Stunning early NFL QB injury wave leaves up to 6 teams turning to backups

The NFL hasn’t seen an early-season injury epidemic at quarterback quite like this in a long time.

BY JOSH DUBOW, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sep 23, 2026, 11:17 AM Updated: 11:27 am

Seattle Seahawks Drew Lock NFL backup QB...

Drew Lock of the Seattle Seahawks prepares to snap the football at State Farm Stadium on Sept. 20, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

(Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The NFL hasn’t seen an early-season injury epidemic at quarterback quite like this in a long time.

A QB for another upcoming Seattle Seahawks opponent injured

With Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Jaxson Dart all getting hurt in Week 2, there’s a good chance six teams will have been forced to go with a backup quarterback as the starter because of injuries by the time the games this week are finished.

This will be the first time since at least 2000 that has happened within the first three games of a season. There have been four other seasons in that time when at least six teams used multiple starting quarterbacks within the first three games, according to Sportradar, including a record-tying seven in both 2019 and 2010. There were also six in both 2001 and 2015, but the changes in all four of those seasons also included benchings and rookies getting elevated.

The spate of quarterback injuries started when Super Bowl winner Sam Darnold injured his hip on the first drive of the season for the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 9. Drew Lock replaced him and has helped Seattle get off to a 2-0 start.

One day later, Tua Tagovailoa left practice for Atlanta with an oblique injury, forcing the Falcons to turn to Cooper Rush as their starter for the first two games. Michael Penix, coming back from a knee injury last season, is set to start Thursday night against Green Bay.

Minnesota’s Kyler Murray then got a concussion in the first quarter of the opener for the Vikings, opening the door for Carson Wentz to come in and finish that game and start Week 2. Murray will be back as the starter this week.

The issue only got worse this past week with Williams injuring his hamstring late in Chicago’s loss to the Vikings, Daniels going down with a serious left elbow injury for Washington against Dallas, and Dart injuring his knee Monday night when the Giants lost to the Los Angeles Rams.

Daniels has already been ruled out this week, with Marcus Mariota set to start for the Commanders against the Seahawks on Sunday. Jameis Winston is expected to start for New York on Sunday, while Williams won’t practice this week but hasn’t been ruled out for Monday night against Philadelphia. Backup QB Tyson Bagent went into concussion protocol, possibly setting the stage for third-stringer Case Keenum to get his first regular-season action since 2023.

All the injuries have been in the NFC, making this the first time since the merger in 1970 that six teams in the same conference used multiple starting quarterbacks for any reason within the first three games of a season.

Despite the early quarterback carousel, one thing has been missing. No drafted rookie has taken a snap at QB all year, with Atlanta’s undrafted Jack Strand the only rookie to see the field so far.

This is just the fourth time in the common draft era starting in 1967 that no drafted rookie quarterback saw the field during the first two games. It also happened in 2007, 2000 and 1991.