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- Mar 18, 2019
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In Week One of the 2019 season, more than a third of the league had a different starting quarterback than it had a year earlier. But if one-third turnover among starting quarterbacks sounds high, it’s likely to be eclipsed in 2020.
This year, it’s possible that more than half of the league could have a different starting quarterback than it had a year ago.
The 11 teams that had a different starting quarterback in 2019 than they had in 2018 were the Cardinals (Sam Bradford to Kyler Murray), Ravens (Joe Flacco to Lamar Jackson), Bills (Nathan Peterman to Josh Allen), Browns (Tyrod Taylor to Baker Mayfield), Broncos (Case Keenum to Flacco), Colts (Andrew Luck to Jacoby Brissett), Jaguars (Blake Bortles to Nick Foles), Dolphins (Ryan Tannehill to Ryan Fitzpatrick), Eagles (Foles to Carson Wentz), Buccaneers (Fitzpatrick to Jameis Winston) and Washington (Alex Smith to Keenum). That sounds like a lot of turnover at the quarterback position, but it’s almost certain to be eclipsed by the amount of quarterback turnover we’ll see this year.
Some teams have already moved on from their 2019 Week One starting quarterbacks, many more could choose to move on if a better free agent or draft pick becomes available, and some could have no choice but to move on if their starter leaves in free agency. At least 14 teams fall into one of those categories: The Panthers, Bears, Bengals, Broncos, Colts, Jaguars, Chargers, Dolphins, Patriots, Giants, Raiders, Buccaneers, Titans and Washington.
But those are only the 14 teams where a change of starting quarterbacks would be unsurprising. That doesn’t account for possibilities like a starting quarterback getting injured in the preseason, or a retirement that comes out of left field, or a benching that no one is anticipating right now, or a team that isn’t expected to draft a first-round quarterback pulling a draft day surprise.
Add all the possibilities up, and the number of teams with a different starting quarterback to start this season than last season might hit 16 or more, and we may see more teams start the season with a new quarterback than with the same quarterback.