{"id":121894,"date":"2025-06-11T17:26:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T17:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/121894\/"},"modified":"2025-06-11T17:26:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T17:26:12","slug":"best-and-worst-case-scenarios-for-each-nfl-team-plus-ranking-top-10-backup-qb-situations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/121894\/","title":{"rendered":"Best- and worst-case scenarios for each NFL team, plus ranking top 10 backup QB situations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happy midweek, everyone! John Breech is busy advocating for the Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> to pay one — just one — of their pass rushers, or so we think. So today’s Pick Six newsletter is brought to you by Cody Benjamin, with tidbits on all the latest from around the NFL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Be sure to subscribe right here<\/a>, to ensure you never miss a daily dose of NFL updates. And keep on reading for everything from minicamp news to contract buzz and more:<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

Well, friends, it actually happened. After months and months of teasing an uncertain NFL future, then finally putting pen to paper with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday, Aaron Rodgers made his debut in black and gold<\/a> at the start of minicamp, rocking No. 8 to help kick off the mandatory portion of Mike Tomlin’s summer program. Rodgers was very complimentary of Tomlin during his opening news conference, essentially crediting the coach for his decision to suit up in 2025. Meanwhile, across the AFC North division, Cleveland Browns<\/a> star Myles Garrett<\/a> smiled at the thought of playing Rodgers<\/a> this season, telling reporters it’ll be a “good opportunity to put him in the graveyard.” Buckle your seatbelts.<\/p>\n

2. Holdout watch: Who’s at minicamp, who’s not<\/p>\n

Trying to keep up with which big names are still in the midst of contract disputes? Which ones are seeking a trade? And which ones are reporting for work in spite of ongoing differences with their respective teams? Besides perusing our daily minicamp takeaways<\/a>, you can find an updated tracker of early-summer holdouts — and “hold-ins” — right here<\/a>. Among the top playmakers still absent as they seek new deals: Washington Commanders<\/a> wide receiver Terry McLaurin<\/a> and Pittsburgh Steelers pass rusher T.J. Watt<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. Best- and worst-case scenarios for every team
\n Getty Images<\/p>\n

Can’t wait for the real games to begin? Well, neither can we. Which is why we reviewed all 32 NFL teams<\/a> in the middle of minicamp, proposing best- and worst-case scenarios for each club in 2025<\/a>. Can the Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> return to Super Bowl<\/a> glory after their title-game dud? Are the Chicago Bears<\/a> poised to end their postseason drought under Ben Johnson<\/a>? How about the Dallas Cowboys<\/a>; are they finally ready to reach an NFC title game? Check out all of our scenarios for the upcoming season right here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We’ve got ourselves an AFC West changeup: Fresh off a solid one-year stint with the Los Angeles Chargers<\/a>, Dobbins is headed to the rival Denver Broncos<\/a> to help lead Sean Payton’s revamped backfield, this week agreeing to a one-year deal with the team. A former Baltimore Ravens<\/a> standout, Dobbins figures to share touches with rookie RJ Harvey<\/a> alongside second-year quarterback Bo Nix<\/a>.<\/p>\n

5. Top 10 backup QB situations for 2025 season
\n Getty Images<\/p>\n

Elite quarterbacks may move the needle in the championship conversation, but sometimes backup signal-callers are just as important, coming off the bench in the most dire emergencies. So which NFL teams boast the best insurance plans going into the new year? We just ranked the top 10 backup quarterback situations<\/a> as things stand, and it turns out quite a few title contenders seem fairly secure at the No. 2 spot. Here’s a sneak peek of our rundown — a glimpse at our top five backup spots:<\/p>\n

5. Eagles<\/a> (Tanner McKee<\/a>):\u00a0If any team deserves the benefit of the doubt at this position, it’s the Eagles, who won two Super Bowls turning backup quarterbacks into title-game heroes. McKee has also looked the part at every turn, be it at practice, in preseason or regular-season relief, with the frame (6-6, 231), accuracy and world-class Eagles weaponry to give Jalen Hurts<\/a> a promising No. 2.<\/p>\n

