NFL Starting QBs Most at Risk Of Being Replaced After Kyler Murray's Release

The NFL world was rocked Tuesday when it was revealed that the Arizona Cardinals had informed star quarterback Kyler Murray of their plans to release him when the new league year begins.

With Murray's fate in Arizona now decided, it's time to look around the league and see which domino will fall next.

There are several quarterbacks who stand out for their high potential to be released, traded, benched or moved on from in some form during or even ahead of the 2026 NFL season.

Whether they have been dealing with injuries, suffered a decline in skill or some combination of these and other factors, these signal-callers are hanging onto their roles by a thread and could soon see them slip away.

With that in mind, let's look at five other starting QBs who may be replaced in the near future.

Justin Fields, New York Jets

AP Photo/Tyler Kaufman

The New York Jets are unsurprisingly entering another offseason with far more questions than answers at the quarterback position.

The team attempted to find a solution to these longtime woes by signing Justin Fields in free agency last year, but the veteran regressed from the level of play he showed during a promising 2024 campaign with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Although he only made six starts while keeping the seat warm for Russell Wilson, Fields seemed to have made major strides as a passer—completing a career-high 65.8 percent of his throws while tallying 1,106 yards and five touchdowns with just one interception—and continued to rush at a high level, tallying five scores on the ground.

Those successes were short-lived. Despite inking a two-year, $40 million contract ahead of the 2025 campaign, Fields struggled to spark Gang Green's offense. While he wasn't coughing up the constant turnovers that plagued his three seasons with the Chicago Bears, Fields only averaged 139.9 passing yards per game and mustered just seven touchdowns across the nine starts he made. The team went a paltry 2-7 in those games.

While reports have surfaced that Fields could be one-and-done in the Big Apple with his potential release saving $10 million against the salary cap, the team still has to find suitable options to replace him. Tyrod Taylor is open to a return, but the 36-year-old isn't a long-term solution for the club.

The Jets were dealt a major blow when Dante Moore, the consensus No. 2 quarterback in the 2026 class early in the pre-draft process, announced he would be returning to Oregon for his senior season. That decision took a surefire selection off the board for New York at No. 2 overall.

With the draft class largely lacking high-end quarterbacks and the free-agent pool similarly underwhelming, there's still a chance Fields winds up being one of New York's better options for the upcoming season.

J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings

AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt

The Minnesota Vikings are probably regretting their decision to hand the reins to J.J. McCarthy last season. Although it's too soon to declare the Michigan product a bust, he is not going to have many more opportunities to show he can capably run an NFL offense.

McCarthy entered the league on the back of a solid collegiate career and spectacular undefeated national championship season, a run that helped propel him to become a top-10 pick in 2024. His NFL career quickly veered off course, though, as a torn meniscus suffered in a preseason opener cost him his entire rookie year.

The Vikings found immense success with McCarthy on the sidelines, notching a 14-3 record and making an unexpected playoff run with Sam Darnold at the helm. Rather than go all-in to retain the first-round pick-turned-journeyman following that promising display, Minnesota only made a modest offer and ultimately lost Darnold to the Seattle Seahawks in free agency.

It wound up being a painfully wrong decision, one that was magnified further when Darnold lifted the Lombardi Trophy while the Vikings watched from home after missing out on the postseason entirely.

McCarthy wound up being a major downgrade from Darnold. The young passer was plagued by both injury and poor play in his first year as a starter, managing to complete just 57.6 percent of his throws for 1,632 yards and 11 touchdowns against 12 interceptions and 27 sacks taken in the 10 games he was able to suit up for.

While McCarthy did show some promise—including engineering a dazzling fourth-quarter comeback against the rival Chicago Bears in the opener—those bright spots were few and far between. He'll need to cobble together those types of performances with far more regularity for the Vikings to commit beyond the 2026 season.

If McCarthy comes out of the gate cold, it won't be long before head coach Kevin O'Connell turns to his bench and tries to find a solution to the team's quarterback woes.

Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons

AP Photo/Martin Meissner

A make-or-break third season is on the horizon for Michael Penix Jr.

Penix flashed potential after taking over for an ineffective Kirk Cousins late in his rookie season, but the young signal-caller largely failed to impress after becoming a full-time starter this past year.

Despite having a strong supporting cast surrounding him and a full offseason to prepare as the Atlanta Falcons' QB1, Penix only completed 60.1 percent of his throws for 1,982 yards and nine touchdowns in his nine starts. Atlanta went 3-6 in those contests.

While there were some positive takeaways from Penix's sophomore efforts—his 1.1 percent interception rate led the league and he only took 13 sacks on the year—the quarterback didn't live up to the hype as the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 class.

