Mac Jones is the best backup quarterback in the NFL, and there’s a real chance he isn’t one much longer. That’s the top of Jacob Infante’s Hot List ranking of the top five backup quarterbacks going into 2026, though the list ends up telling you something else entirely. Two of these five are already in live competitions for a starting job.
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Jones went 5-3 in eight starts last season while Brock Purdy worked back from turf toe, completing 201 of 289 passes for 2,151 yards with 13 touchdowns and 6 interceptions across 11 appearances. His 69.6% completion rate was a career high. Infante had him 12th in PFN’s QB Impact metric at 78.9, ahead of Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts.
“He’s a perfect fit in the Shanahan offense especially,” Infante said. “His combination of timing and placement behind his throws, his anticipation, his ability to sense guys getting open.”
San Francisco knows exactly what it has. Kyle Shanahan said during draft weekend that he was surprised nobody made an offer, hinting it would have taken a first-round pick to move him. Instead, the 49ers reworked Jones’ deal in May, adding a $300,000 roster bonus that pushes him to $3.55 million with another $2.25 million in incentives. He hits unrestricted free agency next March.
“I wouldn’t be shocked if there’s a team out there who sees that and convinces themselves of giving him a shot at a starting quarterback opportunity,” Infante said.
Davis Mills opened the list at No. 5 on the strength of three starts, and all three ended the same way. He went 3-0 filling in for a concussed C.J. Stroud with 5 touchdowns against 1 interception, leading a game-winning drive in every one, including a 19-point fourth-quarter comeback in Jacksonville that he finished himself with a 14-yard scramble.
“He’s somebody that the Texans know can at least keep them afloat if CJ Stroud ever gets hurt,” Infante said.
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Marcus Mariota landed fourth after posting a 75.2 QB Impact score, 17th in the league and better than several full-time starters. Washington brought him back on a one-year, $7 million deal worth up to $11 million, a third straight season as Jayden Daniels’ insurance policy. He went 2-6 in eight starts on a 5-12 team playing behind the league’s worst defense by yards allowed, which is context the raw record buries.
Fernando Mendoza and Tua Tagovailoa Blur the Backup Label
The top of this list gets complicated in a hurry. Infante slotted Fernando Mendoza third and admitted the discomfort of it.
“I’m conflicted about having to put him on this list because, quite frankly, I think he should start over Kirk Cousins,” he said.
That opinion is on the record before it’s tested. Klint Kubiak named Cousins his starter on July 28, and Mendoza actually worked behind both Cousins and Aidan O’Connell during offseason practices, so the No. 1 overall pick is arriving at camp further down than a QB2 label suggests. Las Vegas owes Cousins about $11.3 million on this deal, with a $10 million roster bonus due next March. That is not the structure of a long leash.
Tua Tagovailoa checked in at No. 2 on similar logic, with Infante going off the same depth chart snapshot listing Michael Penix Jr. as Atlanta’s starter. Reporting through the spring said the opposite. Penix still hadn’t cleared 11-on-11 work as camp opened while rehabbing the ACL he tore in November, and Tagovailoa, signed for one year and roughly $1.2 million, was on track to inherit the job by default.
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Then Atlanta’s first full practice arrived on July 29 and neither quarterback took a team rep. A back flare-up held Tagovailoa out, the Falcons cut Trevor Siemian and signed Cooper Rush that same day, and an undrafted rookie split the 11-on-11 snaps. Penix has said he might need another month.
“I don’t know if he’s ever going to be a top-10 quarterback in terms of efficiency ever again,” Infante said, “but I think he has the chance to establish himself once again as a solid starter in a better supporting cast here with the Falcons.”
Ranking backup quarterbacks is really an exercise in ranking risk, and the market has caught up. Mariota costs $7 million to keep on a bench. Jones costs $3.55 million and is the best bargain in San Francisco. Sort this list again on Labor Day and half of it will need a new headline.
