AFC QB Concern Index: What a disaster for Jets and these teams

Perhaps no other NFL team has a worse quarterback situation than the New York Jets, whose 41-year-old starter, Aaron Rodgers, has flopped in 2024. But other teams have dreadful QB situations, too.

Here’s how Yardbarker NFL writers rate the level of concern at QB for all AFC teams, with “1” denoting no concern and “5” denoting deep concern. 

AFC East

BUFFALO BILLS (11-3) | 1 | Josh Allen threw for 430 yards and four TDs in a 48-42 victory over the Lions in Week 15 and is favored (-900) to win NFL MVP, per DraftKings as of Wednesday. Enough said. 

MIAMI DOLPHINS (6-8) | 3 | Tua Tagovailoa threw three interceptions and averaged a season-worst 4.9 yards per pass in a 20-12 loss to the Texans in Week 15. The fifth-year QB hasn’t found the form that helped him lead the NFL with 4,624 yards passing in 2023, but his 265.2-yards-per-game average is third-best in the league. That’s a number most teams would take, even with a QB with $167M in guarantees over the next four seasons.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (3-11) | 4 | Unlike fellow rookie QBs Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix, Drake Maye started the year on the bench and didn’t play until a 41-21 loss to Houston in Week 6. He’s won only two games since, but he has an 81.3% completion percentage in his past two games and is starting to show the talent that made him the third pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

NEW YORK JETS (4-10)  | 5 | The Jets gave Aaron Rodgers a three-year, $112M contract extension in 2023, but team owner Woody Johnson reportedly wanted him benched in Week 5. With head coach Robert Saleh and GM Joe Douglas no longer with the team and just $14M in dead-cap money for Rodgers next season, a post-June 1 release seems inevitable for the four-time NFL MVP. — Bruce Ewing

AFC West 

DENVER BRONCOS (9-5) | 2 | Taking Bo Nix with pick No. 12 in the 2024 NFL Draft seemed like a reach, but the Auburn/Oregon product has quieted skeptics. Through 14 starts, he is 9-5 and ranks 10th in the league in TD passes (20). 

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (13-1) | 1 | At 29, Patrick Mahomes could join Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana and Tom Brady as the only QBs in league history with four or more Super Bowl rings. Through 14 starts, he is 13-1 and has the league’s ninth-most TD passes (22). 

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (2-12) | 5 | The Raiders have started Gardner Minshew, Aidan O’Connell and Desmond Ridder, who have posted a collective 79.2 passer rating, well below the league average (91.8). Vegas should consider drafting a QB in 2025, perhaps Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders or Miami’s Cam Ward. 

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (8-6) | 2 | If Justin Herbert wins his first playoff game, it will make the Chargers feel even better about their QB situation. Through 14 starts under first-year Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh, he’s 8-6 and has 2,959 yards passing, 16 TD passes and two interceptions. — Clark Dalton

AFC North 

BALTIMORE RAVENS (9-5) | 2 | Lamar Jackson is having another incredible regular season with 3,580 passing yards, 743 rushing yards, 34 TD passes and only three interceptions, and he would be closing in on his third MVP award if it wasn’t for Buffalo’s Josh Allen. The only reason Jackson isn’t a “1” on the scale is his discouraging playoff resume (2-4 record, 57.4% completion rate, six TD passes, six interceptions).

CINCINNATI BENGALS (6-8) | 1 | There aren’t many teams in the NFL more confident in their QB situation than the Bengals. Joe Burrow leads the league this season in passing yards (3,977), TD passes (37) and passes of 40-plus yards (12), and he’s under contract for at least another three years.

CLEVELAND BROWNS (3-11) | 5 | We move from one of the best QB situations in the NFL to one of the worst. Deshaun Watson, who had a lousy passer rating (79) before an injury sidelined him for the season, carries a cap hit of $72.9 million in 2025 and 2026, and backup Jameis Winston is too reckless with the football to be the short- or long-term answer.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS (10-4) | 3 | This number was closer to a “1” a few weeks ago, but Russell Wilson has gone a combined 29-for-48 passing (60.4 percent) for only 286 yards and three TD passes in two games without injured WR George Pickens in the lineup. The Wilson experiment is successful so far, but the 36-year-old doesn’t have the upside to bring Pittsburgh a Super Bowl. — Jack Dougherty

AFC South 

HOUSTON TEXANS (9-5) | 1 | C.J. Stroud’s underwhelming 2024 season is a reminder that QBs don’t always follow a linear progression. His numbers are worse across the board compared to his rookie season in 2023, including completion percentage (63.6 in ’24 to 63.9), yards per game (232 to 273.9), TD% (3.7 to 4.6), interception% (2 to 1) and passer rating (89 to 100.8), but we’ll chalk that up to a second-year slump rather than a long-term concern. 

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (6-8) | 4 | Colts head coach Shane Steichen let his displeasure with Anthony Richardson be known earlier this season when he benched him for two games, and considering the second-year QB’s accuracy woes, it’s easy to understand why. Richardson has a 47% completion rate, the third-worst season completion percentage for a starting QB with at least 10 starts since 2000 (Akili Smith, Tim Tebow).

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (3-11) | 3 | After handing starting QB Trevor Lawrence a five-year, $275M contract extension this offseason, the Jaguars have their QB locked in for the foreseeable future. However, the 2021 No. 1 overall pick has not played consistently well during his first five seasons, and he will likely be on this third head coach in five seasons in 2025. 

TENNESSEE TITANS (3-11) | 5 | In a loss to the Bengals in Week 15, HC Brian Callahan made the obvious choice to bench second-year pro Will Levis (12 TD passes, 12 interceptions) after three interceptions (including his fourth pick-six of the season). Now comes the hard part: finding a QB Tennessee can build around. — Eric Smithling