Injuries were a major issue for Penix prior to entering the NFL and those problems have unsurprisingly followed him into the league. The partially torn ACL he suffered in Week 11 marked the fourth consecutive time—not counting the rookie campaign he mostly spent on the bench—that his season was ended by a significant injury. Penix has now had three ACL tears across both knees, a broken collarbone and an A/C joint separation since his college days.

The Falcons ignored the red flags surrounding those injuries with hopes that he could stay healthy and contribute at a high level. Their decision to draft him is now looking like a grave misstep, as Penix hasn't performed at a high level when he's been on the field and is running out of chances to avoid the bust label.

Atlanta doesn't have any in-house options to replace Penix—especially with Cousins set to be released when the new league year begins—but that could change in the coming months. The team's decision-makers have praised Penix while avoiding committing to him as their starter, keeping the door open for an alternative to emerge.

For now, it seems Penix might get one more shot to prove he can be a franchise quarterback. That could change quickly if the Falcons land someone like Kyler Murray in free agency or Ty Simpson in the draft, making this one of the more intriguing quarterback situations to watch during the 2026 offseason.

Shedeur Sanders, Cleveland Browns

AP Photo/Jeff Dean

Shedeur Sanders wound up being arguably the best of a rough bunch of Cleveland Browns quarterbacks last year, but he still failed to beat out the likes of Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel in training camp. It took several trades and a rash of injuries for the Colorado product to finally see the field.

Although Sanders did earn a Pro Bowl nod for his efforts, his statistics certainly didn't warrant the nomination in an average year. Sanders posted a 3-4 record as a starter with middling passing statistics that included a 56.6 percent completion rate, 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns against 10 interceptions and 23 sacks taken.

While Sanders earned the previous regime's trust and was a decent bet to remain the QB1 had Kevin Stefanski remained in Cleveland, the incoming coaching staff has no ties to the fifth-round draft pick and may want to go a different direction.

During his time as the Baltimore Ravens' offensive coordinator, new Browns head coach Todd Monken utilized a rush-heavy system that included plenty of designed quarterback runs for Lamar Jackson. Although Sanders did put up a solid 169 yards and a touchdown on his 21 carries last season, he's a much more limited rushing threat than Monken's former QB.

Monken already confirmed his Browns will play host to a wide-open quarterback competition during his first training camp.

As things stand, Sanders will be competing with fellow incumbents Gabriel and Deshaun Watson (who appears to be in the team's plans again based on Monken's recent comments) for the starting role. The battle would get even more interesting if Cleveland snags a signal-caller off the open market or utilizes one of its nine draft picks to add a rookie into the mix.

Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

AP Photo/Doug Murray

With the Arizona Cardinals moving on from Kyler Murray, all eyes are now on the Miami Dolphins and their looming decision regarding Tua Tagovailoa's future with the club.

Tagovailoa fell out of favor with head coach Mike McDaniel late in the 2025 campaign. The six-year veteran was benched in favor of rookie Quinn Ewers after going 6-8 across 14 starts.

Tagovailoa posted career-worst interception and sack rates along with his lowest passing yards per game since becoming a full-time starter in 2021.

That decision led Tagovailoa to admit he was open to a breakup with Miami. When asked by a reporter if he would prefer to get a fresh start with another team in 2026, the quarterback said it "would be dope" to do so.

Much has changed since Tagovailoa made that comment in early January. The most notable change was McDaniel's firing, with ownership replacing the beleaguered head coach with former Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. The team also brought in Jon-Eric Sullivan to fill its vacant general manager position.

The new regime has said that "all options are on the table" when it comes to the quarterback position, although there's been heavy speculation that Tagovailoa's release is the most likely outcome.

Outright releasing Tagovailoa will incur a painful $99.2 million dead cap hit, although that amount can be spread out across the next two seasons by designating him as a post-June 1 release.

While the 'Phins would probably prefer to find a trade partner willing to take on the quarterback's massive salary, it's unlikely a suitor will emerge. Such a move would still leave the team with $45.2 million in dead money to deal with as well.

While Tagovailoa's time in Miami is likely over, the team doesn't have a clear-cut successor to hand the reins off to. Ewers may have showed some promise in his three starts, but the seventh-rounder is far from a guaranteed success story.

The team could opt to use one of its eight 2026 draft picks on a quarterback, but there is no clear first-round option at No. 11 overall, and the class is widely viewed by analysts as one of the weakest in recent years at the position.

Without Tagovailoa in the mix, the Dolphins are in for a rough season unless they manage to hit a home run with a Day 2 or 3 draft selection or somehow unearth a diamond in free agency.