Pressure is on in London for NFL’s rookie quarterbacks

That does not stop the spotlight shining brightly on the new faces that arrive fresh out the draft. Everyone knows that a quarterback can be franchise defining.

The position has been selected first overall in the draft eight times in the last decade. Teams put significant resources into the selection, recruitment and development of quarterbacks, knowing that it can be the difference between being a side who reach the Super Bowl and one that languishes outside the play-offs.

As the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns arrive in London for the first of three NFL matches being held here, it is their rookie quarterbacks in the spotlight.

The Vikings put their eggs in the basket of J.J. McCarthy at the start of the year. They offered Sam Darnold, their starting quarterback last year, only a one-year deal. He consequently signed with the Seattle Seahawks in free agency. Conversations with Rodgers were short-lived. It was clear that they wanted to smooth the path for McCarthy.

They had signed him from the 2024 draft where he was picked 10th overall. A meniscus injury in pre-season meant that he missed the year, but it has been a tricky start to 2025 for him. After being sacked six times against the Atlanta Falcons, he sustained an ankle injury, leaving Carson Wentz to step in. The 32-year-old childhood Vikings fan made history by becoming the first quarterback to play for six different teams in six seasons.

In Wentz’s first game he completed 14 of 20 attempted passes with two touchdowns in a dominant 48-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. He completed 30 against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin last weekend in a tight 24-21 loss. But he was also sacked six times and it is starting to look like the Vikings offensive issues are not just about who is playing quarterback. That hasn’t stopped Wentz’s performances raising questions as to whether McCarthy gets back into the team on his return from injury.

“The compounding negativity is almost fatal to some guys,” said Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell in an interview with ESPN about quarterback development. The pressure on rookie quarterbacks can make or break their future. If the Vikings’ offense can’t adequately perform, they could be risking more than just another season without a play-off win, despite having spent more on their roster than any other NFL team.

Outwardly O’Connell has been very positive about the realities of bringing McCarthy through.

“This is going to be a process for our team,” he said, following their loss to the Falcons. “Our young quarterback is going to make some plays. He’s going to make some unbelievable throws. Other times, he’s going to have an attempt and just miss something a little long, and we will go back and try to fix it.

“Sometimes, the fundamentals are going to be right, the technique is going to be right, but he’s learning on the fly right now. The way you overcome that is by the full group’s execution level being to a certain standard that we can go try to compete and win with.”

If the Vikings were at least initially willing to back their rookie, the Cleveland Browns have done the opposite – until now.

Dillon Gabriel will become the first quarterback to make his debut overseas when he starts for the Browns, replacing 40-year-old Joe Flacco.

Gabriel was drafted in the third round, with the Browns also picking up Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round. Sanders was one of the big stories from the 2025 draft – having your dad be Hall of Famer Deion Sanders will do that – and was expected to go in one of the early rounds, until multiple teams passed on him based on concerns about his adaptability to the NFL.

If the Vikings offense is bad, the Browns’ is even worse with an average of 14 points per game and a 1-3 record this year. Flacco had the second worst completion rate of quarterbacks (58.1%) in the league with a minimum of 56 pass attempts and the second most interceptions with six. Gabriel will have the freedom at least to know that he cannot do much worse. How much Sanders looms over him may well be the more intriguing threat.

There is certainly an assumption that he will also get a shot at some point this season.

There are moments in a quarterback’s season that can go on to make or break the player, the team, or the franchise. Whether it is a performance from the veteran Wentz or rookie Gabriel, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium may play host to one such moment.

Photograph by David Berding/Getty Images