2024 NFL Free Agent Quarterbacks

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Joe Kozlowski

By Joe Kozlowski

Sports Team Lead

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These days, most successful NFL teams have a star quarterback under center. A good defense can obviously help, but at some point, you're going to be staring down the barrel of a must-score two-minute drill. That's where a quality signal-caller comes in.

And while many quarterbacks are acquired through the draft—if you land someone like Patrick Mahomes, you're not letting him go—not every team can be so lucky. What happens if you simply aren't in position on draft day to secure one of the limited blue-chip prospects?

Well, free agency is always an option. And with so many NFL squads facing uncertainty under center, let's consider the players who will hit the open market during the 2024 offseason.

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2024 NFL Free Agent Quarterbacks

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Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield Lead the Pack

By and large, big-name quarterbacks don't really hit free agency. As mentioned above, teams are loathe to lose their prized asset for nothing. And while that holds true for the 2024 offseason, there are two household names at the top of the list.

Kirk Cousins, currently of the Minnesota Vikings, and Baker Mayfield, currently of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will both be out of contract this winter. The former man may have a reputation for struggling in prime time, but he has posted capable numbers for most of his career. Barring this season (which was abbreviated by an injury that we'll discuss shortly), Cousins hasn't thrown for fewer than 25 touchdowns in a campaign since 2015, when he became a full-time starter.

Mayfield has recaptured his old form in Tampa Bay, throwing for a shade under 3,600 yards and 26 touchdowns through 15 games this season. He's kept the Buccaneers in the playoff picture and, on a more individual level, has pushed himself into the Comeback Player of the Year conversation.

But if you're hoping your team signs either of those signal-callers, though, there are some caveats to be aware of.

For Cousins, he's coming off a season-ending injury and will turn 36 in August 2024. There's no guarantee that he'll return to form and, even if he's uninhibited by his torn Achilles, the QB probably won't be a long-term solution.

On the Mayfield front, Ian Rapoport reported that there's mutual interest in him and the Buccaneers continuing their relationship in 2024. While nothing's a given—maybe 2023's performance will raise his asking price beyond Tampa's limit— tempting him to join your team might be tougher than some of the other options.

Gardner Minshew, Ryan Tannehill Sit in the Next Tier

But what if you can't land/aren't sold on the likes of Cousins and Mayfield? Well, if we proceed down the depth chart, there are still some options that remain.

Ryan Tannehill did have some successful seasons with the Tennessee Titans, but his stats have been declining since 2020. Last season, he only threw 13 touchdown passes in 12 games. During the 2023 campaign, he found the end zone twice in seven starts while throwing six interceptions. The veteran unsurprisingly ended up losing the starting job.

Could a team roll the dice and hope that Tannehill will recover his previous form in 2024? Banking on someone who will turn 36 during the summer to reverse a statistical decline is a tall ask.

Minshew, on the other hand, is younger; he'll only be 28 by the time the new season starts. He's also shown sparks of potential in the past, like 2019's Minshew Mania and this year's solid, if unremarkable numbers (2,940 passing yards with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions across 11 starts) with the Colts.

The question, however, focuses on the quarterback's ceiling and ability to raise a team to the next level. If your general manager hands him a multi-year contract this winter, will he be reliable for the entire term? Or will he need to be replaced after a season?

Both players are at different points in their respective careers, and they represent different sorts of gambles.

Jake Browning and Joe Flacco Are Wild Cards

At the start of this season, Jake Browning's free agency would have been a non-story. But after stepping in for an injured Joe Burrow, the signal-caller has probably earned himself a nice payday.

Through five starts, the quarterback has gone 3-2, throwing for 1,583 yards, eight touchdowns and six interceptions. Those numbers are far from perfect, but they aren't too bad when you consider that Browning was largely a practice-squad player who didn't see the field before this season.

He's not going to ink a Patrick Mahomes-level contract after this season, but it will be interesting to see how both he and the rest of the league assess his performance. Will he enter the 2024 campaign as a backup, whether that's with Cincinnati or someone else? Or will some general manager think they've spotted a diamond in the rough and include him in a preseason quarterback battle?

At this point, only time will tell.

And at the opposite end of the experience spectrum, there's Joe Flacco.

After parachuting in to keep the Browns' season alive, the NFL veteran presents an interesting conundrum. Do you pick him up, going off his track record? Or are you scared off by the fact that he's going to turn 39 in the early days of 2024?

He's probably not a long-term solution, but don't be surprised to see him hanging around the NFL (again, assuming he wants to) as a stop-gap solution for a team trapped in quarterback limbo.

Plenty of Backup QBs Will Also Be Out of Contract

NFL teams don't' just carry one quarterback on the roster, though. 2023 underscored why that's the case. And as the current season comes to an end, some of those backups will be hitting the open market.

Joshua Dobbs, for example, probably showed enough to earn another NFL gig. He also showed why he hasn't been a full-time NFL starter, but that's another conversation. Tyrod Taylor will have a chance to put himself in the shop window, whether that's for the Giants or another team, since he's taken the starting job back from Tommy DeVito. Easton Stick currently has the same opportunity with Justin Herbert sidelined for the season.

Ultimately, the players in this category aren't going to get a lot of ink. But as the 2023 season showed many teams, there's some value to having a capable number two QB. A deal that seems bland in July may become a season-saver in November.

Which Quarterbacks Will Hit Free Agency in 2024?

And while the above groups tell the story of the options available in free agency, not every name is individually mentioned. If you'd like to be a bit more thorough, here are the quarterbacks who will be out of contract after 2024, per Spotrac's records. (Players who are already available, like Matt Ryan, aren't included.)

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