National Football League

Predicting NFC West starting QBs in 2023

Updated Feb. 3, 2023 4:07 p.m. ET

Only one player in the NFC West managed to take every snap at quarterback for their team.

That's right, Geno Smith of the Seattle Seahawks played all 18 games, including the postseason, in his first year as a full-time starter since the 2014.

The NFC West division title winners, the San Francisco 49ers, used four different quarterbacks on their way to the NFC title game.

The defending Super Bowl champs, the Los Angeles Rams also used four different quarterbacks, including a late-season pickup of Baker Mayfield.

And the Arizona Cardinals, with Kyler Murray finishing the season with a season-ending ACL knee injury, also used four different players at quarterback. Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingbury was subsequently let go at the end of the year.

League-wide, 69 players made starts at quarterback, the most during a non-strike year in the NFL.

The health of quarterbacks in the NFC West during the offseason will be a main storyline as we move toward training camp. But let's take a shot at predicting who will be the starting quarterbacks for each team in the division for 2023.

Arizona Cardinals

Kyler Murray had surgery to repair the torn ACL in his right knee last month, and has started rehabilitation. ACL knee surgeries generally are 9-12 month recoveries, which means it's unlikely that Murray will be healthy enough to start the regular season.

Further, Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell is still in the process of a long, exhaustive search for his next head coach.

Backup quarterback Colt McCoy remains on the roster and could be an option to start the year at quarterback. However, new general manager Monti Ossenfort has some familiarity with Jacoby Brissett from his time with the New England Patriots when the North Carolina State product served as a backup for Tom Brady. Ossenfort worked as the director of college scouting for New England when the Patriots selected Brissett in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft.

As Brissett did for the Cleveland Browns while Deshaun Watson served his 11-game suspension, he could be used as a competent stopgap for the Cardinals while Murray works his way back onto the field.

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Los Angeles Rams

Baker Mayfield, John Wolford and Bryce Perkins all got starts for the Rams this season when Matthew Stafford shut it down due to a bruised spinal cord injury.

Stafford has said he plans to return for the upcoming season. The Rams could potentially sign Mayfield as insurance for Stafford, but the Oklahoma product has said he wants another opportunity to earn a starting job. Mayfield played solid, completing 63.6 percent of his passes for 860 yards, with four touchdowns and two interceptions. The Rams finished 2-3 in games Mayfield played.

With the Rams focused on "remodeling" this offseason under head coach Sean McVay, it makes sense to continue with Stafford. However, Los Angeles also must consider a long-term plan at the position, where keeping Mayfield around could be an option. But for now, this should be Stafford's team in 2023.

San Francisco 49ers

With all four of San Francisco's quarterbacks that played this year suffering some sort of injury, head coach Kyle Shanahan is back to figuring out who his starter will be again at the start of the offseason this year.

Rookie sensation Brock Purdy played well as the starter during the second half of the year. However, a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and six-month recovery means he likely will not be ready until at least the start of training camp in August.

Trey Lance is a month of away from being cleared after having surgery to repair a broken ankle suffered in a Week 2 contest against the Seahawks. Purdy and Lance are the only quarterbacks currently under contract for the 49ers.

Jimmy Garoppolo played well this year for San Francisco, but suffered a broken foot to end his season, the third time in six years Garoppolo finished the season on the injured list. Garoppolo is set to become a free agent in March, and Shanahan said he's unlikely to return.

A potential replacement retired this week in Bay Area product Tom Brady. So, it seems, like last year, at least for now it's Lance's job to lose until Purdy is healthy enough to compete.

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Seattle Seahawks

Smith revived his career in Seattle and had one of the best seasons in franchise history. Seems like a slam dunk he returns, right?

Well, not so fast. Smith will become an unrestricted free agent in March, and rightly should be looking to capitalize on a Pro Bowl season by getting his full value on the open market. The Seahawks could use the franchise tag to make sure Smith sticks around, but at $32.5 million that's a pretty hefty price tag to bet on Smith after one year at producing at the level.

The Seahawks have the No. 5 overall selection in this year's draft after trading away Russell Wilson to Denver last offseason and could look to bring in someone like Ohio State product C.J. Stroud, making it easier to build around a quarterback on a rookie deal.

Seattle also could consider re-signing Drew Lock, who competed with Smith for the starting quarterback job last season, believing the Missouri product could have similar success to Smith at less inexpensive price to what Smith could cost to bring back.

But as it stands now, Smith said he wants to return and Seattle said they want him back, so it makes sense that the two sides will come to some sort of compromise on a deal that keeps the West Virginia product in the Emerald City.

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Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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