When the L.A. Rams host the Indianapolis Colts this weekend, it will feature a quarterback who is on a Hall of Fame trajectory and Matthew Stafford will be there too. We often compare quarterback reclamation projects to previous quarterback reclamation projects (“he’s the new Geno Smith”; “he’s the new Sam Darnold”) but Jones’s situation is a little more unique because some are calling him the new Saquon Barkley.
Memo to Malik Nabers: ♫In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are stepped on, don’t
lose your touch like Beckham ♫
Jones enters Week 4 ranked first in Net Yards per Pass (8.84), first adjusted NY/A (9.51), second in Y/A (9.3), fourth in completion rate (71.6), first in success rate (61.6%), third in passer rating (111.7), and seventh in QBR (80.8). Most importantly for Jones, he has no interceptions, no turnovers, and he’s only been sacked twice. That’s a sack rate of 2.22%, lowest in the NFL.
During his last three seasons with the Giants, Jones had a sack rate of 8.53%, 15.79%, and 7.84%. With good protection, Jones is thriving like the quarterback who New York thought he would be when they picked him sixth overall in the 2019 draft. How many “QB Busts” are players who are having their careers ruined by a busted franchise? It’s something that Stafford can also relate to, albeit on a slightly different scale.
Rams-Colts will both feature quarterbacks who were high draft picks of other teams and didn’t find the type of success that they were seeking until they were finally able to leave for greener pastures.
Stafford was a star quarterback on the Lions, but suffered through a 74-90-1 career record, 0-3 playoff record, and only one Pro Bowl nod in 12 years largely because he was playing in Detroit. The Lions have managed to clean up their reputation since trading Stafford, but we’ll never know how his career may have changed for the better if he stuck around for Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes to find out.
Instead he went to the Rams, an organization with a lot of historical success and a recent Super Bowl appearance under Sean McVay, and Stafford immediately went 4-0 in the playoffs.
His change of scenery didn’t make him a better passer, but it did make him a more successful player.
But Jones falls into the more obvious category of a “change of scenery” QB because his career was all but over with the New York Giants. It was over.
With Brian Daboll as the head coach in 2022, Jones led the NFL in interception rate (1.1%) and went 9-6-1 as a starter, reaching the playoffs and even winning a playoff game. Afraid of losing him as a free agent because they had not picked up his fifth-year option, the Giants overpaid him and eventually this decision caused Barkley to leave because New York didn’t prioritize his extension instead.
That 2023 season was the year that Jones was sacked on an absurd 15.8% of his dropbacks in six games, as the Giants went 1-5 in his starts and he missed the rest of the year. Jones returned in 2024, largely because his contract forced the two sides to reconcile, but he was benched and then eventually released after 10 games. Jones, somewhat ironically, found himself backing up Sam Darnold in Minnesota, last year’s major reclamation story and QB thriving from a change of scenery.
Darnold is now with the Seahawks, many teams dismissive of his success with the Vikings last year as a fluke, but is still among the NFL’s league leaders in a lot of categories for a 2-1 team. Darnold is third in Y/A and has the highest PFF grade.
Of the NFL’s 16 teams with a winning record this week, seven of them have a starting quarterback who changed teams. That’s almost half.
Of the NFL’s 16 teams that have a losing record after three weeks, just four of them have a QB who changed teams.
Do you believe that there are a lot of other “busts” out there at the QB position who simply need a change of scenery to show the fans what they’re really made of? Is Daniel Jones legit or is this merely a three-game fluke? Will the Colts compete for the AFC’s number one seed or do you see a downfall in their future? What about L.A.‘s division rival in Seattle, will Sam Darnold be a good QB this season or eventually find himself back on the market?
Let us know in the comments what you think of Jones, Darnold, and the NFL’s change of scenery QBs.
The NFL’s 11 teams with a change of scenery QB:
- 3-0 Colts, Daniel Jones
- 3-0 Buccaneers, Baker Mayfield
- 2-1 Vikings, Carson Wentz*
- 2-1 Lions, Jared Goff
- 2-1 Steelers, Aaron Rodgers
- 2-1 Rams, Matthew Stafford
- 2-1 Seahawks, Sam Darnold
- 1-2 Browns, Joe Flacco
- 1-2 Raiders, Geno Smith
- 0-3 Jets, Justin Fields/Tyrod Taylor*
- 0-3 Giants, Russell Wilson*
*Wentz filling in for injured J.J. McCarthy but might be an upgrade
*Fields injured but Taylor also might be better
*Wilson now benched for Jaxson Dart
Of course players like Rodgers, Stafford, and Smith are in different stages of their career now. They didn’t move as busts, but these are the veterans who have changed teams, like Stafford. That leaves 21 teams that are starting a quarterback who they drafted, or in the case of Brock Purdy, signed after the draft.
Which QB “busts” might need a change of scenery next:
- Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins
- Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars
- Bryce Young, Panthers
- Kyler Murray, Cardinals
- Anthony Richardson, Colts
- Will Levis, Titans
- Mac Jones, 49ers
- Trey Lance, Chargers
Lawrence, Young, and Murray might be better than the rest of the list, but if they struggle this season any of them could be on the move in 2026, similar to Goff being traded to the Lions in 2021.
Tua is definitely in trouble and he might not have the arm for the NFL. Richardson may not have the ability to play quarterback at all, but will a team bet on his athletic traits again? Levis is just bad. So are the Titans though, could he be serviceable somewhere like Gardner Minshew lite? Lance has never proven anything in the league but he’s got a really good coaching staff around him now and he looked decent in the preseason.
Mac Jones is probably the closest example we have right now to compare to Daniel Jones and Sam Darnold. He’s going through the Shanahan system, he’s starting in place of Purdy, he’s leading the 49ers on game-winning drives. Jones might get his shot at a starter role in 2026.
Do you see any of these busts getting a second chance and running with it?
Sometimes when you need a chance, all you really need is a change.
