Best Backup Quarterbacks 2017: Patriots, Packers, Lions, Falcons

Two of the teams with the best backup quarterbacks for the 2017 regular NFL season according to ESPN.com just happen to have played in the more recent Super Bowl.

The New England Patriots have Jimmy Garoppolo, who drew heavy interest on the trade market from teams that were told repeatedly that he wasn't available.

From ESPN.com:

Patriots officials will tell you that they feel completely confident that they can win if Garoppolo has to play, and they also like third-stringer Jacoby Brissett. This is the clear No. 1 quarterback situation in the league.

The Patriots were coming in as a 3-1 favorite to win Super Bowl 52 and those odds might not collapse too far should Tom Brady suddenly find himself on the sidelines with an injury.  ESPN believes this is the team with the best depth at quarterback.

Atlanta has Matt Schaub in case Matt Ryan goes down.  Ryan has missed just two games in nine years.

Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers has started in every game since 2013 but, in the unlikely event he goes down, it won’t necessarily be the end of the world in Packer Land. There’s Brett Hundley. 

Hundley's preseason work -- combined with the high regard the rest of the teams around the league have for the Packers' coaching staff's work with quarterbacks -- makes him a respected backup and possible 2018 offseason trade target.

Then there’s the Detroit Lions.  Matthew Stafford hasn't missed a game since 2010.

Should he miss a game or two, sixth-round pick Brad Kaaya might be able to get the job done “if he can develop quickly into the No. 2”.

- Mary Montgomery, Gambling911.com