The worst place any NFL team can be in in quarterback limbo.

Today's game is too tied to the position to not have someone capable or even packed with potential leading the way. So, the search to find a quality-to-franchise option never stops when one isn't in place.

The Las Vegas Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings (thanks to J.J. McCarthy's season-ending injury) and possibly even the Tennessee Titans find themselves in this position. They don't know what they have behind center, without the type of veteran who can help a team win games or a recent first-round pick in the mix.

But there's still an entire season to play. Everyone knows the tally.

"As a defensive guy you really don't have a shot," ESPN's Chris Canty, who played 11 seasons in the NFL, told Kevin Clark when asked how a defensive player feels knowing they don't have a solution at quarterback. "The best thing we could do is try to preserve ourselves, get through the game healthy and live to fight another week. It is a godawful feeling. To sign up for that for 17 games, yeah I'm all the way out."

The best path forward for these organizations is trying to fortify the game's most important position with talent who could possibly steady the ship. As such, those franchises need to be on the phone calling to see if they can pull a backup from another squad and throw numbers at the problem.

The following six backup options should draft significant interest prior to the start of the regular season, though their current teams may not be willing to move them. It never hurts to try.

QB Joe Flacco, Indianapolis Colts

Joe Flacco was sitting on his couch at this time last year hoping to get another shot at playing. He's now the league's best backup quarterback, after signing with the Cleveland Browns in November, taking over as the starter thanks to Deshaun Watson's season-ending surgery, helping the team make the postseason and winning the NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

Maybe there's some more magic left in this 39-year-old veteran.

Obviously, Flacco left the Browns to join the Indianapolis Colts this offseason because Cleveland planned to move forward with Watson and new backup Jameis Winston, even though the former is still dealing with arm soreness.

The Colts meanwhile, are full speed ahead with Anthony Richardson as their proposed franchise quarterback.

The Flacco signing is insurance in case Richardson's style leads to another injury. Last year's fourth overall draft pick suffered a season-ending shoulder injury himself. Although he appears completely healthy now.

Still, the Colts seem to be hedging their bet so they can still push toward the postseason if Richardson gets dinged again. What they really should be doing is going all in with Richardson. He's the guy. The offense is built around his unique physical gifts, which Flacco basically falls on the opposite side of the spectrum.

If another team wants to give Flacco one more run to see what it can do, the Colts can maximize trade value and add $3.5 million more to next year's rollover cap.

Whoever Doesn't Get the Job in Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Steelers situation is tricky, and not in the Run DMC way where it's to rock a rhyme that's right on time. It's because they don't have a specific quarterback to set the bar. However, they're a rare squad with two options that have extensive starting experience. Those two options just happen to be on downward trajectories.

As of now, the Steelers haven't outright named their starting quarterback.

Russell Wilson held a clear advantage over Justin Fields upon signing with the organization. The 35-year-old veteran suffered a calf strain during pre-training camp conditioning, which delayed his full-time integration by a few weeks.

During Wilson's absence, the 25-year-old Fields showed off his propensity to make plays. At the same time, everyone understands the latter's inconsistencies from the pocket.

Neither is a star, that's going too far.

Eventually, a starter will be named. But it's a situation that will start to fester if that specific individual doesn't play well. Steelers faithful and media will continually question if/when the other will play.

Pittsburgh can solve this potential problem simply by trading away whichever quarterback that head coach Mike Tomlin doesn't chose to open the regular season. The investment in both is minimal. Another team could see value, whereas the Steelers need to simultaneously play the short and long games.

Jacoby Brissett, New England Patriots

A very specific outcome needs to occur with the New England Patriots for Jacoby Brissett to become available sooner rather than later.

The Patriots invested this year's third overall pick into quarterback Drake Maye. The organization previously signed Brissett to a one-year, $8 million free-agent contract. He can be the bridge to Maye eventually taking over the franchise.

But a funny thing happened along the way: Maye may be more ready to start earlier in his career than expected.

"One hundred percent, I think he's ready to run a huddle," head coach Jerod Mayo told reporters.

