It is hard to believe that the 2026 NFL season is already halfway through the regular season already. It does not feel like that long ago that this article was made for the third-way point. I don’t know if that is how you say it or not, but we are running with it.
So, what else is new in the realm of backup quarterback play over these last few weeks? Well, we have seen so many new signal callers join the ranks due to a multitude of reasons, and whether a guy was benched or injured and a new backup quarterback was called into action, they are going to be part of the tier rankings. However, there is one tier that has been abolished (the worst) compared to the article from a few weeks ago.
Speaking of changes, each quarterback will have a designation (if he moved up, down, stayed the same or is new to the tiers, it will be noted). As always, a backup quarterback must have played at least one half of football this season (anything shorter is either too small or too skewed of a sample size to rank, depending on when the guy got into the game), so sorry to Fernando Mendoza and guys of that ilk, but we have not seen enough of you quite yet for you to qualify for these rankings. Additionally, the order is from top to bottom, meaning that the first player mentioned on a particular tier is the worst one on it, and the last guy on it is to be considered the best on the tier.
Updated backup quarterback power rankings as Week 10 approaches
No longer employed
Plain and simple, the play of a quarterback in this tier is not suitable for even a quarterback in the NFL. As a result, they are no longer employed by any team in the league. Perhaps they find a job again in the offseason. Perhaps this was the last hurrah for them.
Cooper Rush ↔ (SAME)
Cooper Rush was just abysmal in his two starts to begin the 2026 campaign with the Atlanta Falcons. He had the worst completion percentage in a season in which Rush started at least one game in his career and threw four interceptions. Not to mention, the veteran backup was benched at halftime during his second start.
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