How many current NFL Quarterbacks will play in XFL 2024?
When I wrote this two-part columnin May last year, the XFL was looking to sign upwards of 30 or more quarterbacks for its eight teams to take into training camp in January. The canvas was blank and those quarterbacks could’ve come from anywhere. Indeed, most of the quarterbacks they ended up with fit into three main categories: Spring football lifers (Jordan Ta’amu, Luis Perez, Brandon Silvers); out of work NFL veteran backups (AJ McCarron, Ben DiNucci); and young players/rookies not quite NFL-ready (Jack Coan, D’Eriq King).
The latter two categories feature players that went to training camp with NFL teams last season. The XFL won’t be searching for as many as 30 quarterbacks again, but make no mistake, teams will be looking to upgrade at that position if they can do so. At least half the teams in the league could be in the market for new starters come 2024. It’s no coincidence that the three teams with the worst records in the XFL in 2023 were the three with the most unsettled QB situations. The search for competent QB play continues.
That search leads us back to NFL training camps. XFL league and team personnel will once again be visiting NFL practices this summer in search of a new crop of players at all positions for the upcoming season. Last year’s look at QB depth charts around the NFL during the off-season produced XFL players like DiNucci, King, Coan, Steven Montez, Kurt Benkert, and Reid Sinnett. It’s probable that players taking snaps at the most important position on the field in the XFL in 2024 are on NFL teams right now. So let’s dive into those QB depth charts once again, beginning with AFC teams:
Baltimore Ravens
QB Depth Chart: Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley, Anthony Brown, Josh Johnson
Recently Released: Nolan Henderson
It was hairy there for a while, but Jackson and the Ravens ended up coming together on a mega-deal that will keep the mega-star in Baltimore for the foreseeable future. Jackson and Jackson-lite, Huntley, are locks. Brown made the practice squad as an undrafted rookie last year and was elevated to the active roster when Jackson got hurt, even drawing a late-season start when Huntley went down as well. He probably didn’t show enough to be guaranteed a spot and will be challenged for that practice squad role this year by Johnson, himself no stranger to the XFL. If he doesn’t make it here, Johnson is likely to be a hired gun yet again this NFL season when teams get desperate for in-season depth at the position. Henderson was an undrafted free agent out of Ravens legend Joe Flacco’s alma mater, Delaware.
Buffalo Bills
QB Depth Chart: Josh Allen, Kyle Allen, Matt Barkley
The Bills traded out veteran backup Case Keenum for a younger but otherwise similar model in Kyle Allen for this year. Barkley returns as the team’s third quarterback, a spot he held while on the practice squad last year. Buffalo is toast if either Kyle Allen or Barkley have to play substantial snaps this year, as the entire offense is built around their superstar starter, Josh Allen. The Bills worked out XFL quarterbacks Quinten Dormady and Jalan McClendon at rookie minicamp in May. If the team wants to add a developmental arm to take some training camp reps off the plate of the three veterans currently on the roster, one of them may be called upon to do just that.
Cincinnati Bengals
QB Depth Chart: Joe Burrow, Trevor Siemian, Jake Browning
The AFC is loaded at quarterback, and Burrow is in the conversation as being a top-three player at that position. As long as he can stay healthy, the Bengals will be able to challenge for the class of the conference. Siemian moves over from being Justin Fields’ backup in Chicago last year to now backing up Burrow. It seems unlikely Browning will give him a serious challenge there. Browning enters his third year with the Bengals and fourth year overall in the NFL having yet to make his regular season debut. I wrote last year that Browning would be the perfect candidate for the XFL, and that holds true this year as well. As long as Cincinnati carries just three QBs in camp, though, Browning seems locked into the clipboard-carrying role once again.
Watson didn’t look like a man worthy of $230 million of guaranteed money last year. His 11-game suspension likely played a part as Watson was rusty upon his return. That makes 2023 a critically important season for Watson and the Browns. Dobbs was released last year by Cleveland when Watson was activated. Eight days after being signed by the Tennessee Titans off the practice squad of the Detroit Lions, Dobbs made his first career start in week 17. He then signed back with the Browns as a free agent after the season. I was higher on Thompson-Robinson than a lot of others coming out. As a fifth-round draft pick, he’ll likely be the third-stringer this year. Cleveland may be forced to keep three QBs on their active roster as Thompson-Robinson may not clear waivers to stash on the practice squad. That leaves Mond as the odd man out. A third-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2021, he lasted just one year on the team, cleaned out with a number of other ’21 draft picks when a new regime took over last year. You’d imagine he’d be at the top of the list for several XFL teams seeking quarterbacks next year.
