What makes a great quarterback? Talent and work ethic are rightfully cited as two of the biggest attributes for success for NFL quarterbacks. Often just as important though is the supporting cast a quarterback has, because failing to help a young passer can have disastrous results.
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We’ve seen plenty of examples in recent years, even last season. The Carolina Panthers sold the farm to acquire the No. 1 overall pick and draft Bryce Young, but they never thought past that and put Young in a disastrous position. As we now head into the 2024 NFL season with five rookie NFL quarterbacks taken in Round 1, here’s a look at some past quarterbacks who were set up to fail by their teams.
Bryce Young, QB, Carolina Panthers
Bryce Young never stood a chance as a rookie. He took over a team with a 33-year-old Adam Thielen, a shell of his former self, as his No. 1 receiver. The gap between Thielen and the No. 2 receiver was as wide as the gap between some team’s No. 2 and No. 4 wideout. If you’re going to start one of the smallest NFL quarterbacks ever with one of the worst receiving corps, you need a great offensive line. The Panthers offensive line ranked was the worst in football, especially on the interior.
If that’s not bad enough, Panthers’ owner clashed with some coaches while using others as informants. It’s no wonder Young lost all his confidence and had no trust in anyone around him. There’s some hope that the changes made this offseason change things, but it’s equally possible that Carolina did permanent and irreversible damage to Young’s career.
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Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
It’s difficult to mess up a generational talent at quarterback, but the Jacksonville Jaguars have come fairly close. It can’t be overstated how bad the Urban Meyer was. No, Lawrence wasn’t the Jaguars’ player who Meyer kicked nor he is the one Meyer chastised for calling him a rookie head coach. Those first-hand accounts do, however, speak to the laughable environment Meyer created.
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Things have improved since Meyer’s firing, but it’s not a complete turnaround. Doug Pederson, the head coach hired to fix the damage to Lawrence done by Meyer, primarily lets his close friend Press Tayor call plays. All of this while Lawrence operates a Jaguars offense with a pedestrian offensive line and receiving corps. Really, the contract extension was just to thank Lawrence for overcoming every single obstacle the Jaguars threw at him.
David Carr, Houston Texans
David Carr is often cited as one of the prime examples of NFL quarterbacks set up to fail by their original team. We’ll start by saying Carr is responsible for some of what happened. It takes an insane work ethic to be successful in the NFL, it’s why good quarterbacks always have to be “first one in and last one out” in the building. So yes, Carr deserves some blame.
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With that said, very few NFL quarterbacks in history could’ve been successful in Houston. Carr holds the NFL record for most sacks taken in a season (76). He also holds the third-highest mark for single-season sacks (68). Keep in mind, that this doesn’t even include quarterback hits. The human body can only take so much and in an era where quarterbacks received less protection, Carr had no chance behind the Texans offensive line.
Justin Fields, Chicago Bears
Anyone still on the Justin Fields hype train is just wasting their time. With that said, what the former All-American quarterback could’ve been will never be seen because of the Chicago Bears. Fields needed plenty of work coming out of college, with issues throwing over the middle of the field and holding the ball too long. A great coaching staff and a front office that devoted cap space and premium draft capital to adding complementary talent around Fields would’ve done wonders.
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Instead, Fields’ ceiling was wiped out by the Bears in a few short years. The Bears’ offensive line was largely a sieve, the front office used premium draft capital on Velus Jones and the offense was rarely designed around Fields’ strengths. Fortunately for Chicago, the opposite approach is being taken with Caleb Williams. The Bears learning from their mistakes can make Williams one of the best NFL quarterbacks in a few years.
Tim Couch, Cleveland Browns
Those who argue for the abolishment of the NFL Draft, allowing rookies to choose their team in free agency, have some merit to their argument. The NFL Draft throws an outstanding talent into one of the worst situations possible, asking them to come straight from college and make everyone on the NFL roster around them better. That’s hard enough to do and it’s even worse when you have to join an expansion franchise.
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The Cleveland Browns were added back to the NFL and quickly handed Tim Couch, a Heisman Trophy finalist with phenomenal talent. The No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft made the NFL’s All-Rookie Team. Everything quickly crumbled because the Browns didn’t use a single top-200 pick on an offensive lineman from 1999-2001. Couch took 56 sacks as a rookie, played in just 7 games the following year, then took 51 sacks in 2001. By 2003, his NFL career ended.
