The 2025 NFL season has already featured plenty of turnover at the quarterback position. Bengals QB Joe Burrow will miss three months with a turf toe injury. And several other quarterbacks, including Jayden Daniels and Brock Purdy, are also banged up. On top of that, one NFL insider believes a pair of NFC North quarterbacks could be in danger of being benched.
ESPN's Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler discussed NFL quarterbacks who are in the most danger of being benched in a recent article.
Fowler threw out two surprising names: Bears QB Caleb Williams and Vikings QB JJ McCarthy.
Williams and the Bears have not played well during their 0-2 start to the season.
“What if the Bears' Caleb Williams doesn't find his footing in Ben Johnson's timing-and-rhythm passing game by, say, Week 10? I think Williams showed positive signs in Sunday's loss in Detroit. But the feeling coming out of Bears camp was that, despite Williams' otherworldly talent, the offense was a bit crisper with Tyson Bagent running the huddle,” Fowler wrote on Wednesday.
Fowler also noted that he believes Johnson will be patient with Williams, largely because of his high ceiling as a prospect.
But that could change if the Bears head coach starts feeling pressure to win games early in his tenure.
Meanwhile, JJ McCarthy's situation is much different.
McCarthy could miss up to four weeks with a high ankle sprain. This comes after the second-year QB played one good quarter of football spread across two games.
Fowler speculated that Vikings backup Carson Wentz could stay in the lineup if he catches fire during McCarthy's absence.
“In Minnesota, what happens if Carson Wentz catches fire over these next few weeks and recharges Minnesota's offense? Does that then become a temporary reset for J.J. McCarthy after he returns from his high ankle sprain, if only for a few games?”
Minnesota's schedule puts pressure on them to give Wentz an extended look, regardless of how they feel about McCarthy.
The Vikings play back-to-back international games in Week 4 (at Steelers in Dublin) and Week 5 (at Browns in London). That means that Wentz will at least have a chance to make a strong impression. Especially if he rips off a few wins.
Neither of these benching scenarios feels imminent right now. But that could change if the Bears and Vikings cannot turn their seasons around quickly.
