Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen reacts to a play during a game.

Every Starting Quarterback for the 2026 NFL Season

  • Updated

Share:

As the 2026 NFL season gets underway, the league features a mix of established stars, experienced veterans, and young quarterbacks looking to make their mark. Proven players like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen remain at the center of their teams, while new draft picks and offseason additions take on important starting roles. As the default “face” of the team, the quarterback position remains one of the biggest factors in each franchise’s success.

Atlanta Falcons: Tua Tagovailoa

Tua Tagovailoa holds the ball during a preseason game for the Atlanta Falcons.
Carmen Mandato / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Tua Tagovailoa holds the ball during a preseason game for the Atlanta Falcons.

This will be Tagovailoa’s 7th NFL season. It’s his first season with the Falcons after spending his entire NFL career with Miami up to this point.

Arizona Cardinals: Jacoby Brissett

Quarterback Jacoby Brissett throws a pass for the Arizona Cardinals.
Ian Maule / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett throws a pass for the Arizona Cardinals.

This will be Brissett’s 11th year in the NFL. It’s his 2nd year with the Arizona Cardinals. He took over the starting spot after an injury to Kyler Murray halfway through the season last year.

Baltimore Ravens: Lamar Jackson

Lamar Jackson winds back to throw a long pass during a Ravens football game.
Patrick Smith / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Lamar Jackson winds back to throw a long pass during a Ravens football game.

This will be Jackson’s ninth season in the NFL and with the Ravens.

Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen reacts to a play during a game.
Cooper Neill / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen reacts to a play during a game.

This will be Josh Allen’s 9th season in the NFL. He has spent his entire career with Buffalo.

Carolina Panthers: Bryce Young

Bryce Young pumps his fist to celebrate a successful play during a game.
Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Bryce Young pumps his fist to celebrate a successful play during a game.

This will be Bryce’s 4th season in the NFL. He has spent his entire NFL career with Carolina.

Chicago Bears: Caleb Williams

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams during a practice session.
Michael Reaves / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams during a practice session.

This is Caleb Williams’s 3rd season in the NFL and with the Bears.

Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Burrow

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow throws a ball during warm up before a game.
Lauren Leigh Bacho / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow throws a ball during warm up before a game.

This will be Burrow’s 7th season in the NFL and with the Bengals.

Cleveland Browns: Deshaun Watson

Deshaun Watson walks off the field after a preseason game.
Nick Cammett / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Deshaun Watson walks off the field after a preseason game.

This will be Deshaun Watson’s 10th season in the NFL and his 5th with the Browns. He spent his first 5 years in the NFL with the Houston Texans.

Dallas Cowboys: Dak Prescott

Dak Prescott throws a pass during a game for the Dallas Cowboys.
Richard Rodriguez / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Dak Prescott throws a pass during a game for the Dallas Cowboys.

The 2026 NFL season will be Prescott’s 11th overall and with the Cowboys. He’s still one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league.

Denver Broncos: Bo Nix

Bo Nix grins as he participates in a warm up before a game with the Denver Broncos.
Emilee Chinn / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Bo Nix grins as he participates in a warm up before a game with the Denver Broncos.

This will be Bo Nix’s 3rd season with the Broncos and overall in the NFL.

Detroit Lions: Jared Goff

Jared Goff stands ready to hike the ball during a Lions game.
Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Jared Goff stands ready to hike the ball during a Lions game.

This is Jared Goff’s 11th overall season in the NFL. This will be his 6th season with the Lions. He previously spent his first 5 seasons with the LA Rams.

Green Bay Packers: Jordan Love

Packers quarterback Jordan Love celebrates a touchdown during a game.
Ron Jenkins / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Packers quarterback Jordan Love celebrates a touchdown during a game.

This season will be Love’s 7th overall season in the NFL and with the Packers.

Houston Texans: C.J. Stroud

C.J. Stroud runs onto the field as the teams are introduced before a game.
Carmen Mandato / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
C.J. Stroud runs onto the field as the teams are introduced before a game.

This will be Stroud’s 4th season overall in the NFL and with the Houston Texans.

Indianapolis Colts: Daniel Jones

Daniel Jones throws the ball during a preseason Colts game.
Michael Hickey / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Daniel Jones throws the ball during a preseason Colts game.

This will be Daniel Jones’s 8th season in the NFL and his second season with the Colts. He was previously with the Giants for 6 seasons.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence

Trevor Lawrence prepares to throw the football during a Jaguars game.
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty Images
Trevor Lawrence prepares to throw the football during a Jaguars game.

This will be Lawrence’s 6th season in the NFL and with the Jaguars.

Kansas City Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes

Patrick Mahomes smiles on the sidelines of a Kansas City Chiefs game.
Josh Hedges / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Patrick Mahomes smiles on the sidelines of a Kansas City Chiefs game.

This season will be Patrick Mahomes’s 10th season in the NFL. He has spent his entire career with Kansas City.

