Top 10 NFL Teams That Need QBs in the 2025 Offseason
With the Super Bowl complete and the coach hiring cycle basically finished, teams are shifting their focus toward the draft and free agency. Unless a team already has one, the top priority is to find a franchise quarterback. It’s not a coincidence that two of the first 3 picks in the 2025 NFL Draft are expected to be QBs despite the weakness of this QB class. The position is simply the most important across all sports. This week, we’re going to examine which teams are most desperate for new signal callers. These rankings are in reverse order (#1 needs a QB the most). Here are the top 10 NFL teams that need QBs this offseason!
10. Los Angeles Rams
With a whopping 6 teams drafting first-round rookie QBs last year (link draft), fewer teams NEED a major upgrade right away. So we’re starting off with a bit of a cheat. The Rams are obviously very happy with Matthew Stafford under center. However, his contract is a major plot point of this offseason. He only has $4M guaranteed, and the team is allowing him to talk to other teams about his value. I include LA here to make a simple point: don’t overthink this. Had their divisional round game not been in a blizzard, the Rams might’ve won the Super Bowl. Thus, Los Angeles does need a QB, but it just happens to be their own.
9. Minnesota Vikings
This is another team in limbo with their own signal callers. Sam Darnold had a great year but fizzled at the very end, while 2024 first-round pick JJ McCarthy should be healthy. Darnold, now a free agent, could command somewhere around $40M a year, which the Vikings might balk at. If he walks though, they’ll happily hand the reins to McCarthy. I am not a fan of that at all. Nor am I fond of the idea of Minnesota re-signing Daniel Jones to compete with him. The Vikings need a legitimate QB1. I like Darnold for this particular team, but if the team’s brass disagrees, they’ll have to find somebody else to repeat their 2024 success.
8. Arizona Cardinals
I keep putting the Cardinals on this list, but they don’t seem to learn their lesson. In fact, they just stated their intention to build around Kyler Murray despite their acknowledgement that he needs to improve. No matter who the coach is, Arizona fades down the stretch every season. While Murray has had some good moments, he has now shown us 6 seasons worth of tape. He’s not terrible, but he does keep the Cardinals in QB purgatory. Murray’s contract probably means that he’s still the guy for one more year. That doesn’t (and shouldn’t) preclude the team from drafting someone on day 2 who they could develop for 2026.
7. Indianapolis Colts
At some point, the Colts need to admit that Anthony Richardson isn’t the guy. Between injuries, horrific accuracy, and a weird self-removal, he hasn’t developed much at all over his first two years in the league. We knew he was a project, but not every project works out. HC Shane Steichen and especially GM Chris Ballard are entering 2025 on the hot seat. Therefore, a rookie probably isn’t in the cards. Richardson is getting one last chance, but he’ll have competition. A veteran option worth looking at is Jimmy Garoppolo. He has played good football before, and he just received the Sean McVay touch with the Rams.
6. Tennessee Titans
Tennessee is only lower than other teams on this list because the squads below are closer to competing and/or have disgruntled players because of their poor QB play. The Titans’ need is arguably just as acute though. Will Levis was a comically poor attempt at addressing the position, but the silver lining is that Tennessee has the #1 pick in this year’s draft. Unfortunately, this is a much poorer QB class than the one from 2024. New GM Mike Borgonzi will have to decide if Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward is worthy of that draft slot. Otherwise, they’ll have to roll with a veteran and punt on the situation until next offseason.
5. Las Vegas Raiders
You could argue that the Raiders aren’t “closer to competing” than the Titans. Their division is certainly much tougher. However, when you hire a 73-year-old coach in Pete Carroll and have legendary winner Tom Brady aboard as your unusually involved minority owner, rebuilding isn’t necessarily an option. Las Vegas wanted Michael Penix Jr last year, but Atlanta stupidly ruined that for them. This would be a good spot for Darnold. He is both experienced and young, so he could simultaneously be a veteran option and the long-term solution. Picking 6th, the Raiders probably can’t count on the draft to break their way.
4. New York Giants
When your star rookie receiver is already unhappy about his team’s play, things are dire. That’s the situation with Malik Nabers though, and can you really blame him? Starter Daniel Jones got cut midseason, and Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito were mostly putrid. I say “mostly” because Lock had one shocking game against the Colts. That game is the reason New York is picking 3rd in the draft, just out of range of the top 2 QBs. They’ll need one of Cleveland and Tennessee to pass (pun intended) on a quarterback, and I think the team wants Cam Ward. Barring that scenario, I’m not sure NYG can fix their QB room this year.
3. Cleveland Browns
We’re just about ready to declare the Deshaun Watson trade the worst in NFL history. Giving him a fully guaranteed contract was stupid at the time, but even the most pessimistic Browns fans could have seen his regression coming. He has been among the worst starting QBs, and now he has a torn Achilles. DE Myles Garrett is so unhappy that he requested a trade, but Cleveland basically can’t move Watson for 2 more years. The team’s #2 draft pick can be used on a replacement, but they won’t even get to enjoy the benefits of a rookie QB contract. I hate to say it, but this situation looks futile until 2027, once Watson’s deal expires.
2. New York Jets
Every time it seems like the Jets have solved their decades-long QB quest, it blows up in their faces. Aaron Rodgers was not the savior the team hoped for. WR Garrett Wilson could want out, and New York can’t keep wasting their strong defense. As much as the Jets are built to win now, the veteran retread route isn’t working. Sure, a stopgap like former MetLife Stadium resident Daniel Jones could hold them over, but the team needs a hand-selected passer that it can develop. Current backup Tyrod Taylor may get a chance to start in the interim, though I’m wondering if the Jets could make an aggressive move up the draft board.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers
The late great John Madden supposedly said that “if you have two quarterbacks, you actually have none”. Nowhere is that more true right now than Pittsburgh, where Justin Fields and Russell Wilson combined to do what just about every QB has done since Ben Roethlisberger retired: ride a strong defense to the playoffs and flame out there. The Steelers just need an above-average signal caller to be a true contender, which makes their need the most acute. Kirk Cousins would be an excellent option if Atlanta cuts him, and the ultimate win-now move would be to try Stafford loose from LA. Don’t expect Pittsburgh to stand pat.