Where Chicago Bears backup QBs rank compared to rest of NFL

One of the biggest areas of Bears improvement in personnel this year may have just occurred this past week.

The signing of quarterback Case Keenum has to put the Bears in the top 10 for backup quarterback situations.

Chicago Bears On SI ranks them eighth overall for backup quarterback situation, a rating based on experience, winning experience and effective play. The Texans made a mistake not bringing him back while keeping Davis Mills, who has gotten worse with each season he played and couldn't beat out Keenum in 2023 for first one off the bench to replace C.J. Stroud.

The ideal backup quarterback in the NFL is not a young passer who is being groomed, unless a team stumbles upon a situation like the Kansas City Chiefs had with Alex Smith starting for one year while Patrick Mahomes was in waiting.

This type of situation happens very rarely.

The Bengals have what might be the closest thing to this with QB Jake Browning, who not only came in two years ago and played well in place of injured Joe Burrow, but totally lit the stat sheets on fire with a 98.4 passer rating and over 70% completions. He had been around since 2019 with the Vikings and Bengals without getting a chance to play, and that performance made him look like the next Kurt Warner.

SI's Gilberto Manzano last year rated Browning as the No. 1 backup quarterback in the league in the SI annual backup QB rankings.

A year before, SI had P.J. Walker ranked 11th best backup with the Bears but he didn't even make the team. So these rankings can be fickle.

The ideal backup is the veteran passer who has achieved some success in the past when he had chances to start, someone who can be relied upon the get the job done as a passer in the short term if something happens to the starter.

In some cases, it might be the long term, like what happened last year in Dallas with Dak Prescott.

The classic backup in the NFL was always Earl Morrall in the 1960s and 1970s. Joe Flacco might be considered someone like that now, although at age 40 he definitely is near the end of his usefulness and currently is not on a roster.

The Bears adding Keenum greatly elevates their backup status because they now have a veteran with successful playoff experience, with starting experience, and not too old at 37 to worry about his age unless he had to play a major portion of the season. He definitely should rank ahead of Tyson Bagent.

Bagent was ranked 26th last year by Manzano after his 2-2 record starting in wins over two bad teams the previous year. e definitely didn't do anything last year to improve his status.

On the other hand, Keenum wasn't even ranked last year but that's because he was out for the full season with a foot injury. When he was on the SI rankings the previous year, the full SI staff ranked him 14th among backups. Since then, many of the QBs rated ahead of him either proved they didn't belong there, proved they didn't even belong in a backup role or are out of the league.

Players like Walker, Mike White, Teddy Bridgewater, Cooper Rush, Taylor Heinicke and Tyler Huntley were all ahead of Keenum then and all have done nothing but diminish their status as backups. Keenum moves up by default in some cases. 

Here's how Chicago Bears On SI sees the top 10 for backup QB situations for teams in 2024.

Of course, there hasn't been a draft yet but most predraft analysis doesn't give this group of QBs much credit for affecting the backup QB situation.

Only Cam Ward looks like a certain immediate starter and if he turned up on Tennesee's roster then Will Levis' past two seasons of experience don't immediately vault the Titans into a top 10 for backup QBs. After all, Levis hasn't exactly been an effective player in two seasons and last year lost the opener against the Bears when they didn't even score an offensive touchdown.

1. Kansas City Chiefs

Gardner Minshew, Bailey Zappe, Chris Oladokun

Minshew would be starter for about five or six NFL teams and Zappe had a few moments in the past as a backup in New England. Oladokun has system knowledge.

2. Los Angeles Rams

Jimmy Garoppolo, Stetson Bennett

Garoppolo is a Super Bowl QB, a longtime starter and better than many of the current starters. He's younger than Matthew Stafford, too. Bennett doesn't really do much to further the cause.

3. Cincinnati Bengals

Jake Browning

There's not a lot of actual past to go on. In fact it's only one year, but what a year. The Bengals probably have only a slight chance of keeping Browning after this season because he's a retricted free agent in 2026 but as an undrafted player they'd be forced to tender him at a much higher rate to keep him. With their salary cap issues, they couldn't justify a backup QB making a ton of money. A team looking for a starter would be willing to give him a shot and go over that tender offer. What many don't realize is Browning is 28 years old already.

4. New York Giants

Jameis Winston, Tommy DeVito

Backing up Russell Wilson usually means you're coming in to play at some point. Wilson has faded. Winston still has that deep arm potential and also the potential for interceptions. DeVito was an effective leader when he has played, kind of a Soprano version of Bagent.

5. Washington Commanders

Marcus Mariota, Sam Hartman

Mariota ensures the Commanders would be able to operate sufficiently for a while if they lost Jayden Daniels. Mariota, like Minshew, could probably start for many teams, still.

6. Atlanta Falcons

Kirk Cousins, Emory Jones

It wouldn't be a shock if the Falcons had to go back to Cousins starting at some point if Michael Penix doesn't seem ready to handle the starting job. Shuffling Cousins back to the bench after he struggled coming back from an Achilles tear last year hardly seemed fair.

7. Carolina Panthers

Andy Dalton, Jack Plummer

Just think of Dalton as a more successful version of Keenum and he's had time now to adjust to that role of being a backup instead of thinking of himself always as the starter.

8. CHICAGO BEARS

Case Keenum, Tyson Bagent, Austin Reed

Last year SI's Manzano noted Bagent's 2-2 record in 2023, beating two bad teams while ranking him 26th as a backup. "But Bagent struggled with consistency throughout his four starts while filling in for Justin Fields." Keenum, as a former starter and playoff miracle worker, would have less inconsistency and also provides a stabilizing mentor factor to the QB room at age 37. He can still play and was 14th ranked among backups in his last season.

9. N.Y. Jets

Tyrod Taylor

This is one backup who never seems to get a break or respect but always performs at a decent level. A career 88.9 passer rating is good enough to rate him better than many starters.

10. Los Angeles Chargers

Taylor Heinicke, Trey Lance

Lance is a total disappointment but Heinicke quarterbacked a losing Washington team into the playoffs in a tight loss to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers and has only been playing behind poor offensive lines and with ill-conceived attacks since then. This duo beats out Mitchell Trubisky-Mike White-Shane Bueche of the Bills for top 10. Trubisky has started only seven games since leaving the Bears and lost five of the starts while playing all of them with winning teams, so more was expected.