It is the start of the 2023 NFL season. Are you excited? You should be so excited. And you know why? Because even though we all have to suffer through preseason with players we may never see again, it is football.
And men are battling, so we can see them on any given Sunday. Some of the most interesting battles this season are not for the starting position but for the backup.
The quarterback battles this season are going to be interesting. Here are the five battles that you should be looking at.
Baker Mayfield v Kyle Trask, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
While most of our battle watch for the preseason is for the backup position, this battle is for a start in Tampa Bay.
The Buccaneers have announced that Mayfield will start the first preseason game and Trask the second. The quarterback battle is like the Flash versus Snailman. Mayfield has all the flash and name recognition but talks out of camp are about his throwing mistakes.
Trask isn’t making the WOW plays, but he isn’t making the mistakes.
Sam Howell v Jacoby Brissett, Washington Commanders
We thought Howell had the starting job, but the Commanders and new offensive coordinator/assistant head coach Eric Bieniemy has not named a starter.
Howell played one game last season. He was 11-of-19 with 169 passing yards, 8.9 yards per attempt, one passing touchdown, and one interception. He also rushed for 35 yards and had one rushing touchdown. Howell’s NFL sample size is small. However, in college in 2021, he was ranked in the top 10 with passing touchdowns with an average depth of target 20-plus yards. He also averaged 6.2 rushing attempts per game.
Brissett was the third-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Last season he played 11 games in Cleveland as they waited for the return of Deshaun Watson. In those 11 games, he attempted a throw for 20 or more air yards on 12.4% of his passes while finishing his season with a 64% completion rate. Last season Brissett rushed for 243 yards and two touchdowns.
While both quarterbacks will extend plays with their scrambling abilities, Brissett is likelier not to get a drive-ending sack. Last season Brissett took a sack on 5.8% of his dropbacks. By comparison, Howell took a sack on 12% of his dropbacks.
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Dorian Thompson-Robinson v Kellen Mond
Mond wasn’t in a quarterback battle until Thompson-Robinson played in the 2023 Hall of Fame game.
The former UCLA Bruin is in a quarterback battle with the three-year veteran Mond. Both are vying for the backup position behind Watson and Joshua Dobbs. Mond’s only NFL stat comes from the 2021 season. That season, he played one game with three passing attempts for five yards.
Both should be looked at as rookies. Both are looking to get that last spot, as the Browns will likely only keep three quarterbacks.
Trey Lance v Sam Darnold v Brandon Allen, San Francisco 49ers
The quarterback battle is a two-way battle between Lance and Darnold. Here is the number three pick from the 2018 NFL Draft going against the number three pick from the 2021 NFL Draft for an opportunity to back up Brock Purdy, Mr. Irrelevant from the 2022 NFL Draft. I admit I did not have that on my bingo card, but here we are.
The sample sizes between Lance and Darnold are unequal. Lance has played in eight games, and Darnold has played in five seasons. Lance has a 54.9% completion percentage completing 56-of-102 passes. He has five touchdowns, three interceptions, and 797 passing yards. Lance also has 235 rushing yards, 168, and a rushing touchdown he acquired in 2021.
In Darnold’s five seasons, he has averaged a 59.5% completion percentage with 61 touchdowns and 55 interceptions. Darnold has 745 rushing yards in his five seasons. His highest rushing total came in 2021, with 222 rushing yards on 48 carries.
If last season taught the 49ers anything, it is keeping at least three quarterbacks is in their best interest. The battle is for supremacy, who will emerge as the number one challenger to Brock Purdy.
Malik Willis v Will Levis, Tennessee Titans
Willis is listed ahead of Levis in the first preseason depth chart for the Tennessee Titans. Willis was selected in the third round of the NFL 2022 Draft. The Titans moved up to take Levis 33rd overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Willis is 1-2 as a starter in Tennessee. In his 61 pass attempts, he has three interceptions and no touchdowns.
NFL’s Ian Rapoport has reported that both will “play a lot” in the Week 1 of the preseason. The Tennessee quarterback battle is the quarterback battle with the most gravitas. Ryan Tannehill is in the last year of his contract. Somebody will have to be under center.
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