Ranking the NFC North quarterbacks as of now

For Vikings fans, it hasn’t been too hard to keep up with the team’s quarterback situation. Barring anything unexpected, Kirk Cousins will be Minnesota’s starter in 2021.

But what about the rest of the NFC North? The Lions agreed to trade Matthew Stafford and received Jared Goff as part of the deal.

There’s also some mystery as to what the Bears will do with their quarterback situation in 2021. The team still has Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles, but those two were pretty inconsistent for Chicago this season.

The NFC North is gearing up to have some interesting quarterback play next season. A lot can change, but here’s a rankings of each team’s QB situation right now:

Packers

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Aaron Rodgers is still definitively the best quarterback in the NFC North. There's an argument to be made that he's actually the best in the NFL, as evidenced by his MVP this season. Jordan Love is a relative unknown for the long term, but it's safe to say that Green Bay is in a good spot with Rodgers as its QB.

Vikings

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Minnesota is in the No. 2 spot here with Kirk Cousins. I think Cousins is clearly better than Goff, Trubisky and Foles at the moment. Sure, Minnesota's backup quarterback isn't likely to have a high ceiling. But I think based on the unknowns of the Lions' and Bears' quarterback situation going forward, Cousins is the second safest bet in the division.

Lions

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The Rams agreeing to trade Jared Goff when the team is in the playoff window is probably not a glowing endorsement of him as a quarterback. However, Goff still had his moments in a good Los Angeles system. The Lions don't seem to be primed for contention in the short term, but he has decent weapons on Detroit — Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones, to name a few.

Bears

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I think unless Chicago trades up and lands a top-end quarterback prospect in the NFL draft, the team is most likely going to have the worst quarterback situation of any NFC North team in 2020. That said, the Bears have a good team still and I think they're more likely to compete for the division than the Lions. Chicago should probably not have either Foles or Trubisky as the mainstay starter in 2021. A rookie has more upside, but that comes with more uncertainty. It will take time for the Bears to fix their QB situation.

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