NFL Quarterbacks with the Most on the Line in 2023
The 2023 season is a make-or-break year for plenty of NFL quarterbacks, both veterans and young guys looking to establish themselves. Here are five quarterbacks needing massive 2023 campaigns to cement their jobs.
- Mac Jones
After a promising start to his career, the second-year leap many hoped for Mac Jones didn’t come to fruition in 2022. Maybe it was due to Matt Patricia being his offensive coordinator, essentially setting up Jones to fail, but that’s in the past. Bill O’Brien’s presence will hopefully do wonders for Jones, and it’s on the quarterback to make the most of it. After two decades of success, the Patriots are in the pits of the AFC East. All three of the Jets, Bills, and Dolphins are expected to be competitive playoff hopefuls for the foreseeable future, all with franchise quarterbacks. If Mac Jones underwhelms again in 2023, the Patriots could be looking in another direction next offseason.
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- Kyler Murray
Arizona is in a new era with Jonathan Gannon as head coach and Monti Ossenfort running the front office. Yes, each has spoken highly about Kyler Murray as the Cardinals’ franchise quarterback, but at the end of the day, neither owes Kyler any loyalty. The Cardinals aren’t going to be good this year. Their roster lacks talent, poising the Cardinals to have another top draft pick this year. The kicker is, it’s on Kyler to determine if the Cardinals will just be bad or if they will be terrible. If they are bad, finishing around the tenth-worst team in the league, then Kyler’s job is likely intact. If they are horrible and are within striking distance of landing Caleb Williams, Murray’s time in Arizona is over.
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- Jordan Love
Jordan Love is under contract through 2024, but all the weight is on his shoulders as Aaron Rodgers’s successor. After being Rodgers’s understudy since he was picked in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, many anticipate Love to come in and win immediately as a talented roster surrounds him. That might be pouring it on too thick for Love, but this is the NFL, and in a market like Green Bay that’s been accustomed to great quarterback play, any signs that Love may not be the guy could have the Packers looking for second options sooner rather than later.
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- Justin Fields
The expectations have been piled on Justin Fields. Despite the Bears having the worst record in the NFL last season, many expect Justin Fields to take a massive leap in 2023 and show significant improvements. Yes, Justin Fields indeed has shown flashes of greatness, especially with his ability to use his legs, but current GM Ryan Poles didn’t draft him. Like Kyler Murray’s situation, Poles and the Bears owe Fields nothing. Poles has every right to bring in his quarterback to lead his roster. If the Bears stink once again, combined with their added draft capital to move up, Chicago very well could take a top quarterback prospect in the ’24 draft, leaving Fields out to dry if he doesn’t live up to the hype.
- Kirk Cousins
Maybe I’m in the minority, but I’m very low on both Kirk Cousins and the Vikings heading into 2023. Every team in their division should be better this year than they were in 2022, and combined with the amount of narrow and flukish victories the Vikings had last season, they are due to regress. Don’t get me wrong, Kirk Cousins is a solid quarterback in this league, but he isn’t a difference-maker. With 2023 being Cousins’ last season under contract, an underachieving season for the Vikings very well could have Cousins losing out on a massive payday. He’ll be 35 when the 2023 season kicks off, and it’s not like starting quarterback jobs grow on trees, very likely leaving Cousins as a potential odd man out next spring.
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