Reliable veteran Alex Smith, who had started all but four games over his previous five seasons in Kansas City, was expected to usher in a new era of stability for the Redskins after he was acquired in a trade, but those plans were dashed when Smith suffered a devastating leg injury against the Texans last month.
When Smith’s replacement, Colt McCoy, fractured his leg in Monday’s loss to the Eagles, the Redskins' quarterback carousel was back in full spin. Mark Sanchez, who was signed the day after Smith went down and took his first snaps since 2016 in relief of McCoy, will start for Washington on Sunday against the Giants.
It’s well known that the Browns are the measuring stick against which the speed of every other team’s quarterback carousel should be judged. Rookie Baker Mayfield is the Browns' 30th starting quarterback since the NFL returned to Cleveland after a three-year absence in 1999. The Bears are a distant second on the list, with 23 starting quarterbacks used during that time.
Sanchez, who has previously started for the Jets and Eagles, will be the Redskins' 18th starting quarterback since 1999, tying Washington with the Buccaneers and 49ers for 10th most in the league in that span. NFL teams have used an average of 15 starting quarterbacks since 1999. The Tom Brady-led Patriots have used the fewest (5), followed by the Giants and Packers (6 each) and Chargers (7). The Cowboys have used an NFC East-most 20 starting quarterbacks over the last 20 years.
Can you name every Redskins quarterback since 1999? Answers below.
Redskins Starting Quarterbacks: 1999-Present (Win-Loss Record)
1999
Brad Johnson (10-6)
2000
Brad Johnson (7-4)
Jeff George (1-4)
2001
Jeff George (0-2)
Tony Banks (8-6)
2002
Shane Matthews (3-4)
Patrick Ramsey (2-3)
Danny Wuerffel (2-2)
2003
Patrick Ramsey (4-7)
Tim Hasselbeck (1-4)
2004
Mark Brunell (3-6)
Patrick Ramsey (3-4)
2005
Mark Brunell (9-6)
Patrick Ramsey (1-0)
2006
Jason Campbell (2-5)
Mark Brunell (3-6)
2007
Jason Campbell (6-7)
Todd Collins (3-0)
2008
Jason Campbell (8-8)
2009
Jason Campbell (4-12)
2010
Donovan McNabb (5-8)
Rex Grossman (1-2)
2011
Rex Grossman (5-8)
John Beck (0-3)
2012
Robert Griffin III (9-6)
Kirk Cousins (1-0)
2013
Robert Griffin III (3-10)
Kirk Cousins (0-3)
2014
Robert Griffin III (2-5)
Kirk Cousins (1-4)
Colt McCoy (1-3)
2015
Kirk Cousins (9-7)
2016
Kirk Cousins (8-7-1)
2017
Kirk Cousins (7-9)
2018
Alex Smith (6-4)
Colt McCoy (0-2)
Mark Sanchez (Will start Sunday)
(Source: Pro Football Reference, with an assist from this 2013 Deadspin post.)
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