Every first-round quarterback's timetable should be based on the individual, not an arbitrary standard. The Chicago Bears' Caleb Williams, Washington Commanders' Jayden Daniels and Denver Broncos' Bo Nix have already been named starters for Week 1.

In a short amount of time, Maye already showed he's a more capable playmaker than Brissett, even in an offense that's still limited by a lack of talent.

"I would say by Monday night we should know who the quarterback is," Mayo said. "You know, Sunday night game, it's always hard to really crank through the film, especially on the road, but I think Monday, Tuesday we probably should know who the quarterback is.

If Mayo does eventually name Maye the Week 1 starter, Brissett can be moved elsewhere since the Patriots still have Bailey Zappe and another promising rookie, Joe Milton III, on the roster.

Tanner McKee, Philadelphia Eagles

The previous three options were veterans who are experienced and viewed as potential stabilizers. The Philadelphia Eagles' Tanner McKee is something completely different.

McKee is a young, second-year quarterback with significant promise but stuck on a roster behind a legitimate franchise quarterback and a former first-round draft pick.

The Eagles chose McKee in last year's sixth round. He was given an opportunity this offseason to compete for QB2 behind Jalen Hurts.

"Howie [Roseman] did a great job communicating," McKee told reporters about the conversation he had with the Eagles general manager. "They told me they were going to bring in another quarterback, and we were going to compete. That was the message that I got. Kenny's been a great teammate, and we're going to continue to compete for probably the whole year."

The sophomore signal-caller has played well during preseason action. His second apperance was particularly good by completing 15-of-19 passes for 140 yards. McKee stands tall in the pocket and delivers the football. But Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni already established the Eagles' quarterback pecking order even after that effort.

"Kenny is our No. 2, Tanner is our No. 3," Sirianni said, "and I'm really happy that both of those guys are on the roster."

McKee presents upside. As a late-round pick, he's a lottery ticket. Sometimes, lottery tickets hit. A team in desperate need of a quarterback could do worse than investing in McKee's potential.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are moving full speed ahead with Deshaun Watson at quarterback. The organization doesn't have a choice, really. After all, his fully guaranteed contract dictates which direction the franchise continues to take despite providing very little through his first two seasons with the team.

Cleveland's training and coaching staffs have been cautious with Watson throughout the preseason process, as he recovers from last year's season-ending shoulder injury.

But general manager Andrew Berry brought in Jameis Winston as the team's insurance policy if Watson physically doesn't hold up or fails to reach previous playing standards.

Previously, Dorian Thompson-Robinson started three games as a rookie. The 2023 fifth-round pick looked like a playmaker during his first preseason before the realities of the NFL defenses got to him when thrust into the lineup. He's looked efficient during this year's preseason as well.

Other organizations likely had solid predraft grades on DTR and like his potential as both a passer and runner, hence why he's now drawing interest.

"The Cleveland Browns have discussed a potential trade of second-year quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson with multiple teams," two league sources with knowledge of the discussions told The Athletic's Zac Jackson.

Even if Watson's shoulder doesn't hold up, the Browns have depth at quarterback after also signing Tyler Huntley. Thompson-Robinson really doesn't have a place among Cleveland's current roster.

QB Davis Mills, Houston Texans

Davis Mills is who he is. He was given every opportunity to stake his claim as the Houston Texans' long-term starting quarterback and failed to do so.

That's OK when scraping to find alternatives.

Mills is talented. He was a 5-star recruit coming out of high school. Extenuating circumstances led to having an up-and-down career with the Stanford Cardinal. The Texans gave him a long look. At the same time, his era at quarterback came when the organization experienced issues with previous starter Deshaun Watson while also rebuilding the roster under the direction of then-new general manager Nick Caserio.

Outside of Brandin Cooks and a still-developing Nico Collins, the Texans had little-to-nothing at their skill positions. Unsurprisingly, the young quarterback finished his first and second campaigns with a combined 33-and-25 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

However, the 24-year-old has a 6'4", 225-pound frame with the ability to rip some throws and 26 starts already under his belt.

Without question, C.J. Stroud is the shining beacon for the resurgent Texans franchise. Houston also has a long-time veteran backup option in Case Keenum. Some other squad might want to give Davis one more shot to start and see if it can get the most out of his natural ability.