Ranking Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones and the NFL's 8 Best QB Reclamation Projects

Sunday's matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers brought us more than Bucs wideout Tez Johnson's highlight-reel-worthy, fingertip-grab 45-yard touchdown and a heroic third-and-14 scramble by Baker Mayfield.

It was a game that showcased two examples of a phenomenon we're seeing more of lately: quarterbacks who are having high-level success after busting with their original teams. 

How many such players has the NFL seen over the years? We decided to find out.

The signal-callers below are ranked by how good they've been since they left their original team and how long it's been since they turned a corner. If a given player went on to be named MVP, made a Super Bowl or won a Super Bowl, his ranking was weighted accordingly. 

Only quarterbacks who were given a legitimate shot on their original team were considered. Players like Jimmy Garoppolo and Tyrod Taylor revived their careers elsewhere, to be sure, but they didn't have a fair opportunity to establish themselves before that. 

8. Mac Jones

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Mac Jones was placed in a difficult position from the start. Considered by many an ideal fit for the San Francisco 49ers offense coming out of Alabama in 2021, Jones slipped to the New England Patriots at No. 15 in the first round.

Immediately crowned as the heir apparent to Tom Brady in New England, Jones initially popped for the Patriots, completing 67.6 percent of his passes for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns, 13 interceptions and a 92.5 QBR in his rookie season. However, Jones began to struggle in subsequent years as the Patriots roster and coaching staff underwent significant upheaval.

As the Patriots struggled, Jones was no longer seen as the answer at the position. When a new regime came in, he was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars in March 2024 to serve as a backup to Trevor Lawrence.

Time sitting and learning appears to have served Jones well. This offseason, he signed as a free agent with San Francisco and was finally united with the coach who appeared to be a perfect fit all along, Kyle Shanahan.

During his extended run as the starter this year due to an injury to Brock Purdy, Jones has shown excellent accuracy and decision-making, leading to three wins for the 49ers in his four starts thus far. Jones might not be the starter in San Francisco moving forward, but his performance should lead to him getting a long look from other teams.

7. Daniel Jones

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The New York Giants selected Daniel Jones with the No. 6 overall pick in 2019 to serve as the heir to Eli Manning and bring them back to football relevance. That didn't quite pan out as hoped.

Jones displayed some skill early in his career, throwing for 3,027 yards, 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions to go along with 279 yards and two rushing scores as a rookie. He was up-and-down for the next several years, with most of his highlights coming from his legs, but was continually slowed by injuries and subpar play around him.

A partnership with new head coach Brian Daboll in 2022 led to a career year with 3,205 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and five picks along with 708 rushing yards and seven rushing scores. The following offseason, the Giants signed him to a four-year, $160 million contract extension.

The Giants had immediate buyer's remorse. Jones and the rest of the Giants offense continued to struggle for the next several years, leading to his contract being terminated in November 2024. Prior to his release, the Giants had Jones serving as a scout-team safety in practice.

After serving as a backup for the Minnesota Vikings for the rest of the year, Jones signed a one-year prove-it deal with the Indianapolis Colts this past offseason. After beating out Anthony Richardson in training camp, Jones has proved to be a revelation in the Indianapolis offense.

Through six games, Jones has the Colts at 5–1 and has the offense humming along, which has made him a dark-horse MVP candidate in the early part of the season. 

6. Geno Smith

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Unfortunately for Jets fans, something about the franchise seems to preclude the quarterbacks they draft from doing well in New York, even if they achieve greatness elsewhere.

Smith did not get off to an auspicious start with the Jets. After he fell out of the first round of the 2013 draft, the Jets ended his wait at No. 39 overall. While Smith flashed early, throwing for more than 3,000 yards as a rookie, injuries and interceptions began to pile up. He was benched and then released in 2016. 

Smith's next stints with the Giants and Los Angeles Chargers didn't produce much in the way of highlight reels. But when he signed with the Seattle Seahawks in 2022, he earned the starting role following Russell Wilson's departure and showed why the Jets spent a second-round pick on him all those years ago.

In 2022, Smith led the NFL in completion percentage (69.8 percent), threw for over 4,200 yards and 30 touchdowns and earned Pro Bowl and Comeback Player of the Year honors. Over the next two seasons, he went 18-14 as a starter while completing 67.8 percent of his passes for 7,944 yards, 41 touchdowns and 24 interceptions.

Nearly a full decade after his was drafted, Smith finally fulfilled the potential that had once made him a high draft pick.

5. Sam Darnold

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The New York Jets spent the No. 3 overall pick on Sam Darnold in the venerated quarterback class of 2018. The Gang Green faithful thought he would finally bring an end to their lengthy quarterback woes.

While Darnold showed occasional flashes of talent, he was more often thought of as meme fodder during his stint in New York, mocked for "seeing ghosts" and missing time due to mononucleosis. 

Darnold was unceremoniously traded to the Carolina Panthers in 2021. After he lost the quarterback competition to Baker Mayfield, he seemed destined to be relegated to career backup duty. But after serving as the backup for the San Francisco 49ers in 2023 and showing flashes of better decision-making/play speed in spot relief, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024, which changed his life.

Darnold started 17 games for the Vikings, throwing for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and a 102.5 QBR while going 14-3 during the regular season. He parlayed that into a three-year, $100.5 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks, and he has continued to display excellent play so far this year. 

