Ranking the NFL team quarterback situations going into 2017

New York's quarterback situation heading into the season is almost unimaginable. Soon-to-be 38-year-old Josh McCown steps in as the starter. McCown is 2-20 as a starter between Tampa Bay and Cleveland over the last three seasons with multiple nasty injuries. Bryce Petty showed nothing promising in his time on the field last season, while Christian Hackenberg was a surprising second-round overdraft in 2016 who failed to find the field in his rookie season. It's going to be a long year for Jets fans.

Jared Goff was selected first overall by the Rams last year, but he looked absolutely lost when he found the field. The organization hired offensive guru Sean McVay to develop him, but it remains to be seen if Goff is a true franchise quarterback. Backup Sean Mannion also has limited experience.

Cleveland acquired Brock Osweiler in the offseason to compete with 2016 draftee Cody Kessler. Osweiler was horrendous for the Texans last year, while Kessler showed flashes in Cleveland but was usually running for his life. Former Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer is a project selected in the second round of the draft.

Veteran Brian Hoyer has a long history of injuries and isn't going to carry a team on his back, but he was surprisingly effective for the Bears last season. He completed 67 percent of his passes and had 6/0 TD/INT in six games. Matt Barkley also showed flashes while playing in Chicago, while the team likes former Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard, selecting him in the third round of the draft.

After the Brock Osweiler experiment went array, the Texas drafted Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson in the first round. He will battle Tom Savage for the starting job in training camp. If nothing else, the quarterback play couldn't be much worse than last season.

The Jags are giving Blake Bortles one last chance to show he's the team's long-term answer. He's coming off a terrible 3-13 season in which he completed less than 59 percent of his passes for the third consecutive year. Chad Henne is one of the more experienced backups in the league, but it says a lot that he hasn't been able to overtake Bortles.

No one truly knows the ability Chicago has at quarterback going into 2017. Mike Glennon was signed for big money after sitting for two years in Tampa Bay, and Mitchell Trubisky was selected with the second overall pick in the draft. The Bears hope they have their long-term answer between the two signal callers, but we'll have to wait and see.

2016 first-round pick Paxton Lynch and the surprising Trevor Siemian will battle for the starting job in training camp. Neither player was overly impressive for the Broncos last season, and the jury is out whether either is the long-term answer for Denver. Bringing former offensive coordinator Mike McCoy back after his head coaching stint in San Diego could help.

It doesn't exactly seem like the Bills trust Tyrod Taylor, yet they didn't select a quarterback early in the 2017 draft when they had an opportunity. "T-Mobile" has been very efficient over the last two seasons as the team's starter, with 37/12 TD/INT. Youngsters Cardale Jones and Nathan Peterman add potential, but they're probably not great options if Taylor gets hurt this year.

The Cardinals were rumored to be interested in drafting a quarterback this year knowing that Carson Palmer is approaching the end of his career. He struggled late in 2015, and those struggles carried over into last season with a QBR that declined by nearly 20 points. Palmer will turn 38 in December, and he doesn't have great depth behind him with Drew Stanton and Blaine Gabbert.

Joe Flacco is a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, but he's been mediocre on the field over the last two years. Last year he had an uninspiring 20/15 TD/INT in the team's 8-8 season. Strong-armed Ryan Mallett remains the backup and hasn't proven himself to be much more.

Carson Wentz showed flashes in his rookie season, but he waned down the stretch for the Eagles. He had only two more touchdowns than interceptions, and it's still early to definitively say that he's going to be a winner in the NFL. The team brought back veteran Nick Foles to back him up. Foles was tremendous under Chip Kelly in 2013 but has struggled since then.

Sam Bradford played admirably after being acquired from Philadelphia before Week 1 last year, leading the NFL in completion percentage. His injury history is still long and should leave Vikings fans nervous if Teddy Bridgewater isn't ready to return from his catastrophic knee injury this year. Case Keenum does bring experience in the Minnesota offense from his days with the Rams.

The decline in Eli Manning's play last season was apparent, but the Giants are hoping he can rebound at age 36. Manning had only 26 touchdown passes, his lowest total since 2013. Adding Geno Smith and Davis Webb to back him up doesn't reassure Giants fans very much.

Marcus Mariota showed major growth in his sophomore season with 26/9 TD/INT while also experiencing improved line play. Lower-body injuries have hindered him in consecutive seasons, which is a concern. Tennessee has veteran Matt Cassel backing him up, which could be worse.

