Players who hold the roles of backup quarterbacks are seldom well-known unless you happen to share their alma mater. Yet, when an opportunity arises, the backup can take over a franchise.
Does Future of the NFL Lie in the Hands of Backup Quarterbacks?
It’s true, you will always have your career backup quarterbacks such as Brian Hoyer who, on September 2, 2019, signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts to play number two on the depth-chart to Jacoby Brissett. Two weeks prior to the start of the 2019 NFL season Brissett himself was a backup to Andrew Luck who at the age of 29 announced his unexpected retirement on August 24.
Though, more often than not, even quarterbacks who were campus stars during their collegiate careers end up assuming the backup position to an established quarterback hoping for an opportunity to make their mark on the league but rarely see any playing time. However, every now and then a diamond is found in the rough – and it isn’t necessarily where you’d expect to find it.
Backup Quarterbacks Taking Over For A Legend
Regardless of how backup quarterbacks find themselves playing and practicing with the first team, you can never be too sure of where to find the next Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers took notes from Brett Favre for three years prior to taking the keys to the Green Bay Packers from the Hall of Famer.
He attended the University of California and was the second quarterback taken in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft as the 24th pick as the heir-apparent to Favre. But what about those who don’t find themselves in that same situation setting them up for success?
Backup QBs and Mustaches
Enter Gardner Minshew, a sixth-round after-thought by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2019 draft. Gardner started for two years at Washington State by way of Eastern Carolina. He also led the Pirates for two years prior to transferring. Minshew was certainly not on any draft boards during the off-season and, if you were to tell your friends he would be starting for the Jaguars five of the first six weeks into the NFL season ahead of Nick Foles, well, you may need to find new friends.
Granted, Foles will resume as the starter once he has fully recovered from his broken clavicle. In the meantime, Minshew continues to make a name for himself and the Jaguars organization and fans are fully embracing his unique appearance and personality. Will Minshew be the backup for Foles next year? Only time will answer that one as the need for young, promising quarterbacks in the NFL continues to grow. However, if he extends plays and completes passes the way he has over the last month, teams will come knocking.
The Carousel of Quarterbacks
In Pittsburgh, the quarterback situation is dismal at best with the loss of Ben Roethlisberger during the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 2 loss to Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks. Second-year man, Mason Rudolph out of Oklahoma State seems to have a healthy grasp on being, at least for the rest of the year, the starter. Rudolph is currently 1-2 while starting which includes the team’s first victory of the season against division rival, Cincinnati Bengals.
Still, the injury plague continues for Pittsburgh. Week 5 threw another hurdle at the team when Rudolph took a shot to the head by Baltimore Ravens safety, Earl Thomas, requiring third-string undrafted rookie Devlin Hodges from Samford University to take the helm. Hodges also started Week 6 in on Sunday night in a 24-17 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Will either Rudolph or Hodges be anything more than backup QBs during their career? Maybe; maybe not. Neither of them have much expectation to be more than just that; nor was the franchise considering either of them to particularly be required for an entire season. Rudolph wasn’t drafted to replace a franchise quarterback like Roethlisberger.
In fact, Roethlisberger’s contract was just extended at the tune of $37.5 million through the 2021 season this past April. And while Steeler Nation has every hope and dream riding on him, Hodges was signed to fill a roster spot. As it stands, there is no Rodgers/Favre-esque situation in Pittsburgh.
Kyle Allen – Zero To Hero
No one is immune to injury. Not even Superman himself, Cam Newton who continues to ride the bench as he has since the Carolina Panthers Week 2 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, one man’s loss is another man’s gain as yet another undrafted backup quarterback, Kyle Allen, from the University of Houston, is taking every chance he can while in the starting spot.
Allen has seen every game rep since that Week 2 home loss and has put up impressive figures. 901 passing yards, a 65% completion rate, and a 106.6 passer rating. Although Allen has a perfect 4-0 record going into Week 7, he doesn’t have your prototypical collegiate background. Quite frankly, most speculated that he would never be given a chance at playing a down in the NFL.
Allen was the No. 1 ranked quarterback in the country going into his senior year at Desert Mountain High School in 2013. After accepting a scholarship to Texas A&M, as a true Freshman, Allen rose to starter mid-year and the following season led the Aggies to a 5-0 start – including a victory of then third-ranked Auburn.
Unfortunately, as with most relationships, the honeymoon phase only lasts so long; and after an abysmal performance against Alabama, Allen was replaced by future first-overall draft pick, Kyler Murray.
Moving to Houston
Allen, knowing the talent he had, decided to take matters into his own hands in 2016 by transferring to Houston. After sitting out a year due to NCAA regulations, he was named the starter for the Cougars. However, similar to his time at Texas A&M, he was replaced again mid-season.
Allen decided at this point to make a leap-of-faith forgoing his senior year to declare for the 2018 NFL Draft. Predictably, Allen went undrafted as the 16th-ranked quarterback in the class. Needless to say, it’s nothing short of a miracle that Allen has been given the opportunity to start this season.
Bridgewater “Knee-ds” Another Chance
Not all teams select backup quarterbacks to learn from the starter, inevitably taking over the franchise like Rodgers. Not all teams select quarterbacks just to be a backup in the event of an injury like Rudolph. Some teams select backup quarterbacks to be starters immediately.
Teddy Bridgewater is a legend at Louisville and had an astounding collegiate career. Bridgewater was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2014 Draft as the 32nd overall pick. He led the Vikings to an 11-5 record during the 2015 season, also earning himself a Pro Bowl spot that same year.
During his third season in 2016, Bridgewater suffered a non-contact injury. The injury was determined to be a torn ACL and dislocated knee resulting in Bridgewater missing the entire 2016 season. His career changed forever. No longer is Bridgewater the franchise quarterback that he was once thought to be.
Though, while competing for a spot on the New York Jets roster, he was traded to the New Orleans Saints for a third-round pick – which in turn, allowed him to learn from one of the most prolific quarterbacks of all time in Drew Brees.
Prior to the 2019 season, Bridgewater signed a 1-year contract extension with the Saints worth $7.25 million fully guaranteed. The contract makes him the highest-paid backup quarterback on any roster this season.
Backup Quarterbacks Are Essential to the NFL
It doesn’t come as any breaking news to anyone that the NFL is an unforgiving business. But it also provides opportunities to players that are unexpected. So unexpected that the greatest novelists in the world would have a hard time writing their narratives. While they are often an after-thought while discussing the success of any NFL team, it is important to remember how essential backup quarterbacks are to each NFL roster.
With the right opportunity and system in place, backup quarterbacks can impact their team and the league greatly. Remember, without backup quarterbacks, we would never have known the names of Tom Brady, Nick Foles, Trent Dilfer, Doug Flutie, Jim Plunkett, Terry Bradshaw, and many more.
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