Denver Broncos
QB Depth Chart: Russell Wilson, Jarrett Stidham, Jarrett Guarantano, Ben DiNucci
Can Sean Payton salvage Russell Wilson’s career? That’s one of the bigger storylines heading into the 2023 NFL season. The 34-year old Wilson will get at least this season to prove he’s still got something left in the tank. Stidham signed a 2-year, $10 million deal to be Wilson’s caddy. Given the contract terms, it’s hard to see either of the other two backups unseating him for that role. The #3 competition, and likely a spot on the practice squad, will come down to Guarantano and DiNucci. Guarantano spent his rookie season on the practice squad of the Arizona Cardinals and the Broncos. With a new coaching staff, however, he’ll be back to square one along with DiNucci, who balled out in the XFL in 2023. DiNucci will have to show he can cut down on the turnovers to make it. If he doesn’t, he seemed to have enough good things to say about his XFL experience to be open to a return.
Houston Texans
QB Depth Chart: CJ Stroud, Davis Mills, Case Keenum
Houston gave their 2021 third-round pick Mills an opportunity to show he’s the team’s QB of the future last year. Instead, he compiled a 3-11-1 record as starter, prompting the Texans to take Ohio State’s Stroud with the second overall pick in April’s draft. Stroud is expected to start right away, though if Houston wants to take it slow with him, Mills could take the reigns once again. Houston isn’t expected to be competitive this year regardless of who is starting at QB. Keenum is the perfect veteran compliment and steady presence for a rookie like Stroud to have in the meeting rooms with him.
Indianapolis Colts
QB Depth Chart: Anthony Richardson, Gardner Minshew, Sam Ehlinger
Indianapolis turned over two-thirds of their quarterback room this year after their fling with yet another patchwork veteran starter in Matt Ryan bombed last year. Desperate for some long-term stability at the position – and needing to stick his neck out to save his job – general manager Chris Ballard swung for the fences in selecting boom-or-bust QB Anthony Richardson with the fourth overall pick in the draft. Richardson is toolsy as all get-out, but may not be ready to start on day one. Nevertheless, the Colts could let him learn on the job. Minshew was brought in to buttress whatever struggles Richardson may encounter. Ehlinger was thrust into the starting role last year when Ryan was demoted. He didn’t fare much better and was eventually sent back to the bench in favor of Ryan when Jeff Saturday was brought in to replace the fired Frank Reich as head coach. Still, he’s likely to survive even with a new coaching staff.
Jacksonville Jaguars
QB Depth Chart: Trevor Lawrence, CJ Beathard, Nathan Rourke
During the second half of last season, Lawrence finally began to play like the number one overall pick he was in 2021. It’s likely he’ll be able to carry that into another season as the offensive system will stay in place under the stabilizing force of Doug Pederson. Set to be a free agent this March, Beathard instead signed a two-year contract extension with Jacksonville to continue on as Lawrence’s backup. After putting up big numbers with the BC Lions of the CFL in 2022, Rourke signed with the Jaguars in January. Unless another signing is made at the position, he’s likely to replace EJ Perry as the team’s practice squad quarterback.
Kansas City Chiefs
QB Depth Chart: Patrick Mahomes, Blaine Gabbert, Shane Buechele, Chris Oladokun
Mahomes is the best player in the NFL. His longtime backup Chad Henne retired after the team’s Super Bowl victory, so the Chiefs went out and grabbed Gabbert to replace him. Gabbert, a bust of a first-round pick as a starter, has developed into a trusty second-stringer. Buechele and Oladokun were both with Kansas City last year, Buechele on the active roster and Oladokun finishing out the year on the practice squad. Their battle for the third on the depth chart could have XFL implications for the loser. Buechele entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2021, while Oladokun was a seventh-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in ’22, signing with KC’s practice squad after the Steelers released him toward the end of training camp.
Las Vegas Raiders
QB Depth Chart: Jimmy Garoppolo, Brian Hoyer, Aidan O’Connell, Chase Garbers
The joke at the time was that Las Vegas’s Super Bowl odds actually DECREASED after Garoppolo signed with the team. Much-maligned despite putting up decent stats and playing well-above .500 ball during his time leading the San Francisco 49ers, Garoppolo stays on the west coast and no longer has to look over his shoulder at Trey Lance. Hoyer is the able-bodied veteran backup that Head Coach Josh McDaniels is familiar with from their time together in New England. A fourth-round rookie, O’Connell can sling it but is he athletic enough to survive the pocket? With the addition of O’Connell, Garbers is likely relegated to camp arm status after spending almost all of 2022 on the Vegas practice squad. He’ll be another that could garner XFL interest.
