burrow is back from injury, so even Flacco has hit the pine. But eliminated from playoff contention and with Burrow maybe not 100%, it’s to be determined who will be starting at QB for the Bengals these final three weeks.
New York Giants
Russell Wilson benched for Jaxson Dart
All the way back in Week 4, Russell Wilson lost his starting job to rookie Jaxson Dart.
Dart came in on fire, winning two of his first three starts against the Chargers and Eagles, who are both playoff teams. But that excitement has been followed up by six straight losses and another two games missed due to a concussion.
On the season Dart has played well enough. He’s thrown for 1,800 yards and 13 touchdowns and rushed for 400 yards and another seven touchdowns.
Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo are out for the year, they fired their head coach and the Giants are eliminated from playoff contention. The season has now become about the evaluation and development for the young quarterback.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What quarterbacks have been benched in the NFL this year?
Thus far, Joe Flacco, Jake Browning, Russell Wilson and Spencer Rattler have lost their starting jobs in the 2025-26 NFL season.
What quarterbacks are on the hot seat in 2025?
On top of Joe Flacco, Jake Browning, Spencer Rattler and Russell Wilson losing their starting jobs, more QB changes could be on the horizon. Here's who's on the QB hot seat: Kyler Murray, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Fields, Dillon Gabriel
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