It happened again. Just when it looked like we might get through a Sunday without an NFL quarterback getting injured for the first time in 2026, Tampa Bay's Baker Mayfield went down in pain against the Vikings. The Bucs starter suffered a dislocated thumb, expected to cost him about three weeks, leaving winless Tampa Bay to turn to Jalon Daniels.
Then, on "Monday Night Football," both teams dealt with quarterback injuries. The Bears started Case Keenum after Caleb Williams injured his hamstring and Tyson Bagent spent most of the week in concussion protocol. The Eagles briefly lost Jalen Hurts to a concussion check.
Depending on who you define as each team's primary option, Mayfield was somewhere between the sixth and ninth starting quarterback to go down so far this season. Sam Darnold suffered a glute injury in Week 1. Jaxson Dart underwent knee surgery to end his season. Through three weeks, 41 quarterbacks have thrown at least five passes.
So, to recap: Seven quarterbacks have been forced out of games by injuries through the first three weeks. Bill Barnwell researched how often quarterbacks get hurt early in the season, going back through 2002 to see how many teams turned to backups. Let's see what history says.
Source: ESPN NFL · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing