https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ranking-the-5-best-and-worst-qb-situations-for-2026/

Ranking the 5 best QB situations for 2026

5. Baltimore Ravens

QBs: Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley, Skylar Thompson, Diego Pavia, Joe Fagnano

This spot came down to the Buffalo Bills vs. the Baltimore Ravens. It's tough to make a list of the best quarterback situations without including Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen, but the Ravens edge out the Bills here because of the second-stringer. Allen may be the best quarterback in the game, but he doesn't have a backup who has made a start since 2020, with Kyle Allen and Shane Buechele. The Ravens, on the other hand, have a former "Pro Bowler" who went 2-0 in relief of Jackson last year. 

Tyler Huntley is a mobile quarterback like Jackson, which makes it just a bit easier for the Ravens offense if he needs to step in. "Snoop" has had his moments, too. Back in 2022, he won three of five games after Jackson injured his knee in Week 13 and got the Ravens to the playoffs. He threw for 226 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in a postseason loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, and was then invited to the Pro Bowl as an alternate. Overall, Huntley is 7-9 as an NFL starter, has scored 18 total touchdowns and thrown 10 interceptions. He won his starts against the Chicago Bears and Packers last year.

The Ravens are certainly worse without Jackson, but not completely dead. If the Bills lose Allen, they are toast. 

As for the two-time NFL MVP ahead of Huntley on the depth chart, he's simply electric. Apart from being the most famous dual-threat quarterback of all time, Jackson owns the fifth-best win percentage by a quarterback among signal-callers who have made at least 100 starts, and has the second-best touchdown to interception ratio (3.3) in NFL history behind Aaron Rodgers. At age 29, he's still waiting for that first Super Bowl appearance. Maybe it will come this year. Peyton Manning didn't play in his first Super Bowl until he was 30. 

4. Los Angeles Rams

QBs: Matthew Stafford, Ty Simpson, Stetson Bennett, Matthew Caldwell

Even at 37-years-old, Matthew Stafford was the best quarterback in the NFL last season. He furthered his Hall of Fame case by leading the league in passing yards (4,707) and passing touchdowns (46). He also threw just eight interceptions, making it the fourth time a quarterback has thrown 45+ touchdowns and fewer than 10 interceptions. Stafford ranks in the top seven all-time in passing touchdowns, passing yards, game-winning drives, and fourth-quarter comeback wins. He can still sling it and is the best processor the game has to offer. 

The Los Angeles Rams also drafted Ty Simpson out of Alabama with the No. 13 overall pick to be Stafford's heir. It was a controversial decision, as Simpson became the highest-drafted quarterback to ever be selected by a team that had a reigning NFL MVP at quarterback! Simpson has just one season of legitimate starting experience and had his fair share of ups and downs in 2025. He certainly isn't some generational prospect, but what did stand out from his tape is his ability to attack zone coverages. 

We don't know if Simpson will be a star quarterback or even a good backup, but he's definitely intriguing, and in a fantastic room led by Sean McVay and Stafford. 

3. Kansas City Chiefs

QBs: Patrick Mahomes, Justin Fields, Garrett Nussmeier, Chris Oladokun

Patrick Mahomes is still arguably the face of the NFL. The 6-11 aberration last season is not going to make me forget about five Super Bowl appearances in six years. I mean, 2025 was the first season in which Kansas City didn't reach the conference championship game with Mahomes under center. It snapped a streak of seven straight appearances! He's already a top 10 quarterback all-time. Only Tom Brady, Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw have more Super Bowl wins, and Mahomes probably has 10 years left. 

It's true that the Kansas City Chiefs have been averaging fewer points and fewer passing yards per game over the last few seasons. There's no more Tyreek Hill, and Travis Kelce is getting older. Still, it didn't stop the Chiefs from getting to the Super Bowl three straight years, and the addition of running back Kenneth Walker III could be a massive one when it comes to opening up the passing game. 

Mahomes also has a new electric backup quarterback in Justin Fields. His 2025 season with the Jets was a disaster, but unsurprising, considering he was working under a first-year head coach and a brand-new offensive coordinator who had never held that position or called plays. Fields needs structure, and that was very much lacking in New York. The former first-round pick is an electric runner and possesses arm talent, but his accuracy and processing are very questionable. I remember when Fields received an MVP vote in 2022 after rushing for 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns. It was the second-best rushing campaign for an NFL quarterback, ever. At just 27-years-old, this is a backup quarterback I would want in my room.  

2. Cincinnati Bengals

QBs: Joe Burrow, Joe Flacco, Josh Johnson, Sean Clifford

Joe Burrow is elite, but injuries have been a concern. He missed nine games last year with a toe injury, and seven games in 2023 after tearing a ligament in his right wrist. Still, Burrow is incredible. When he remained healthy in 2024, the former No. 1 overall pick led the NFL with 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdowns while throwing just nine interceptions. The Bengals still missed the playoffs thanks to their defense. 

This franchise needs to stop wasting the prime years of its elite weapons. Burrow is actually the only quarterback in NFL history to register a 100+ passer rating while making zero playoff starts in a three-season span. He's also been the most-sacked quarterback (242) since entering the league in 2020, if we include sacks taken in the playoffs. 

The Bengals also have a former Super Bowl MVP and Comeback Player of the Year in their quarterback room, Joe Flacco -- who made the Pro Bowl as an alternate last year. The 40-year-old was starting to look his age with the Browns at the start of 2025, but was rejuvenated by the trade to Cincinnati in October. In his second start with the Bengals, Flacco threw for 342 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions and registered his 30th career game-winning drive in an upset of the rival Pittsburgh Steelers. In Week 9, Flacco became the fifth player in NFL history to throw for 470 yards and four touchdowns while scoring 40 points ... in a loss. 

While Flacco won just one start thanks to Cincy's stinky defense, he showed he can still play. 

1. San Francisco 49ers

QBs: Brock Purdy, Mac Jones, Adrian Martinez, Kurtis Rourke

Brock Purdy is the coolest story in the NFL. The final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft came in and led the 49ers to the NFC Championship game as a rookie, despite receiving his first professional start in Week 14 that year. In Purdy's first full season as a starter in 2023, he set the NFL record for most yards per attempt (9.6), set the franchise record for passing yards in a season (4,280), made the Pro Bowl, and finished fourth in MVP voting. While the 2024 season was a disaster for San Francisco overall, and Purdy missed about half of this past season, he's still the NFL's all-time leader in passer rating (104.0), and became the first quarterback in 49ers history to score five touchdowns over two straight games. A whopping 58.3% of his third-down and fourth-down attempts went for first downs in 2025. That was the highest success rate by any quarterback over the past 35 seasons. Kyle Shanahan obviously deserves credit for that stat as well. 

A big reason why the 49ers have the best quarterback room in the NFL is because of the second-string signal-caller, Mac Jones. He finally found his way to Shanahan last offseason and played an important role in the 12-5 campaign, stepping in for the injured Purdy and going 5-3 as the starter. That includes a Week 5 upset of the Rams in Los Angeles on a Thursday night. In that 26-23 overtime victory, Jones threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns. It made him just the fourth quarterback since 1950 to start 3-0 while throwing for 800 yards and six touchdowns in a player's first three games with a new team, according to CBS Sports Research. The others were Kurt Warner and Matthew Stafford with the Rams, and Patrick Mahomes with the Chiefs. Wild.

Maybe Jones isn't Josh Allen, but he's a starting quarterback in this league. And an asset for the 49ers.