SI:AM | Taking Stock of NFL Quarterback Battles

A few rookies are still in the running to start Week 1.

Daniels (5) leads a new era in Washington. / Lucas Boland-USA TODAY Sports

In today’s SI:AM:

🐻 Caleb Williams’s potential
😜 College football’s zaniest season
🏎️ Post-break F1 storylines

Who’s starting in Week 1?

The final week of the NFL preseason has arrived, and a few teams have still yet to name a starting quarterback. Let’s check in on the most interesting QB battles around the league.

Washington Commanders

The Commanders put an end to their suspense-less QB competition on Monday, naming rookie Jayden Daniels as their starter for the season opener. Daniels, the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft, seemed destined to be the team’s starter from the moment his name was called on draft night. Technically, he was fighting with veteran Marcus Mariota for the spot, but the job was always Daniels’s to lose.

Daniels saw limited action in the team’s first preseason game against the New York Jets, completing two of his three passes. The highlight was a 42-yard bomb to Dyami Brown. He also scored a three-yard touchdown on a read option. Daniels got more playing time in Saturday’s game against the Miami Dolphins, completing 10 of 12 passes for 78 yards.

“We knew we would get here,” Washington coach Dan Quinn told reporters, “but we were just excited to see how we would. Seeing him hit all the spots, this is a rare competitor. He’s just had a remarkable start to things.”

Las Vegas Raiders

The other quarterback competition decided over the weekend was the Raiders’ job, which went to veteran Gardner Minshew. Aidan O’Connell, who started 10 games for Las Vegas last season, was also in the mix, but coach Antonio Pierce said Sunday that Minshew had won the job.

“We feel like Gardner gives us the best opportunity to get off to a fast start, and that’s what we’re going with,” Pierce said. “We support him, our team’s behind it, our staff’s behind it, our organization’s behind it.”

Minshew had a strong season last year with the Indianapolis Colts filling in for Anthony Richardson after the rookie injured his shoulder. He completed 62.2% of his passes with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 13 starts, good enough to be named to the Pro Bowl as an injury replacement. The Colts went 7–6 in games he started and narrowly missed out on a playoff spot.

The Raiders finished strong last season after Josh McDaniels was fired and Pierce replaced him as interim coach, going 5–4 with Pierce in charge. Ending the year on a high note helped Pierce earn the job on a permanent basis. A stagnant offense was the team’s biggest issue, though. Las Vegas allowed the ninth fewest points per game last year but ranked 23rd in points scored. The Raiders will hope Minshew can spearhead an offensive improvement this season to return to the playoffs.

New England Patriots

The top two picks in this year’s draft (Caleb Williams and Daniels) have already been named their teams’ starting quarterbacks. Drake Maye is hoping to make it three-for-three, but he’s duking it out with Jacoby Brissett in New England.

Patriots coach Jerod Mayo had spent the offseason saying Brissett was most likely to be the starter, but he hasn’t made the official call yet. The fact that Mayo has waited this long to name a starter means that Maye is still in the running, though.

Brissett, 31, saw very limited action last season with the Commanders, throwing just 23 passes in three games, but was serviceable in 11 starts for the Cleveland Browns in 2022. Brissett’s appeal is obvious. He’s an experienced pro who has successfully adapted to new situations throughout his career. Maye is much more athletic than Brissett, giving him the ability to extend plays and allowing the Patriots to add elements like the read option to their playbook.

It might make sense for the Patriots to have Brissett start early in the season during what is shaping up to be a brutal four-game opening stretch. New England has road games against the Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers, as well as a home date against the Seattle Seahawks. Those Jets and Niners games—away from home against two of the best defenses in the league in back-to-back weeks—would be particularly daunting for a rookie quarterback.

Denver Broncos

The other rookie quarterback with a chance to start in Week 1 is the one many people didn’t expect to be selected in the top half of the first round. Bo Nix, the former Oregon Ducks signal caller, was a surprise pick at No. 12 but appears to be the frontrunner for the Broncos job.

The Denver QB competition is theoretically a three-way battle between Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson, but Wilson seems like a distant third. Stidham’s primary advantage is that he spent last year with the Broncos and is therefore familiar with coach Sean Payton’s offensive scheme. He has thrown two picks this preseason, though. Nix, meanwhile, has been lights out in exhibition play. He has thrown for 205 yards on 23-of-30 passing (76.7%) with two touchdowns and no picks. 

Payton has yet to name a starter, but Nix’s strong play in the preseason has made him the obvious choice. All three quarterbacks will have one last chance to prove themselves in Sunday’s preseason finale at home against the Arizona Cardinals. 

Chicago has high hopes for No. 1 pick Williams (18). / Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports

The best of Sports Illustrated

• Speaking of rookie quarterbacks, Albert Breer wrote about how Caleb Williams is already showing his high potential.

• Today’s Digital Cover is our big preview of what could be college football’s zaniest season yet.

• Zach Koons breaks down the five biggest storylines to watch as Formula One returns from its summer break. (This is how I learned that F1 has a summer break.)

• Tom Dierberger got to the bottom of some of the weirdest NBA nicknames.

• Steve Kerr is reportedly expected to step down as head coach of the U.S. men’s basketball team.

• Tua Tagovailoa didn’t mince words when talking about his former coach, Brian Flores.

• Big news for millennials: The Backyard Sports video game franchise is returning.

The top five…

… plays in baseball last night: 

5. Shohei Ohtani’s agility to avoid a tag and get out of a rundown.
4. Bobby Witt Jr.’s slick sliding play.
3. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s 430-foot homer.
2. Yainer Diaz’s walk-off homer for the Astros.
1. Francisco Álvarez’s walk-off homer and electric celebration.