In a league where teams are only keeping two quarterbacks on their active roster, four NFL teams decided to keep four quarterbacks on their initial 53-man roster.
Following cutdown day, the Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers decided to keep four quarterbacks on their roster following the cutdown deadline.
A fifth team, the Cleveland Browns, kept four QBs, but with Dillon Gabriel placed on injured reserve with a back injury, he doesn’t count on the 53-man roster. With Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders and Taylen Green the three on the active roster, sneaking Gabriel onto IR with the designation to return, give the club four weeks to figure out their QB-position, should a trade materialize.
The decisions to keep excess QBs on the initial 53-man rosters speak not only to the importance of the position, but the maneuverability provided by practice squad call-ups. In the past, clubs would have elected to keep fewer QBs on the roster, valuing those spots for potential special-teams players or as backups at positions that might be shallower but would be needed during a game.
With the ability to sign veterans to the practice squad and move them up on game day, the need is less pressing than it was six or seven years ago.