Darnold is the perfect example of how time and circumstances can impact a quarterback's development.

4. Jared Goff

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As the homegrown California boy drafted No. 1 overall by the Rams just as they moved back to Los Angeles in 2016, Jared Goff seemed to be set up for superstardom from the get-go. An uneven first season gave way to a partnership with head coach Sean McVay that appeared to unlock new heights for Goff, with his second season under McVay culminating in a Super Bowl appearance. 

However, Goff's performance in that Super Bowl (a 50 percent completion rate with 229 yards, one interception, and a 57.9 QBR) seemed to start his spiral in Los Angeles. His next two years resulted in a loss of trust with McVay and, finally, a trade to the Detroit Lions as the Rams looked to upgrade at quarterback with Matthew Stafford.

Thought of primarily as a salary dump and afterthought in that trade, Goff received the Lions' full support and repaid their faith with some of the best football of his career. The Lions offense has been one of the NFL's best over the past few seasons, and Goff threw for 4,629 yards, 37 touchdowns and a 111.8 QBR in 2024 while guiding them to a franchise-best 15-2 record.

While the Detroit offense contains a multitude of weapons, Goff has been an excellent conductor. He's finally living up to his draft status…just not for the team that drafted him.

3. Baker Mayfield

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It's every football player's dream. Get drafted No. 1 overall. Come in off the bench and lead your team to a win in your NFL debut. Set the NFL record for passing touchdowns among rookie quarterbacks during your first year. Receive lucrative endorsement deals and become the face of the NFL. 

That was how things started for Baker Mayfield in Cleveland. But the dream soon turned into a nightmare.

In his fourth season with Cleveland, Mayfield played through a torn labrum for nearly the entire season before being placed on injured reserve. To add insult to injury, he had to watch the Browns trade for Deshaun Watson, whom much of the league had zero interest in due to more than two dozen sexual assault and misconduct allegations. Mayfield requested a trade, which the Browns granted, sending him to the Panthers for a conditional fifth-round pick. (Oof.)

Mayfield didn't last a full season in Carolina before requesting his release and being claimed off waivers by the Rams. Those five games "brought the fun back" and would prove to be the spark for Mayfield's comeback. 

What a comeback it's been with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 2024, Mayfield had his best pro season, setting career highs in yards (4,500), yards per attempt (7.9) and touchdowns (41, nearly doubling his previous high). With the Bucs, Mayfield has also found his sea legs, rushing for a career high of 378 yards in 2024. Thus far this season, he's averaging a career-high 7.6 yards per rush. 

Heading into Week 7, the Buccaneers have the NFL's best record at 5–1. With an NFL MVP award not out of the question, the wind in the sails of Mayfield's career has never been stronger. 

2. Rich Gannon

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Rich Gannon is the living embodiment of the phrase "better late than never."

After playing his college ball at Delaware, Gannon was selected 98th overall in the 1987 NFL draft by the New England Patriots. However, the Patriots wanted Gannon to shift to running back, wide receiver or defensive back. After he refused, he was traded to the Minnesota Vikings before he ever played a down for the Patriots. 

Gannon started his career as the backup or third-string quarterback for the Vikings for several seasons before ultimately becoming the starter in 1992. However, he was benched in Week 13 for Sean Salisbury, then traded to the Washington Redskins in 1993, where he started four games before sitting out the 1994 season after shoulder surgery.

After serving as a backup for the Kansas City Chiefs for several seasons, Gannon signed with the Oakland Raiders in 1999. There, he finally took off under the offense run by head coach Jon Gruden.

He was voted to the Pro Bowl four years in a row starting with the 1999 season, and won the NFL MVP award in 2002 after a season in which he threw for 4,689 yards and 26 touchdowns and had a 97.2 QBR. He took the Raiders to the Super Bowl that year, where he faced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—and his former coach, Gruden. The Raiders lost 48–21 on the back of Gannon's five interceptions.

While Gannon's career ultimately ended over the next two years due to injuries, the heights he achieved during his stint with the Raiders never would have been imaginable after his first few years in the league. 

1. Jim Plunkett

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When it comes to former No. 1 overall picks who didn't catch on until their second or third stop in the NFL, Jim Plunkett could be the poster boy. 

Drafted first overall by the then-Boston Patriots in 1971 after winning the Heisman Trophy at Stanford, Plunkett hit the ground running for a scrappy Patriots team. He finished second in the NFL in passing yards in 1973 and led the Patriots to a 6–1 start in the 1974 season. But after suffering a shoulder injury, the Patriots offense shifted under new quarterback Steve Grogan.

The Patriots traded Plunkett to the San Francisco 49ers in 1976. Two unceremonious seasons in San Francisco led to Plunkett's release in 1978, after which he signed with the Oakland Raiders. That choice turned his career around.

Although he started with the Raiders as a backup, Plunkett was brought into a game in Week 5 of the 1980 season after an injury to starting quarterback Dan Pastorini. After struggling in his first game, Plunkett started the rest of the year and led the Raiders to a 9–2 regular-season record, followed by four playoff victories, including a 27–10 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XV, in which Plunkett was named Super Bowl MVP.

Plunkett would go on to start parts of six more seasons for the Raiders (even after their move to Los Angeles), including winning another Super Bowl three years later over Washington 38–9.