Sports agent Leigh Steinberg says NFL teams that don’t roster three quarterbacks are inviting disaster, as a wave of starter injuries hits the league heading into Week 3.
Five starting quarterbacks have already been hurt this season, including New York Giants rookie Jaxson Dart, who is out for the rest of the regular season. Steinberg told OutKick the injury rate makes carrying only two quarterbacks a gamble teams shouldn’t take.
“It’s a real problem, which is why I always think that teams that don’t keep three quarterbacks are making a mistake, because the likelihood is that the starting quarterback will be hurt at some point,” Steinberg said.
The Giants illustrate the risk. With Dart injured, the team is down to backup Jameis Winston as its only active quarterback. Had Winston gone down on the same night Dart did, New York would have had no one else on the active roster to turn to. The Giants are now searching for a viable third option behind Winston.
Steinberg pointed to the salary cap as the reason many teams avoid stockpiling depth at quarterback. Starting quarterback salaries keep climbing, squeezing out the cap room teams would otherwise use on a quality backup.
“You have bigger, stronger defensive players on the line who can inflict all sorts of harm on the quarterback. The position starts with that player, so all the action coalesces around him, and there’s just more opportunity to get hit and hurt,” Steinberg said.
The NFL has tried to protect quarterbacks before, including a 2018 rule barring defenders from landing on quarterbacks with their full body weight. Steinberg says the position remains inherently exposed no matter what rules are added.
Steinberg also argued that quarterback injuries hurt the league itself, not just individual teams. He said quarterbacks have become the sport’s biggest celebrities, comparable to movie stars, and that injuries to top players risk dragging down viewership.
“I want you to remember that every time they put in more protective rules and procedures. There’s a hue and cry from football purists that they’re taking the toughness out of the game,” Steinberg said. “I’m all for the most vigorous protections while retaining the competitive aspect of the game.”
Steinberg, inducted into the California Sports Hall of Fame in 2017, has represented a long list of high-profile athletes across football and baseball, including Steve Young, Troy Aikman, Warren Moon, Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Leinart, Ricky Williams and Dusty Baker.