Matthew Stafford was injury-prone early in his career, but he hasn't missed a game over the last six seasons. He's taken his game to a new level over the last two seasons in conjunction with the promotion of offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter. Detroit would be in trouble if Stafford gets hurt, with a backup competition between youngsters Jake Rudock and Brad Kaaya.

Philip Rivers continues to play at a high level for the Chargers, but he'll turn 36 late this season and has led the league in picks two of the last three years. The Chargers didn't address the future of the position this offseason and would be in trouble if Kellen Clemens is called on.

Dallas lucked out by finding Dak Prescott in the fourth round of the draft last season. He was ultra-efficient in his rookie season, with 23/4 TD/INT and completing nearly 68 percent of his passes. The issue now, as it was in 2015, is the team's lack of depth with Kellen Moore currently the top backup option.

Starter Ryan Tannehill picked up his play last season with a more conservative offense and the arrival of head coach Adam Gase. He went 8-5 in 13 starts, completing better than 67 percent of his passes with 7.7 yards per attempt. When Tannehill got hurt late in the year, backup Matt Moore proved once again that he's one of the top backups in football.

Winston is coming along as one of the best young quarterbacks in football, producing a solid QBR near 65 last season. The Bucs couldn't afford to keep Mike Glennon around, but veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick stands as a relatively solid backup option just one year removed from an excellent season with the Jets.

Alex Smith has been a consistent winner during his time in K.C., if nothing else. He's an impressive 41-20 record as a starter over four seasons during the regular season, but the Chiefs are already planning for his departure by trading up for Patrick Mahomes in the draft. A raw talent, Mahomes will likely ascend above Tyler Bray on the depth chart with a good preseason.

After playing only seven games due to injuries in 2015, Andrew Luck started 15 games last season and had a fine year. It was still far off the league-leading 40 touchdowns he produced in 2014, and the Colts' backup quarterback issues remain. Scott Tolzien is the current option, which isn't all that reassuring with 2/7 TD/INT during his career.

Derek Carr had a breakout 2016 season before fracturing his leg, and then Oakland's lack of quarterback depth was exposed. Former Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook will battle with former Buffalo first-round pick EJ Manuel for the No. 2 job during the preseason, but neither player should be reassuring.

Andy Dalton had a breakout 2015 season before a thumb injury allowed backup A.J. McCarron to find the field. With major losses at wide receiver last year, Dalton wasn't quite as efficient, with a QBR that dropped 17 points. At least Cincinnati knows it has a viable fallback plan with McCarron.

Offseason retirement talk has become an annual tradition for Ben Roethlisberger, and the likely future Hall of Famer hasn't been the most durable player with time missed in each of the last two seasons. That's a potential issue given the mediocre play of backup Landry Jones during that time, so it's not surprising that the Steelers used a late-round draft pick on Joshua Dobbs.

After two highly productive seasons, Kirk Cousins has established himself at least in the second tier of NFL quarterbacks. Major turnover at wide receiver could hinder his play in 2017, however. Backup Colt McCoy has plenty of experience and completed better than 71 percent of his passes in four starts in 2014.

Russell Wilson has yet to miss a game during his NFL career, though he did struggle while playing through knee issues last season. He has made three Pro Bowls in five seasons, contributing plenty to a well-rounded team. Trevone Boykin enters his second season as Seattle's backup, and it remains to be seen where he ranks among No. 2 signal callers.

Cam Newton struggled last season with the fall of his offensive line, and he's coming off of offseason shoulder surgery. Despite completing less than 53 percent of his passes last year, Newton is just one year removed from winning MVP. Derek Anderson has also proved consistently capable when he has found the field for the Panthers.

Drew Brees continues to play at a Pro Bowl level, yet there's concern of a decline entering his age 38 season. The Saints did insure the position this offseason by bringing back Chase Daniel, considered one of the top backups in the game over the last several years.

There's a strong argument to be made that Aaron Rodgers is still the best quarterback going. Even if that's the case, backup Brett Hundley is completely unproven, and Rodgers missed significant time as recently as 2013.

Matt Ryan is coming off an MVP season, and he's missed only two games in his nine-year career. That's a good thing because backup Matt Schaub hasn't found the field regularly in a while and has struggled when he has played.

Start with arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history (Tom Brady), then add a backup in Jimmy Garoppolo who proved himself capable as a starter last season, going 2-0 while Brady was serving a suspension. If there is any concern, it's Brady entering his age 40 season.