But as this offseason gets under way, one emerging phenomenon looks set to extinguish those hopes for many NFL teams. A staggering number of them are in the market for a new quarterback this year—except there isn’t the supply to match.

Teams desperate for an upgrade at the game’s most important position will have to sift through a draft class that’s considered one of the weakest in years, along with a bunch of veterans who have only become free agents because they’re aging, gimpy or a long way from a reliable investment.

It’s a scenario that underscores one of the most intractable rules of NFL teambuilding. Every year, there are 32 starting quarterback jobs—even if there aren’t always 32 qualified candidates to fill them. And this offseason happens to feature a nasty combination: at the same moment when an unusually high number of teams are seeking to rebuild around a new quarterback, the reservoir of talent seems to have run dry.

“Sometimes it’s not just if you’re bad, it’s when you’re bad,” NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. “There’s just not as many of those options this year.”

No team was worse last year than the Tennessee Titans, whose 3-14 record earned them the No. 1 pick in the draft. Typically it would be a no-brainer for a team in their situation to spend that selection on a quarterback.

But just one year after five quarterbacks went in the top-10—including with each of the first three picks—the choices available this April are considered much thinner. Most projections show only two passers, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward, going off the board early, and they both come with major question marks. That’s why it wouldn’t be surprising to see Tennessee go in another direction entirely and punt on filling their hole under center.

Cam Ward is one of the top quarterback prospects in this year’s NFL draft. Photo: Adrian Kraus/Associated Press

“I’m coming into this with an open mind,” said new Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi. “We’re going to evaluate every situation and make the best decision for us with that pick.”

The problem that the Titans and so many other teams face is that there’s a dearth of desirable alternatives. The options available outside the draft are mostly guys who flopped on other teams or are old enough that they’re merely Band-Aids.

The premier veteran on the market is Sam Darnold, whose roller-coaster career has taken him from bust to backup to now the prize of this free-agent class. A former No. 3 overall pick by the Jets in 2018, Darnold bounced around the league before turning in a career year with the Vikings in 2024. He threw 35 touchdown passes and led Minnesota to a 14-3 record and is set to hit free agency only because the team used its first-round pick last year on Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who got hurt before last season began.

That performance has put Darnold in position for a potential nine-figure payday. Though his poor finish could cause some teams to think twice, he’s still just 27 years old—and the beneficiary of a market that could create a bidding war for his services, all because the other choices are so underwhelming.

Sam Darnold led the Minnesota Vikings to a 14-3 record but he struggled at the end of the season. Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Some teams will have to settle for trying to find the next Darnold by looking at other former top picks who might make good on their potential in a new home. That includes Daniel Jones and Justin Fields, who have both won fewer than 36% of their career starts, but could now get another shot due to the scarcity of quality passers. Jones was cut by the Giants midseason and landed as a backup in Minnesota while Fields—who began his career in Chicago—started for the Steelers before losing his job to Russell Wilson.

Wilson, 36, falls into another bucket of free-agent quarterbacks that teams will have to consider: aging veterans who may have another year of quality play left in them—or may definitely not.

At this stage of his career, Wilson is no longer the star who won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks, but he showed he still has some of his deep-ball magic with Pittsburgh. At the same time, his finish to the year—five straight losses, including one in the playoffs—was hardly inspiring.

Russell Wilson led the Pittsburgh Steelers to the playoffs but had five straight losses to end the season. Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images

The biggest wild-card in this category is none other than Aaron Rodgers, whose two-year stint with the Jets was a flamboyant disaster. After a year lost to an Achilles injury, Rodgers returned and led the team to a meager 5-12 record and was promptly shown the door.

Should he choose to continue playing, a quarterback-starved franchise might have no better option than hoping that a 41-year-old who is now several years removed from his MVP-level peak could rekindle some of his old magic.

The 36-year-old Kirk Cousins has a similar profile. The Falcons shelled out for him last year, only to unceremoniously bench him for rookie Michael Penix Jr. late in the season. Cousins isn’t technically a free agent, but he’s widely expected to suit up elsewhere next season after throwing nine interceptions and only one touchdown in his final five games.

None of these quarterbacks sounds especially alluring, but that doesn’t change the number of teams that are searching for a new one. The Jets, Steelers, Browns, Titans, Raiders and Giants are just some of the franchises in the market.

This year, they may not be enamored with any of the options they find.