4. Chiefs (Gardner Minshew<\/a>):\u00a0Known as much for his quirky personality as his on-field results, Minshew flamed out quickly with the rival Las Vegas Raiders<\/a>, but he’s back in cozier confines with the reigning AFC champions. Ball control isn’t his strength, but his backyard spirit is a perfect fit behind Patrick Mahomes<\/a> and coach Andy Reid, who could surely squeeze a postseason run out of the veteran if needed.<\/p>\n

3. Colts<\/a> (Daniel Jones<\/a>): It’s not so much that the Colts are loaded with star power as much as they don’t have a clear gap between their presumptive starter (Anthony Richardson<\/a>) and the rest of the room. Jones, in fact, could even open 2025 as QB1. … The ex-first-rounder never became a steady downfield passer for the New York Giants<\/a>, but he weathered poor infrastructure with toughness and mobility.<\/p>\n

2. Falcons<\/a> (Kirk Cousins<\/a>):\u00a0While Cousins looked fairly depleted in much of his failed debut as the Falcons’ starter and his post-benching departure has been telegraphed for months, he’s still a borderline starter in this league. When healthy and protected, he’s been one of the game’s most reliable play-action vets of the last decade. That counts for something, even as he approaches age 37.<\/p>\n

1. Rams<\/a> (Jimmy Garoppolo<\/a>):\u00a0Garoppolo has his own checkered medical history, of course, but this is also a guy who’s shepherded offenses to big stages, reaching two NFC title games and a Super Bowl in a three-year stretch as the rival 49ers<\/a> starter. He may be dependent on his system, but Sean McVay’s setup is among the game’s friendliest. L.A.’s playoff hopes wouldn’t be dashed if he’s called upon.<\/p>\n

6. Best offseason moves by each AFC team<\/p>\n

Which of the conference’s contenders got the strongest in the draft and free agency? Which AFC squads struggled to make a tangible difference despite plenty of resources? Tyler Sullivan combed through all 16 teams in the conference to identify the best moves made this offseason<\/a>. One of his picks: the Cleveland Browns taking a late-round flyer on none other than Shedeur Sanders<\/a>, the talk of the 2025 draft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Happy midweek, everyone! John Breech is busy advocating for the Cincinnati Bengals to pay one — just one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":121895,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[1586,1504,254,117,1035,925,391,256,54,257,2772,258,7,8132,345,392,601,492,7841,110,294,393,262,58,1304,249,56,6,499,109,57,1032,252,17,531,5226,1840,7186,111],"class_list":{"0":"post-121894","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-aaron-rodgers","9":"tag-anthony-richardson","10":"tag-atlanta-falcons","11":"tag-baltimore-ravens","12":"tag-ben-johnson","13":"tag-bo-nix","14":"tag-chicago-bears","15":"tag-cincinnati-bengals","16":"tag-cleveland-browns","17":"tag-dallas-cowboys","18":"tag-daniel-jones","19":"tag-denver-broncos","20":"tag-football","21":"tag-gardner-minshew","22":"tag-green-bay-packers","23":"tag-indianapolis-colts","24":"tag-j-k-dobbins","25":"tag-jalen-hurts","26":"tag-jimmy-garoppolo","27":"tag-kansas-city-chiefs","28":"tag-kirk-cousins","29":"tag-las-vegas-raiders","30":"tag-los-angeles-chargers","31":"tag-los-angeles-rams","32":"tag-myles-garrett","33":"tag-new-england-patriots","34":"tag-new-york-giants","35":"tag-nfl","36":"tag-patrick-mahomes","37":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","38":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","39":"tag-rj-harvey","40":"tag-san-francisco-49ers","41":"tag-shedeur-sanders","42":"tag-stefon-diggs","43":"tag-t-j-watt","44":"tag-tanner-mckee","45":"tag-terry-mclaurin","46":"tag-washington-commanders"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}