Las Vegas Raiders: Kirk Cousins

Kirk Cousins prepares to throw the football during a preseason Raiders game.
Ian Maule / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Kirk Cousins prepares to throw the football during a preseason Raiders game.

Kirk Cousins has one of the longest active careers in the NFL: 15 years. This will be his first season with the Las Vegas Raiders. Prior to that, he spent 2 seasons with the Falcons. Before his stint in Atlanta, he was with the Vikings for 6 years. He began his career at Washington and played for them for 6 years.

Los Angeles Chargers: Justin Herbert

Justin Herbert throws the football during a Chargers game.
Ronald Martinez / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Justin Herbert throws the football during a Chargers game.

This will be Herbert’s 7th season in the NFL and with the Chargers.

Los Angeles Rams: Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford smiles after celebrating winning Super Bowl LVI in 2022.
Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Matthew Stafford smiles after celebrating winning Super Bowl LVI in 2022.

Stafford is another QB who has a very long active NFL career. Overall, this will be his 18th season in the NFL. This will be his 6th season with the Rams. Before that, he had a 12-year career with Detroit (a length of time that many other players retire after). But Stafford keeps on trucking!

Miami Dolphins: Malik Willis

Quarterback Malike Willis looks for a player downfield during a Dolphins game.
Perry Knotts / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Quarterback Malike Willis looks for a player downfield during a Dolphins game.

This will be Willis’s 5th season in the NFL. He previously spent 2 seasons each, first with the Tennessee Titans and then with the Green Bay Packers. This will be his first season with the Dolphins.

Minnesota Vikings: Kyler Murray

Kyler Murray preps to throw the ball during a preseason Vikings game.
Mike Coppola / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Kyler Murray preps to throw the ball during a preseason Vikings game.

This will be Murray’s first season with the Vikings, after having previously spent 7 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals.

New England Patriots: Drake Maye

Drake Maye winks to fans after a New England Patriots practice session.
Maddie Meyer / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Drake Maye winks to fans after a New England Patriots practice session.

This will be Maye’s 3rd overall season in the NFL and his 3rd with the Patriots.

New Orleans Saints: Tyler Shough

Tyler Shough looks downfield during a Saints preseason game.
Stacy Revere / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Tyler Shough looks downfield during a Saints preseason game.

This will be Shough’s 2nd season in the NFL and with the Saints. He was initially the backup to Spencer Rattler, though he took over the starting role later in the season after poor performances from Rattler.

New York Giants: Jaxson Dart

Jaxson Dart smiles while answering questions at a press event following a NY Giants practice.
Rich Storry / Strigner / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Jaxson Dart smiles while answering questions at a press event following a NY Giants practice.

This will be Dart’s 2nd season in the NFL, as well as his second season with the Giants.

New York Jets: Geno Smith

Geno Smith runs with the football during a Jets preseason game.
Joe Sargent / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Geno Smith runs with the football during a Jets preseason game.

This will be Geno Smith’s 14th season in the NFL. This will be his 5th season with the Jets, where he started his NFL career (but his first season back since 2016). His longest tenure was 6 seasons with the Seahawks from 2019 to 2024. He arrives in New York after a single season in Las Vegas.

Philadelphia Eagles: Jalen Hurts

Jalen Hurts takes off his helmet during warm-ups before a game.
Cooper Neill / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Jalen Hurts takes off his helmet during warm-ups before a game.

This will be Jalen’s 7th season in the NFL and with the Eagles.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers leans back to throw the football at a Steelers practice session.
Justin K. Aller / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Aaron Rodgers leans back to throw the football at a Steelers practice session.

This will be Aaron Rodgers’s 22nd overall season in the NFL (the longest of any active quarterback). He’s best known for his 18-season stint in Green Bay. This will be his second season with the Steelers.

San Francisco 49ers: Brock Purdy

Brock Purdy warms up prior to a San Francisco 49ers game.
Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images

This will be Brock Purdy’s 5th season in the NFL and with the 49ers.

Seattle Seahawks: Sam Darnold

Sam Darnold runs out onto the field prior to a Seahawks game.
Jane Gershovich / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Sam Darnold runs out onto the field prior to a Seahawks game.

This will be Sam Darnold’s 9th overall season in the NFL and his second with the Seahawks. His longest stint with a franchise was his first 3 years with the NY Jets.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Baker Mayfield

Baker Mayfield yells after a play during a Buccaneers game.
Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Baker Mayfield yells after a play during a Buccaneers game.

This will be Baker Mayfield’s 9th season in the NFL and the 4th with Tampa Bay.

Tennessee Titans: Cam Ward

Cam Ward walks around the filed following a Titans game.
Mike Erhmann / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Cam Ward walks around the filed following a Titans game.

This will be Cam Ward’s 2nd season in the NFL and with the Titans.

Washington Commanders: Jayden Daniels

Jayden Daniels practices a play during a warm-up before a Commanders game.
Megan Briggs / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Jayden Daniels practices a play during a warm-up before a Commanders game.

This will be Jayden Daniels’s 3rd season in the NFL. He has spent his entire career with the Commanders.

Related Posts