In case you haven’t noticed, backup quarterbacks seem to be playing a larger role than usual at this point in the NFL season. Though none of these QBs are named Johnny Manziel – Brian Hoyer is, after all, healthy and showing he belongs in the NFL with his performance for the Cleveland Browns – we’ve seen veterans like Drew Stanton (Arizona) and rookies like Teddy Bridgewater (Minnesota) take snaps as unexpected starters in the stead of injured No. 1 guys.
As of this writing, Stanton has been a pleasant surprise for the Cardinals, as the team is now 3-0 despite the fact that Carson Palmer remains sidelined with a shoulder injury; the veteran Palmer, however, may be back in the lineup next Sunday against the Broncos. But we may be seeing the Minnesota Vikings get a lot of mileage out of first-round pick Bridgewater, with Matt Cassel out with a broken foot, while Kirk Cousins of the Washington Redskins is expected to start for the rest of the 2014 NFL season, due to Robert Griffin III’s potentially season-ending ankle injury. The pressure is especially significant on Cousins, whom many believe should have been made starter under head coach Jay Gruden, RG3 or no RG3.
It isn’t only injuries that have resulted in Bridgewater and Cousins getting promoted from backup to starter. In Jacksonville, Chad Henne’s uninspiring start has resulted in rookie Blake Bortles, the first QB picked in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, getting the nod as the first-stringer. Also, Josh McCown hasn’t been setting the world on fire in Tampa Bay – with McCown out with a sprained thumb last week, Mike Glennon took over and had a creditable game, passing for 121 yards and one touchdown, with a 70.8 percent completion rate. Comments from Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith suggest Glennon may be starting going forward, as the coach said that bad losses, such as a recent 54-16 trouncing by the Atlanta Falcons, require some changes to be made. “Maybe that’s personnel, maybe it’s not,” he added. “You’re looking at all areas when you feel like you need to go another direction.”
With poor play and injuries posing problems for several other quarterbacks, who knows? Maybe we’ll be seeing more backup quarterbacks get inserted in the starting lineup as the NFL season progresses.