Best NFL Backup Quarterbacks of All-Time

Some say it’s the best job in the U.S. Those in the position will tell you otherwise. Being a backup quarterback in the NFL is no joke. You are always one play away from one of the toughest jobs in the U.S. Many have failed, but there are a handful who have excelled as an NFL backup quarterback.

We’ll take a look at the best ever to do it as well as a few who are enjoying their role as the backup QB in 2025. For some, being an NFL backup quarterback can be very lucrative.

The Best Ever?

It’s likely that most readers have never heard of possibly the greatest backup quarterback job in NFL history. If you know anything about NFL history, you probably have heard of the 1972 Miami Dolphins. They are, still to this day, the only team to win every game of an entire season and postseason. 

The 1972 Dolphins went 14-0 during the regular season. They won their first playoff game, the AFC Championship game, and Super Bowl VII to complete a perfect 17-0 season. And they did it with a backup quarterback.

Bob Griese was the Miami starting quarterback in 1972 and he led the Dolphins to three consecutive Super Bowls. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990 and is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks of the 1970s.

Early in the 1972 season in the fifth game, Griese was tackled by another Hall of Famer, Deacon Jones, in a game against the San Diego Chargers. Griese suffered a broken leg and dislocated ankle.

The Dolphins went to the waiver wire and pulled one of the greatest deals in history. Don Shula, the Miami head coach, had come from Baltimore (back then they were the Colts) and decided to claim his former QB Earl Morrall off waivers. 

Morrall would go on to start 11 games – nine in the regular season and two in the playoffs – before Griese was able to come back and start … in the Super Bowl. Regardless, Morrall went unbeaten at 11-0 that season, one of the most memorable in all of NFL history. 

As a side note, Earl Morrall was paid $90,000 (the equivalent of about $700K now) in 1972 to be the Dolphins backup quarterback. It was considered a pretty high salary for a No. 2 QB.

Or Is It Nick Foles?

In 2013, Nick Foles was making $520K as the Philadelphia Eagles backup quarterback. He was forced into action, relieving Michael Vick. He would tie an NFL record with seven touchdown passes in a single game and end the season with a 27-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio. 

After stints with the Rams and Chiefs, Foles found his way back to Philadelphia where he would serve as the backup to rookie Carson Wentz. This time around, though, Foles was a $4 million backup. When Wentz tore an ACL in December of 2017, Foles stepped in and promptly led the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory. 

Side note: Two years later in 2019, the Jacksonville Jaguars paid Foles $30 million to be their starter. He broke his clavicle in Week 1 and only started four games.

Recent Best Backup QBs

More recently in the NFL, guys like Brian Hoyer and Josh McCown had long careers serving as a No. 2 quarterback for multiple teams. Oftentimes, quarterbacks are able to learn offensive systems quickly which makes them a hot commodity in the backup QB market. Both Hoyer and McCown were able to utilize not only their physical talents, but their brains too and parlay those into long NFL careers.

Hoyer played 15 seasons and started games for eight different NFL franchises. Some of his most memorable work came in Cleveland where he went 10-6 as a starter over the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Then, he became the backup for Johnny “Football,” Johnny Manziel. Hoyer also had a spell in Houston where he stepped in for Ryan Mallett and played a role in the Texans winning the AFC South title in 2015.

McCown played even longer than Hoyer – 19 years to be exact. He’s actually still in the NFL. He’s the Minnesota Vikings QB coach helping to mentor a young JJ McCarthy. McCown played for nine different teams. In 2013, he backed up Jay Cutler in Chicago and produced three straight 300-yard games in his relief. Those wins kept the Bears in the playoff race. McCown retired in 2019.

Getting Paid

As mentioned, Morrall was paid what was considered too much in 1972 to be the Dolphins backup quarterback. It was well worth the investment though. A number of teams will pay for a quality backup QB, because you never know when you’re going to need one. In Week 3 of this NFL season, five backups will start.

• Carson Wentz, Minnesota Vikings
• Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals
• Mac Jones, San Francisco 49ers
• Tyrod Taylor, New York Jets
• Marcus Mariota, Washington Commanders

Mariota just learned he would start late this week. Starter Jayden Daniels had an MRI that shows his knee injury isn’t serious, but he wasn’t able to practice this week. Mariota is one of the higher paid backups in the league right now with a 2025 base salary of $8 million. 

Anthony Richardson, who was beaten out by free agent signee Daniel Jones, is now a high-paid backup making $8.5 million this season. He is not the highest paid backup QB in the NFL though. 

That honor belongs to Atlanta’s Kirk Cousins. Cousins was the starter until late last season when he was replaced by rookie Michael Penix Jr. Penix is the starter this season as well which makes Cousins, who signed a four-year, $180 million deal with the Falcons, the league’s highest paid backup. Cousins’ salary in 2025 is a cool $27.5 million.

Best Backup Performances

We would be remiss if we didn’t mention a few of the best performances in NFL history by backup quarterbacks. What Morrall did in 1972 was simply amazing, but there have been other single-game performances just as great.

The first regular black starting QB in the NFL, James Harris was the Rams backup in 1976 and led Los Angeles to a shootout win over Miami that season. He threw for 436 yards nad four touchdowns that day.

Don Strock played the role of Miami Dolphins backup quarterback for 15 years. In 1981, Strock came off the bench to lead one of the most frustrating comebacks of all time. Miami trailed the San Diego Chargers 24-0. Strock threw for 401 yards and four touchdowns, to bring the Dolphins back within striking distance. Unfortunately, the Chargers would advance in the playoffs with a 38-35 victory.

Possibly the greatest comeback victory in the history of the NFL was led by a Bills backup quarterback named Frank Reich. Reich would go on to a career as a coach in the NFL and win a Super Bowl with the Eagles. He’s currently the interim head coach at Stanford.

In 1992, he was Hall of Famer Jim Kelly’s backup. In a wild card game rematch with the Houston Oilers, Reich entered the game with the Bills trailing 35-3. He would throw for 289 yards and lead five touchdown drives, four of which culminated with TD passes from Reich. Buffalo went on to win the game 41-35 in the largest postseason comeback in NFL history.

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