Wondering whether 2015 had an unusual number of quarterback injuries?  Or why Joe Namath missed so many games?  Or just why the Browns start a random quarterback in Week 17 every year?

The following team charts detail every starting quarterback change in the NFL since 1950.

Notes:

  1. Many pre-1965 teams changed in-game quarterbacks on a frequent basis.  As such, the starter was less important, and the starter could change on the coach’s whim, with little to no pre- or post-game explanation.  This pretty much ended by the early 1970s, with the Houston Oilers as perhaps the last holdout.
  2. The number after a quarterback’s name indicates the then-current number of stints he had as that team’s starter.
  3. “Ineffective” is a catch-all term used to designated non-injury-related poor play that caused the quarterback to be benched.
  4.  “*” designates the normal #1 quarterback regaining his starting spot after returning from injury/rest/suspension/holdout.
  5. Some changes are footnoted, and further details are given underneath the team chart.
  6. Playoff games are included.

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