Sportsnaut
While every position is important in football, none are more scrutinized than the quarterback. Everyone who reaches the NFL understands that when a team succeeds, quarterbacks are often praised. When losses pile up, guess who the blame falls on? That’s right, it’s the quarterbacks.
Typically, when a player is performing poorly, they’re replaced by a backup. The same is true for quarterbacks, except sometimes they’re also benched because the team’s record gets so bad, that it’s time to try something different.
Quarterbacks are often benched for either poor performance or a struggling offense, yet when teams who aren’t expected to be great get off to a bad start, questions start to mount.
Recently, a pool of ESPN NFL experts were discussing which QB was most in danger of being benched next. While there was no clear, immediate answer, both experts (Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler) agreed that the Cleveland Browns may be closest to benching Joe Flacco because it makes no sense to continue starting a 40-year-old when the season is nearly lost.
For a team that’s constantly hunting for their future franchise QB, there will be a time when the Browns essentially won’t have a choice but to get a look at third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel or possibly even fifth-round rookie Shedeur Sanders.
Other names that came up included Russell Wilson giving way to Jaxson Dart for the New York Giants, but his 450-yard day in Week 2 could buy him a bit more time.
Related: 2025 NFL QB Rankings: Who’s the Worst QB Today?
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