Without a franchise quarterback, no team in the NFL is going to sustain long-term success. In recent years, we have seen teams acquire top-end quarterbacks in different ways. Whether it be free agency signings like Sam Darnold and even Tom Brady years ago, major trades like Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff, or NFL Draft picks like most of the other starters, there are multiple avenues here to find that franchise piece.
But what also comes with that are teams that totally whiff and bring in the wrong player. It happens all the time and will continue to happen as the years go on. As we approach the summer months of the 2026 NFL Offseason, it's clear that some starters are at a high risk of getting benched this year.
We power-ranked the quarterbacks who are most at risk of getting benched in 2026.
Power ranking quarterbacks who are most likely to be benched in the 2026 season
5. Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns
Deshaun Watson should soon emerge as the slam-dunk starter for the Cleveland Browns, but that might not be a good thing. Watson hasn't been a functional quarterback since his prime days with the Houston Texans, which feels like an eternity ago.
And Watson wouldn't necessarily get benched because the Browns have a young star in the making, but he'd likely get benched because he's been playing borderline unplayable football for years now. It's the sad truth of the situation. The Browns front office invested a ton to acquire Watson, but for whatever reason, his play just hasn't been nearly good enough, and it's barely been backup-caliber.
While Watson could enter the 2026 season as the starter, a few weeks of poor play, which is what we've seen for much of his Browns tenure, could lead to a major change.
4. Geno Smith, New York Jets
Geno Smith is now on his third team in as many seasons. In 2024, the Seattle Seahawks got rid of him in favor of Sam Darnold, and in 2025, the Las Vegas Raiders parted with Smith to make room for Fernando Mendoza and Kirk Cousins.
Now on the Jets, the team that drafted him, Smith does have a rookie quarterback behind him in Cade Klubnik. While Klubnik was a fourth-round pick for a reason, Smith has been rather horrendous the past two seasons, combining for 40 touchdowns and a whopping 32 interceptions.
Unless a switch flips, and Smith is able to throw it back to the 2022 and 2023 seasons, the Jets' starting quarterback could quickly find himself playing poorly enough to make way for Klubnik, who the Jets coaching staff may at least want to see what they have in him this year.
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