Anthony Richardson and 4 NFL QBs Who Need a Second Chance on Another Team

The 2025 NFL season hasn't even reached its halfway mark and already several high-profile quarterbacks who were previously written off have been thriving.

Whether it's Daniel Jones with the Indianapolis Colts or Mac Jones for the San Francisco 49ers, these first-round-picks-turned-journeymen have taken full advantage of a change of scenery and begun to shine after some rough seasons.

This has become a common trend in recent years, with players such as Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold even cashing in with blockbuster contracts after failing to find consistent success during their first stops in the league.

The two Joneses won't be the last signal-callers to find out the grass can be greener with another franchise. There are several talented passers who have largely struggled with the organization that drafted them on Day 1 but may be a fresh start away from turning things around.

With that in mind, here's a look at four quarterbacks who need a second chance with another team.

Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals

AP Photo/Rick Scuteri

The Cardinals may have lost for a fourth consecutive time on Sunday, but the offense showed more signs of life than it has in weeks despite the absence of Kyler Murray.

Veteran backup Jacoby Brissett helped spark a 27-point outing for Arizona—matching the team's highest points total of the season and best since a Week 2 victory over the Carolina Panthers.

Although head coach Jonathan Gannon maintains Murray will continue to be the starter when healthy, it was fair to question whether Brissett should remain the starter after guiding the team to its best offensive showing in weeks.

In five starts, Murray has completed a respectable 68.3 percent of his throws for 962 yards and six touchdowns and three interceptions.

The 28-year-old's main regression has come in the mobility department, as he has taken 16 sacks (with a career high 9.04 sack percentage) while rushing for 173 yards and one touchdown on 29 attempts.

After six-plus seasons and one major contract extension, it's worth considering if Murray will ever be able to take the Cardinals to the next level.

Arizona has reached the playoffs just once with Murray under center, in 2021 when the team skidded into the postseason with four losses in five games before suffering an early defeat.

Murray completed a meager 19-of-34 passes for 137 yards and two interceptions in that Wild Card Round loss.

Although he's under contract through the 2027 campaign—with a team option for the 2028 season—it wouldn't be outlandish for Arizona to consider moving Murray for the right price.

The team just proved it can perform competitively without him, and the bounty of picks the Cardinals would receive in return would allow them to expedite a rebuilding process.

A trade could benefit Murray as well. With blunders like the public spat leading up to his contract extension and the "homework clause" initially inserted into his new deal, it feels like the QB and his employer haven't been able to get on the same page.

A move to another franchise could help him take a leap into the upper echelon of NFL signal-callers.

Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts

AP Photo/Zach Bolinger

It appears the Anthony Richardson experiment in Indianapolis could be at an end following the emergence of Daniel Jones as a high-level starter for the club.

Richardson had an intriguing start to his NFL career, but after returning from the shoulder injury that cut short his rookie campaign, the 2023 No. 4 overall pick has struggled.

In 11 starts last season, he managed to complete an abysmal 47.7 percent of his throws for 1,814 yards and eight touchdowns while being intercepted 14 times.

It wasn't surprising Richardson's arm talent was underwhelming after connecting on just 53.8 percent of his throws during his lone season as Florida's starter. However, his regression from a 59.5 percent completion rate as a rookie made him borderline unplayable at the NFL level.

While he didn't work out in head coach Shane Steichen's system, there should still be plenty of interested suitors should he be made available on the trade market.

Richardson is only 23 years old and has just about every unteachable trait a team could want in its quarterback. He stands a sturdy 6'4", 244 pounds and shattered records at the combine with his world-class athleticism. He's proved to be a capable scrambler in the NFL as well, picking up 634 yards and 10 touchdowns on his 115 career totes.

The Pittsburgh Steelers would be an ideal landing spot for Richardson. They recently helped rehabilitate the career of another first-round dual-threat QB in Justin Fields, helping him turn a six-start audition in 2024 into a two-year, $40 million deal with the New York Jets.

With Pittsburgh needing to find an heir to Aaron Rodgers, it would be sensible for the organization to acquire Richardson this season and install the beleaguered young QB as an understudy with potential to take over next season and beyond.

Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

AP Photo/Doug Murray

The Dolphins dropped to 1-5 with another heartbreaking loss on Sunday. With the team's season now likely over before mid-October, it's time to ponder what the future holds for Tua Tagovailoa.

He went from finally staying healthy for all 17 games and leading Miami to the playoffs during the 2023 season to missing extensive time for the third time in four years the following year.

With head coach Mike McDaniel's system being built around the unique strengths of the team's signal-caller, the Dolphins unsurprisingly struggled without their engine but still had hopes of contending if he could just stay on the field.

That was until this year, as Tagovailoa has been active and healthy during the team's struggles.

While he's still completing nearly 70 percent of his throws and is posting the second-highest touchdown rate of his five-plus seasons in the league, his interception rate has spiked to a career-high 3.8 percent. He's also being sacked on a career-most 6.7 percent of drop backs.

With Tagovailoa making some surprising comments towards his teammates and Miami's leadership in the wake of a 29-27 defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers, it may not be long before there's a major shakeup in South Beach.

One of those moves could see the 27-year-old shipped off to jump-start a rebuilding effort.

Although he's under contract through the 2028 campaign, the Dolphins have just two playoff berths and zero postseason wins under their belt since he became the starter early in the 2020 season.

Moving on from the Alabama product and McDaniel would allow the franchise to get the much-needed cultural reset it has been seeking since stumbling out of the gate last year.

A fresh start might also be what Tagovailoa needs to return to Pro Bowl form. He's still an immensely accurate passer with incredible timing and processing skills, but he needs a better supporting cast around him to reach his peak.

Ending up on a squad with better offensive-line talent and more disciplined pass-catchers could result in his NFL career having an elite second act.

Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers

AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman

The Carolina Panthers may have reached .500 with a narrow win in Week 6, but it remains to be seen if this team will ever be a true contender with Bryce Young at the helm.

While things have started somewhat looking up since his atrocious rookie campaign—a brutal 2023 season in which Carolina went 2-14—and benching early in his sophomore year, the Panthers still haven't found a way to consistently win with their prized No. 1 overall pick at the helm.

With a career 9-25 record and pedestrian marks of a 60.5 percent completion rate, 6,430 passing yards and 36 touchdowns to go with 24 interceptions, 101 sacks and 19 fumbles, it's possible Young may never reach his lofty potential while he remains in Carolina.

One of the main issues he has consistently contended with during his Carolina tenure is a weak offensive line. Because of his middling mobility and diminutive size, the lack of clean pockets has hindered the 5'10" signal-caller's ability to get into a rhythm and pick apart defenses.

While the Panthers aren't going to give up on Young anytime soon—especially after investing a plethora of resources into trading up to get him atop the 2023 draft—he may end up hitting free agency relatively early in his career if Carolina doesn't emerge as a viable playoff contender in the next few years.

That could be the best thing for Young's long-term outlook, as it would allow him to have a chance to pick his next destination and land with a club that boasts the best possible protection and potential to finally unlock his impressive arm talents.