Four quarterbacks on one roster usually tells you a team is unsettled at the most important spot on the field. This year, the Falcons, Steelers, Eagles and Vikings all went that route at one point, with each team carrying four passers on Sunday before the Vikings trimmed their group on Monday by releasing Max Brosmer.
Brosmer, who started two games last season, is headed to waivers. Minnesota is moving forward with Kyler Murray, Carson Wentz and J.J.
McCarthy, though McCarthy’s injury status is still unclear. The Browns are operating with a different kind of quarterback stash, keeping three on the active roster and second-year player Dillon Gabriel on injured reserve.
Across the league, the average on initial 53-man rosters is 2.75 quarterbacks per team.
More roster movement could still come before Week 1. That window is bigger than usual this season because the NFL pushed its final roster deadline up to 6 p.m.
ET on Sunday to handle the Week 1 trip between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams in Australia. Since 2021, teams had been making those final cuts the Tuesday after the third preseason game, but this year most clubs have an extra two days before kickoff to sort out their depth charts or scoop up players who were cut elsewhere.
Atlanta is carrying the weight of uncertainty at the position, and then some. The Falcons do not know whether Michael Penix Jr. or Tua Tagovailoa will open Week 1, and they are nowhere near knowing whether either one is the long-term answer for 2027.
That uncertainty helped make undrafted free agent Jack Strand too interesting to risk losing on waivers, but it also left Atlanta needing a quarterback who can step in right away if needed. That’s where veteran Cooper Rush comes in.
Strand may have impressed enough to stick, but he is not viewed as ready to start an NFL game right now. With the health history of Tagovailoa and Penix, Atlanta needed a more established No. 3, and Rush fills that role.
The Falcons could wait until game week to name a Week 1 starter, but the bigger issue is far beyond the opener: they need to know by season’s end whether their 2027 quarterback is already in the building or still out there somewhere. Penix is midway through his rookie deal and has made 12 starts, winning four of them, so he has to play at some point for the new staff to evaluate him properly.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, chose to stay in win-now mode even after hiring Mike McCarthy. Rather than reset, the Steelers kept leaning on older core pieces such as T.J. Watt and 37-year-old Cameron Heyward, traded for 28-year-old receiver Michael Pittman Jr., signed 29-year-old cornerback Jamel Dean and waited on 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers.
That left the Steelers with a quarterback setup that could have gone sideways fast: a starter turning 43 this year and backups Will Howard and Drew Allar, both of whom have never taken a regular-season snap. There was a real camp battle between Mason Rudolph and Howard, and the hope was that Howard would surge in the preseason and lock down the QB2 job. Instead, Rudolph opened camp as the backup and kept strengthening his case as the preseason went on.
By keeping both Rudolph and Howard, Pittsburgh is trying to bridge two timelines at once. Rudolph gives them a proven veteran who can steady the season if Rodgers misses time, and he has already shown that ability - most notably in 2023, when he helped fuel a three-game winning streak that pushed Pittsburgh into the playoffs.
At the same time, the Steelers are following McCarthy’s preferred approach to quarterback development by keeping two young passers in the room. Howard and Allar will spend this year learning behind Rodgers and are expected to be part of the 2027 starting competition.
Philadelphia’s decision was a little different, but the result was the same: four quarterbacks still standing. General manager Howie Roseman said the team kept four because “it’s such a valuable position.”
The Eagles have always treated quarterback depth as a priority, though usually that means three, not four. The real reason Tanner McKee and Andy Dalton are both on the roster is that neither one clearly won the backup job behind Jalen Hurts, so Philadelphia is keeping both until the depth chart sorts itself out.
The Eagles also want to keep investing in fifth-round pick Cole Payton. His four-year rookie deal gives the team another layer of depth, especially with McKee and Dalton both set to see their contracts expire after the season.
Cleveland’s setup comes with its own asterisk, but it still fits the same theme. The Browns believe Shedeur Sanders and Taylen Green are worth developing, and Green likely would have made the initial roster even if Dillon Gabriel had not landed on injured reserve. Gabriel does not appear to be part of the team’s long-term answer either, though he does give Cleveland a cheap backup option for three seasons.
The broader picture in Cleveland is simple enough, even if the path there has been anything but. The Deshaun Watson era is almost over, with one season and probably just a few starts left.
What comes next is still wide open, but the Browns’ endless search for a true quarterback answer continues. Keeping all four around for now fit that reality.
For Cleveland, as the source of so many quarterback turns and detours, it was about as sensible as any recent QB plan can be.
In Other News...
Tua Just Added More Heat To Atlantas Unsettled QB Battle
Tua Tagovailoas arrival in Atlanta only sharpened a quarterback situation that was already unsettled, giving the Falcons another experienced option after his release from Miami and one-year deal with the team. What had looked like a simple preseason evaluation turned into something more complicated once his play came in unevenly, forcing Atlanta to keep four quarterbacks around and head toward Week 1 without a clear answer at the most important spot on the roster.
Michael Penix Jr. still appears to be the frontrunner to open the season as the starter, but the Falcons are also keeping a close eye on his health as they sort through the rest of the depth chart. For Tua, the path back into the center of the conversation is tied to how that situation develops, which leaves Atlanta with a familiar kind of late-summer tension: a quarterback room with talent, but no final resolution just yet. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Quarterback Decision Comes With A Game-Day Roster Cost
Several teams came out of cutdown day carrying more quarterbacks than usual, a sign of how much the position can still shape a roster even after the 53-man deadline. The Falcons are in that group, joining teams like the Vikings, Steelers, Eagles and Browns in keeping four or more passers around, a choice that can reflect both caution and optimism when a young arm is still being developed.
For Atlanta, the bigger issue is not just who is in the quarterback room, but what that decision costs elsewhere on game day. Carrying extra depth at the sports most important position can squeeze the rest of the roster, and it leaves the Falcons balancing immediate flexibility against the need to keep enough help available at other spots. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Week 1 QB Call May Come Down To One Concern
The Falcons still have a Week 1 quarterback decision hanging in the balance, with Kevin Stefanski continuing to weigh Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa as camp moves on. ESPN insider Adam Schefter reported that the staff wants to see how Penix holds up physically in full practice before making the call, which puts the focus squarely on his readiness as much as his performance.
Penixs health has become the central issue in the competition, and there is at least some belief that he could be the starter if he proves fully healthy. For Atlanta, it is a decision that goes beyond Septembers opener, because the next step depends on whether Penix can handle the demands of practice without any setbacks. [Read more 🡒]