It has never been easier to play quarterback in the NFL.
The NFL has made numerous rule changes in recent years to protect the quarterbacks and enable the receivers to get open so it has become much more of a passing league.
Yet it is still not easy to find quarterbacks. Although the league has an influx of promising young quarterback, Patrick Mahomes is the only active quarterback to win more than one Super Bowl. He has three rings.
Three young quarterbacks, Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow and Mark Purdy, made the Super Bowl once and lost.
Among the young quarterbacks who have yet to make a Super Bowl are Josh Allen, Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence and Justin Herbert. Plus Love and C.J. Stroud, who had sensational rookie seasons.
Three veteran quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, and Russell Wilson, have each won one ring.
Meanwhile teams keep looking for quarterbacks.
This year, eight teams have new quarterbacks and that doesn’t include Aaron Rodgers of the Jets and Anthony Richardson of the Colts, who were both injured much of last year. And Will Levis, who played about half the snaps last year in Tennessee, is now the full time starter.
The newcomers include three rookies, Caleb Williams of the Bears, Jayden Daniels of the Commanders and Bo Nix of Denver.
The starting veterans who changed teams are Kirk Cousins of Atlanta, Russell Wilson of Pittsburgh, Sam Darnold of Minnesota, Jacoby Brissett of New England and Gardner Minshew of Las Vegas,
The future of Cousins, Darnold and Brissett are up in the air because their teams drafted quarterbacks on the first round — Michael Penix of Atlanta, J.J. McCarthy of Minnesota and Drake Maye of New England. But McCarthy is out for the year with a knee injury. And Minshew, who took Indianapolis to within a game of the playoffs last year after Richardson was hurt, has to prove he can be the long-term answer.
The rest of the quarterbacks returning were starters last season.
The list, of course, starts with Mahomes, who has played in four Super Bowls and won three and is trying to threepeat for the first time in the Super Bowl era..
He is followed by Burrow, Hurts and Purdy who are trying to return to the Super Bowl for the second time.
Then Allen, Tagovailoa, Lawrence and Herbert are young players all trying to get to the Super Bowl. Stroud and Love will try to guild on their rookie seasons. And Young hopes to bounce back from a disappointing rookie season.
Jared Goff of the Lions, Dak Prescott of the Cowboys, Daniel Jones of the Giants, Deshaun Watson of the Browns, Baker Mayfield of the Bucs, Geno Smith of the Seahawks, Kyler Murray of the Cardinals and Derek Carr of the Saints are veteran starters who are returning. Goff, Mayfield and Carr seem set as long-term quarterbacks, but Prescott is in the last year of his contract and Jones need to prove he can be the Giants long-term answer. Watson is still trying to live up to his fully guaranteed contract.
Now we see which quarterbacks can avoid injuries and have standout seasons.
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