To kick off Memorial Day weekend, the New York Jets signed veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, the MVP of Super Bowl XLVII, to a one-year contract worth $1.5 million that includes another $3 million in incentives.
If everything goes as planned in New York, 35-year-old Flacco will never see the field for the Jets — but that doesn’t mean he won’t have value.
In Flacco, who has a record of 44-47 as a starter over his last seven NFL seasons, the Jets have an ideal backup for third-year quarterback Sam Darnold. Flacco is an immediate upgrade to a group of inexperienced backups that includes Mike White, David Fales and James Morgan, a trio who have combined to throw 48 NFL passes between them (all by Fales).
A 12-year veteran, Flacco has a wealth of knowledge he can impart to Darnold over the course of the season, something he previously did with Lamar Jackson in Baltimore after being benched during the reigning MVP’s rookie season with the Ravens.
Traditionally overlooked, backup quarterback is a position NFL teams have begun to treat with increased importance in recent years, and the Jets signing Flacco is just the latest evidence of that trend. He’s also just the latest former starter to accept a role as a backup in order to continue playing in the NFL, following Jameis Winston signing with the Saints to back up Drew Brees in New Orleans, Andy Dalton coming to terms with the Cowboys to back up Dak Prescott in Dallas, Marcus Mariota heading to Las Vegas to back up Derek Carr on the Raiders, and Case Keenum, who opened last season as the starter in Washington, going to Cleveland to back up Baker Mayfield on the Browns.
Jacoby Brissett, who started 15 games for the Colts in 2019 after the surprising retirement of Andrew Luck, didn’t move to a new team, but he will now revert to playing second fiddle after Indianapolis signed eight-time Pro Bowler Philip Rivers this offseason. The same may be true of Ryan Fitzpatrick in Miami, as the Dolphins selected Tua Tagovailoa in the draft and are reportedly not opposed to starting him as a rookie.
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In Chicago, incumbent starter Mitch Trubisky may lose his job to Nick Foles after the Bears dealt a 2020 fourth-round compensatory draft pick to the Jaguars for the MVP of Super Bowl LII. The team’s brass has indicated there will be an open competition at quarterback once training camp begins.
Then there’s free-agent quarterback Cam Newton, who, despite winning the NFL’s MVP award in 2015, will likely have to accept a role as a backup in 2020 if and when a team steps up and signs him.
That means that, at a minimum, five quarterbacks who opened last season as starters will begin 2020 riding the pine (barring injury).
On the other side of the coin, former backup Teddy Bridgewater will be the starter to open the season for Carolina Panthers, spot starter Tyrod Taylor projects to begin the season as the starting quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers, and either Brian Hoyer or Jarrett Stidham, both of whom were backups last season, will replace Tom Brady at quarterback in New England.
While teams with young, developing quarterbacks like the Jets, Cowboys and Dolphins are hoping their backups don’t have to see a single regular-season snap, having an option like a Flacco, Dalton or Fitzpatrick as a security blanket as well as a sounding board is a valuable asset. After all, if quarterback really is the most important position in football (as many would argue), it only makes sense that teams should ensure their starter’s understudy has enough experience and talent to step in and win in an emergency situation on any given Sunday.
As we saw last season with Bridgewater, who won all five games he started last year for New Orleans after Brees was injured, a good backup quarterback can be the difference between going 13-3 (as the Saints did last season) and 8-8. That is also the difference between tying for the best record in the NFC and finishing out of the postseason altogether.
Long taken for granted, backup lives matter — and NFL teams are finally starting to realize it.
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