Hall of Fame coach discusses whether teams should play rookie quarterbacks

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, two-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Eli Manning and living legend Tom Brady are among the noteworthy members of the NFL community who have recently discussed if teams should start or sit rookie signal-callers selected with high draft picks.

Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells addressed the topic this week while speaking with Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe.

"Fans never consider the psychological makeup of the player you’re getting ready to throw to the wolves," Parcells explained. "What you really have to judge is the timing and the chance to succeed. Sometimes if they don’t succeed , it destroys them. So I think you just have to see what you’re dealing with personally. What kind of temperament he seems to have. How does he respond to negative play situations or hard coaching?"

Burrow and Manning argued that clubs should want to play first-round quarterbacks sooner rather than later. Specifically, Manning noted that "the only way to truly learn how to play quarterback in this league is to play."

Brady generated headlines when he said that it was "just a tragedy that we’re forcing these rookies to play early" before they might be ready.

Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears, Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders and Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos are three big-name rookies who will enter September as QB1s for their teams. The New England Patriots also sound ready to name Drake Maye — the third overall pick of this year's draft — their starter but could go with veteran Jacoby Brissett for their regular-season opener.

One source "familiar with" the situation that Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers dealt with as a rookie last season recently told David Newton of ESPN that a signal-caller who "can't handle" starting as a first-year pro is "not your franchise quarterback." Parcells doesn't necessarily agree with such takes.

"Fans will say, ' Well, if he can’t take it, we don’t want him anyway,' but when this is a high draft choice, you’ve got to do everything in your power to allow him to have a chance to succeed," Parcells told Shaughnessy. "Economically, these days, it’s not in your best interest if he doesn’t succeed . It’s bad if you have a lot of expense and no production."

There's no one right or wrong answer regarding this subject. Brady first learned about life in the NFL as a backup while Peyton Manning was a Week 1 starter for the Indianapolis Colts as a rookie in 1998. Both are now widely regarded as all-time greats.

With that said, history shows at least one team will regret immediately starting a 2024 rookie as soon as January 2026.