Los Angeles Chargers
QB Depth Chart: Justin Herbert, Easton Stick, Max Duggan
Each of the three quarterbacks currently rostered by Los Angeles were drafted by the team. Herbert has been one of the best, but he’ll have to lead his team past the memory of their epic meltdown in the playoffs against Jacksonville. After two seasons behind backup Chase Daniel, Stick moves into the number two role. Normally, a seventh-rounder’s spot is not guaranteed, but with no competition for the third spot on the depth chart, Duggan could hold down that part. If he shows signs of struggling in camp, Los Angeles could bring in someone to push him. But Duggan, a wizard last year at TCU, will have the upper-hand.
Miami Dolphins
QB Depth Chart: Tua Tagovailoa, Mike White, Skylar Thompson, James Blackman
The good news: Tagovailoa proved capable as a starter under first-year head coach Mike McDaniel last year. The bad news: He needs to show he’s healthy and can avoid the injuries – especially the head injuries – that dogged him last year. Thompson was pressed into duty as a rookie and didn’t show enough for Miami to trust him in the backup role this year, hence the signing of White. Conceivably, White could be trade bait if Miami likes what they see out of Thompson this summer. Blackman is an undrafted free agent out of Arkansas State who before that spent four years at Florida State. He has one year with a winning record as a starting QB – in 2017.
New England Patriots
QB Depth Chart: Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe, Trace McSorley, Malik Cunningham
New England’s offense was predictably a disaster last year under defensive coach Matt Patricia and special teams coach Joe Judge. Bill Belichick brought back Bill O’Brien, who coached with the Patriots from 2007-2011 including spending the last year as offensive coordinator, from the University of Alabama to be OC in New England once again. That’s good news for Jones, whose development was stunted in 2023. Zappe, a rookie last season, provided enough of a spark in his four outings to bring about whispers of a quarterback controversy at Foxboro. Garrett Gilbert, last year’s #3, is out, replaced by McSorley, who signed a one-year deal with the team in April. The wild card is Cunningham, an undrafted free agent who is being moved to receiver. Depending on his development, the Patriots could also use him as their number three QB.
New York Jets
QB Depth Chart: Aaron Rodgers, Zach Wilson, Tim Boyle, Chris Streveler
It’s difficult to imagine the famously-touchy Rodgers thriving amid the unforgiving New York media market. Rodgers is on the downside of his career and he won’t be able to hide that in The Big Apple. Still, Rodgers gives the Jets a better chance to win than Wilson, the 2021 second overall pick, who could benefit from playing under the cerebral Rodgers. This will at least buy some time for Wilson to get right before New York has to decide whether to cut bait on him. The well-traveled Boyle will compete with Streveler for what could amount to a spot on the practice squad, a spot which Streveler held down last year. Boyle has the advantage of having backed up Rodgers for three years in Green Bay.
The Steelers attempted to give Pickett, their first-round pick, a redshirt season last year, but then-starter Trubisky lasted just four weeks before giving way to the heir apparent. Pickett was far from perfect – he threw more interceptions than touchdowns on the season – but his gunslinger mentality, reminiscent of the team’s previous franchise QB, Ben Roethlisberger, seemed to endear him to the fanbase. Trubisky and Rudolph could engage in a heated battle for the #2 spot. Both are well-regarded enough around the league that if one of them is cut, they may not be out of work for long. Morgan, a UDFA out of Minnesota, could make one of the vets ahead of him expendable if he nabs the number three job. He’s a draftee of the USFL, so if he doesn’t make it, he could have the USFL and XFL fighting for his rights.
Tennessee Titans
QB Depth Chart: Ryan Tannehill, Will Levis, Malik Willis
Three-fourths of the AFC South could be starting rookie quarterbacks at some point during the 2023 season. Tannehill, 35 years old when the NFL season begins, is an unrestricted free agent in 2024, and the Titans prepared for his departure by drafting Levis in the second round. Expected by many to be a high first-round pick, Levis will sit for a year before likely taking over next year. Willis, a third round selection last year, played so poorly in limited action that he may already be on the outs in Tennessee. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him dealt at the end of training camp, or snuck onto the practice squad as third-string.
