Last Sunday’s duel between Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold was a thing of beauty for anyone who appreciates second (or third or fourth or fifth) chances.
This was the first game in NFL history where opposing quarterbacks each passed for 325 yards while completing 80% of their attempts. They nearly combined for as many touchdowns (six) as incompletions (10) and looked every bit like the franchise quarterbacks they were drafted to be.
It was a game that nobody would have ever thought was possible back in 2022 when both careers were on the verge of destruction as they competed for the Panthers’ quarterback job.
Baker Mayfield gives funny response when asked if he, Sam Darnold reminisce about ‘good old’ Panthers days
Shanna McCarriston
This miracle game should be a giant billboard to the rest of the league that says, “Take a flier on failed first-round quarterbacks.” It’s working for several teams right now, as half of the NFL’s winning teams in 2025 have a former first-round pick at quarterback who is not with their original team. The group of Mayfield, Darnold, Jared Goff, Daniel Jones and Mac Jones is proving that there’s an alternative way to winning if you’re unable to find the NFL’s holy grail by drafting a franchise cornerstone like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson or Jayden Daniels.
Taking a chance on “failed” blue-chip quarterbacks is proving to be low risk with potentially high reward in recent seasons. Mac Jones cost the 49ers $7 million over two years. The Colts got Daniel Jones on a one-year deal worth $14 million. The Buccaneers originally gave Mayfield a one-year, prove-it deal with $4 million in 2023. The Vikings gave Darnold a one-year deal worth $10 million to back up J.J. McCarthy last year (before he landed a big deal with Seattle). And while the Lions inherited Goff’s big contract in 2021, they also acquired two first-round picks that helped turn Detroit into the juggernaut it is today.
This might be the best season for quarterback reboots ever. While first-round quarterbacks have performed OK for their draft teams this year (let’s call them homegrown), it’s the former first-rounders who have moved on from their draft teams (non-homegrown QBs) who are thriving for the most part. That group has a 28-17 record this year. Collectively, they have a better win percentage, completion rate, yards per attempt and touchdown-to-interception ratio than homegrown first-round quarterbacks. The last time that happened was 2015.
First-round quarterbacks this season
W-L
40-39-1
28-17
Comp pct
65%
68%
Yards per attempt
6.8
7.6
TD-INT ratio
2.5
3.3
The 2025 group of non-homegrown first-round passers ranks in the top five in all those categories when comparing all other seasons since 1970. In fact, the first-round QB retreads have never had a better season in terms of completion rate (68%) and TD-to-INT ratio (3.3) than they’re having right now.
In other words, the NFL’s quarterback “transfer portal” is so hot right now.
It’s absolutely a product of today’s NFL economy where the quarterback churn is all too real. Impatient franchises are chewing up and spitting out blue-chip prospects with regularity. Roughly 40% of first-round quarterbacks drafted in the 2010s got a second contract with their draft team. A criminally low rate. Those quarterbacks averaged 55 starts with their draft teams (down from 81 by first-rounders drafted in the 2000s).
It’s more sink-or-swim than it’s ever been for quarterbacks, which also creates a new edge for NFL teams to look into. The best time to win a Super Bowl may be with a quarterback on a cheap rookie deal, but winning a gamble on a low-risk, failed first-round quarterback also has its team-building advantages. The NFL is a copycat league, so I’m interested to see who the next quarterback rebound is (maybe Bryce Young or Anthony Richardson if they fizzle out with their current franchises).
Until then, let’s rank the current starting quarterbacks part of the NFL’s historic “second chance U”. I’m talking about highly drafted quarterbacks who hit the “Transfer Portal” and not by choice. Sorry, Matthew Stafford, but you’re out of this exercise. After all, the Rams paid a lot to get you.
The criteria were pretty simple. I’m looking at quarterbacks with big expectations who were canned by their original teams. Among those guys, who have exceeded expectations the most with their second (or third, or fourth) chance?
NFL QB ‘transfer portal’ rankings
