ESPN Publishes Ranking of NFL Backup Quarterbacks for 2026 Season

ESPN has published a ranking of all 32 NFL teams' backup quarterbacks ahead of the 2026 season, assessing which teams have depth they can rely on if their starter is unavailable, according to the outlet.

The article, titled "Ranking all 32 backup quarterbacks in the NFL: Which teams can truly rely on their QB2s if needed?", evaluates each team's second-string signal-caller, according to ESPN.

Among the quarterbacks named in the piece is Mac Jones, according to ESPN's report. The outlet also noted that some of the backups assessed have already been forced into game action during the 2026 season, according to ESPN.

ESPN did not provide further detail in the publicly available excerpt regarding the specific order of the rankings or the criteria used to evaluate each quarterback beyond the stated focus on reliability.

The full rankings and analysis of each team's backup quarterback situation are available through ESPN's original publication.