Every free-agent cycle, there seem to always be the same free-agent quarterbacks on the market — quarterbacks who just can’t seem to hold on to their jobs at their subpar organizations and end up like a seed in a hurricane, passed from one city to another. These so-called journeyman quarterbacks are about as ubiquitous as the attention-dominating superstar quarterbacks, yet they don’t share the same spotlight.
The journeyman enjoys a long NFL career filled with clipboard-holding and the occasional start when a better quarterback cannot be found on the roster. As ubiquitous as these players may be, who can hold the crown of the most defining journeyman quarterback?
First, let’s set some ground rules: A journeyman must be on a lot of teams (journey is quite literally in their name); they cannot be too good of a quarterback but still good enough so there is a reason they keep getting signed (one Pro Bowl appearance or less) and their jobs cannot be seen as secure (no more than four consecutive years on any one team). The player who fills these criteria the best is the truest journeyman.
List of premier NFL journeyman quarterbacks stats:
| Name | Number of Teams Played For | Number of Years Pro | Number of Pro Bowls | Record |
| Josh McCown | 9 | 18 | 0 | 23–53 |
| Josh Johnson | 8 | 16 | 0 | 1–8 |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick | 9 | 17 | 0 | 59–87–1 |
| Brian Hoyer | 8 | 15 | 0 | 16–25 |
| Nick Foles | 6 | 11 | 1 | 29–29 |
The race narrows down to three candidates from here: Josh McCown, Josh Johnson and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Each of our candidates has a unique claim to fame for the title of the truest journeyman.
Josh Johnson
Johnson is the truest ‘journey’ man of all time. His eight different NFL teams are the second most on our list, but his stops in the United Football League, Alliance of American Football and XFL mean that he has been on over 10 different football teams. This still doesn’t include all of his practice-squad appearances over the years. As impressive as his journeys may be, Johnson is more of a backup than an actual potential starter. Having only started nine regular-season games, Johnson has never been seen as anywhere near a player worthy of a starting gig.
Josh McCown
McCown fits squarely in the middle of our other two finalists. Like Johnson, McCown spent most of his career as a backup. But he ultimately had several seasons with double-digit starts. Unlike Fitzpatrick, McCown never started and ended a season as the starter, as he was always seen as a high-tier backup or an occasional spot starter. In the latter portion of McCown’s career, he was seen more as a mentor than as a quality starter. He helped teach Sam Darnold and Johnny Manziel, the former of whom may soon join him on this list (Darnold is currently on his fifth team).
Ryan Fitzpatrick
The king of the journeymen, “Fitzmagic,” stands atop his competition. Fitzpatrick has joined the most teams on the list, and he’s made the most of his time in the league. With the most starts of any other qualifying journeyman, Fizpatrick’s shockingly impressive record with mostly awful teams was the reason that teams kept knocking on his door. Fitzpatrick’s ability to be a day-one starter but never be able to lead a team to the playoffs is a journeyman superpower.
