This 2025-26 NFL season kicks off in about 12 hours. We have a handful of quarterbacks whose play over the next 10-18 weeks will make or break their careers.
Yes, we have all seen those magical stories where a quarterback gets a second chance elsewhere and it all works out. Maybe that happens to some of or all of these guys.
However the current teams these quarterbacks play for, the fanbase’s patience is wearing thin. Let’s look at 5 quarterbacks whose career will be defined by this season.
Kyler Murray
This may be the biggest name of this list. The Arizona Cardinals were 10-1 a few seasons ago with Murray running the show. Then everything just, well, fell apart. Murray after that season knew he got lucky (my opinion) and forced the organization to pay him massive amounts of money.
Then shortly after the organization sided with the quarterback who they paid all that money too and fired the coaching staff responsible for that magical season.
Murray has been called out for intensive video gaming instead of preparing for games. Fans have been questioning his dedication for the last few seasons.
The Cardinals have rebuilt that team around Murray, bringing in a defensive minded coach to build a great culture and defense. They have drafted weapons on offense giving him a great number one target, running back, and most recently the highest paid tight end in the history of the NFL.
If the Arizona Cardinals are not at least making a run at a wild card spot come December, this may be the last we see of Kyler Murray in a Cardinals uniform.
Tua Tagovailoa
The story of the Miami Dolphins and more importantly Tua Tagovailoa is as intricate as a fiction novel. One on hand the man is lucky to be healthy enough to walk. On the other hand, the success that seemed inevitable has since become a distant dream.
The Miami Dolphins were the next team up in certain circles mind. Young, hot, offensive minded head coach paired with a young, talented quarterback surrounded by some of the best weapons a team could have.
The coach is still there, wearing the same watch which sits on the same time. The weapons at wide out are still there in Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddle. They even drafted one of the hottest running backs in the draft this past season to relive some of the offense from Tua.
Who knows where Tua ends up if the Dolphins have another up and down season ultimately missing the playoffs again. This team and Tua need to figure out how to play in cold weather come winter time.
Trevor Lawrence
Jacksonville has had a rough go the last few seasons. There have been splashes of wonder and excitement as well as head dropping moment of heartache.
The Jaguars have changed general manager and head coach over the off season looking to change their luck. If things remain to stay the same, the quarterback once on top of the world will probably be next to go.
This feels like a playoff or bust scenario for the Jaguars. Usually general managers and head coaches will do anything to reflect the blame. We have all heard this line 1,000 times; “this isn’t my quarterback, let me draft a guy and coach em up, I promise we’ll be great!”. Rarely works out in the end, yet, it happens every season.
Trevor Lawrence has one last chance to be the Jaguars man moving forward and this season is it.
Dak Prescott
This one is not as bad as the others for many reasons. The Dallas Cowboys have been what they are right now for decades, and nobody seems to care except for the fans.
Every other season they are decent enough to lose a wildcard or first round playoff game in ugly fashion. Which results in the same team coming back the next season to miss the playoffs. Then coming back again to lose in the wild card or the first round.
We watched Dallas stick it out with Tony Romo for far too long, and now it seems they are going to do the same with Prescott. For a culture that talks only about winning, the Dallas Cowboys have done very little of that in the last 30 years.
However, I think that this season could be different, I think we finally see the noise get too loud from the outside. This fanbase is desperate for winning, can Dak Prescott give that to them? Or will he be looking for his second chance start come April?
Bryce Young
Bryce Young may be the one quarterback on this list that gets another season no matter what happens this season. He has shown flashes of being a good NFL quarterback last season. And although things look bleak, this Carolina Panthers team doesn’t have any expectations on them of being good.
Young is entering his third season as a starter, and as a former number one overall pick, it is still too early to call him a bust (even though I called it 10 months before he was drafted). Especially in Carolina, where things have been rocky in every aspect.
We watched CJ Stroud take a struggling Texans team and make them a force while Bryce Young has done, well, not that at all.
While the Panthers have problems bigger than Young at quarterback, I’ve seen this movie before. If the Panthers end up in one of those top 4 picks again this season, they might spend it on a quarterback to replace him.
Rowan Donaghey, Sports Reporter and Betting Analyst for Stare Down Sports. You can follow him on X via @RowanDonaghey
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Photo Curtesy of @JimMasiano on X
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