The 10 NFL QBs Who Played For The Most Different Teams During Their Career

The average NFL player only sticks around in the league for 3.3 seasons, although quarterbacks tend to have a slightly higher shelf life of around 4.4 years. There are plenty of QBs who have managed to last for much longer, including a number of journeymen who had trouble finding a permanent home during their careers.

The 10 NFL QBs Who Played For The Highest Number Of Different Teams During Their Career

The vast majority of guys who make it to the NFL will play for at least a couple of different teams while they’re in the league, and many QBs who are able to hang around for more than a few years will end up playing for even more due to how many teams are constantly on the hunt for a contigency plan.

There are plenty of guys at that position who managed to earn a reputation as a journeyman thanks to how much they bounced around, and these are the most notable names who’ve been a member of the highest number of different franchises (a disctinction that requires them to have been listed on the active roster at some point as opposed to simply signing with them).

Nick Foles: 6 Teams

Played For:

• Eagles (twice)
• Rams
• Chiefs
• Jaguars
• Bears
• Colts

Nick Foles played for six different teams during a career that spanned 11 seasons, and he’ll obviously be best remembered for leading the Eagles to a victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl LII during his second stint in Philadelphia.

Kerry Collins: 6 Teams

Played For:

• Panthers
• Saints
• Giants
• Raiders
• Titans
• Colts

Kerry Collins had fairly lengthy tenures with the Panthers, Titans, and Giants during his 17 seasons in the league. He was a Pro Bowler in Carolina and Tennessee, and he also led New York to Super Bowl XXXV before they were blown out by the Ravens.

Matt Cassel: 7 Teams

Played For:

• Patriots
• Chiefs
• Vikings
• Bills
• Cowboys
• Titans
• Lions

Matt Cassel spent his first three years in the NFL as Tom Brady’s backup before being thrust into the fire after the legendary QB was injured during the first game of the season in 2008.

New England went 11-5 but missed the playoffs, and Cassel initially held his own as the starter for the Chiefs after being traded to Kansas City the following year. However, he was largely relegated to a backup role in the second half of a career that lasted for 14 seasons.

Vinny Testaverde: 7 Teams

Played For:

• Buccaneers
• Ravens
• Jets (twice)
• Browns
• Cowboys
• Patriots
• Panthers

Vinny Testaverde also spent some time backing up Tom Brady, but he made his biggest mark as a member of the Jets during a career where he was on the roster for an NFL team in 21 different seasons.

Chris Chandler: 7 Teams

Played For:

• Colts
• Buccaneers
• Cardinals
• Rams
• Texans
• Falcons
• Bears

Chris Chandler was the textbook definition of a late bloomer, as he didn’t really come into his own before heading to Atlanta in 1997 before he led the Falcons to a 13-1 record as a starter the following year en route to a loss in Super Bowl XXXIII. He subsequently landed a huge contract but did not deliver on his end and had a quiet end to a career that lasted 17 seasons.

Jeff Blake: 7 Teams

Played For: 

• Jets
• Bengals
• Saints
• Ravens 
• Cardinals
• Eagles
• Bears

Jeff Blake’s career is defined by his time in Cincinnati, although his play there still left a lot to be desired. He spent the end of his career bouncing between NFL teams that are named after birds before capping off his 14-year career in Chicago.

Brian Hoyer: 8 Teams

Played For: 

• Patriots (three times)
• Cardinals
• Browns
• Texans
• Bears
• 49ers
• Colts
• Raiders

We’ve got yet another QB who served as a backup for Tom Brady on the Patriots, and that essentially defined the legacy of a man who spent half of his 16 NFL seasons in New England.

Ryan Fitzpatrick: 9 Teams

Played For:

• Rams
• Bengals
• Bills
• Titans
• Texans
• Jets
• Buccaneers
• Dolphins
• Commanders

Nine different NFL teams got at least a brief taste of Fitzmagic, and Ryan Fitzpatrick—who had his longest period of sustained success with the Bills—is the only QB in NFL history who threw a touchdown as a member of eight different franchises while hanging around the league for 17 seasons.

Josh McCown: 10 Teams*

Played For:

• Cardinals
• Lions
• Raiders
• Panthers
• Bears
• Buccaneers
• Browns
• Jets
• Eagles
• Texans

I’m hitting Josh McCown with the asterisk, as he played at least one snap for nine teams but failed to see any action with the Texans as a member of the active roster during what ended up being his 17th and final season in 2020.

Josh Johnson: 13 Teams

Played For:

• Buccaneers
• 49ers (four times)
• Browns
• Bengals
• Jets (two times)
• Colts
• Bills
• Ravens (three times)
• Giants
• Texans
• Lions
• Broncos
• Commanders (two times)

There isn’t a single player (quarterback or otherwise) who’s been signed by more NFL teams than Josh Johnson, as he’s inked a contract with 14 different franchises since joining the NFL in 2002. That piece of trivia has been constantly parrotted as he gears up for another stint with the Commanders, but it doesn’t tell the true story.

Johnson has only been on the active roster for 13 of those franchises (he signed with the Raiders in the spring of 2018 but was released soon after), and he only took a snap for seven of them—although all of these numbers could theoretically grow when you consider the 39-year-old veteran is the only active player on this list.