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TAMPA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 09: Cameron Ward #1 of the Tennessee Titans warms up prior to an NFL preseason football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on August 9, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
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You’ll never think of the word ‘seeds’ the same way ever again.
Just in time for football season, and the start of our NFL previews, Netflix released season three of its popular Quarterback series co-produced by Patrick Mahomes (conflict there, maybe?) and Peyton Manning. It’s seven episodes following Cam Ward, Baker Mayfield, Joe Flacco and Jayden Daniels.
I have to think going into the production meeting, the thinking was the show would capture four different quarterbacks at different stages of their career: Ward the rookie overall No. 1 pick of the Tennessee Titans, Daniels the reigning ‘It’ QB in Washington, Mayfield having found new life with the Bucs and Flacco on the tail end of an elite (inside joke) career in Cleveland, uh, Cincinnati.
The biggest reveal – aside from Ward’s girlfriend magically showing up about three episodes in – is how fragile life in the NFL is.
Daniels misses almost the entire season with a handful of injuries including a dislocated elbow that’s not for the faint of heart. Washington collapses.
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EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - NOVEMBER 24: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates after scoring a rushing touchdown against the New York Giants during the second quarter at MetLife Stadium on November 24, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
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Mayfield is an MVP candidate midway through the season with the Bucs at 6-2, but he suffers one ailment after another, first a knee, then an ugly bruised arm, and then a shoulder separation. His team also collapses down the stretch and even though its not implied, the link is obvious that Mayfield’s health is a contributing factor.
Ward and the Titans are never supposed to be any good. What shines through is his kindness (playing dodgeball with local kids, then taking others on a Target Christmas shopping spree). He also unleashes the word ‘seeds!’ any time he uncorks a strong, perfect pass in practice or a game.
Despite his youth, Ward can’t escape the Netflix Quarterback Injury Curse and he gets knocked out of the last meaningless game of the season.
Flacco has the craziest arc. He starts the year in Cleveland and maintains a good outlook after the team drafts not one, but two quarterbacks in the draft (Browns gonna Brown). He’s the opening day starter, but aside from one miracle win over Green Bay, the Browns offense is bad. Flacco is inconsistent. He’s also 40. He gets yanked as the starter and then boom, is traded to Cincinnati where he is instantly the starter until Joe Burrow (star of Quarterback Season 1 along with his wardrobe) heals.
The QB who gets the most screen time is Mayfield. There’s a lot of time spent in his waterfront Tampa home and his precocious young daughter, and his quickly-revealed pregnant wife Emily. It’s always interesting to see the family dynamic play out, but it has become stereotypical. During the games, there’s cuts to the wives and a large group of family in a suite partying hard while the QB is getting blitzed on the field. I’m not sure why the wives get so much screen time and cynically I worry that they’re about to pitch their own health business on camera (influencer gonna influence).
But it’s hard not to like Mayfield, who comes across as competitive and earnest. I could do without some of the smack talk, but you do you. Quarterback also doesn’t shy away from some of his past missteps in college. And in the final episode it’s nice to meet his new son Maverick. Mayfield seems the most grateful to be in the position he’s in.
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CINCINNATI, OHIO - OCTOBER 16: Joe Flacco #16 of the Cincinnati Bengals celebrates after a touchdown during an NFL football game Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium on October 16, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
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Flacco’s family has five kids, and they remain in New Jersey while their dad bounces around the AFC Central. Flacco is actually with his wife Dana in his Cleveland apartment (she had come for a quick visit) when he gets the call that he’s traded. He actually misses the call at first and then calls back.
Some of Flacco’s best scenes are watching his kids play peewee football in New Jersey (including while Dana is watching Joe’s game on her phone) and Dana showing all the different Flacco jerseys that the kids want to wear. Flacco’s season ends on the bench as a back-up, honestly where it should have started.
Ever since I watched Daniels at LSU and Arizona State, I worried he was too slight to take much punishment, but he danced his way to a Heisman Trophy and gave Washington fans a reason to believe as a rookie. But in the NFL, you’re either moving forward or you’re getting devoured. Daniels gets hurt, sits out, returns, and then gets hurt worse. There is some talk about why Washington was playing him again when the season was so far out of reach, but Daniels is paid to play. Of the four, he has the most banal storyline. He’s hurt. He wants to play. He gets hurt again. He wants to play.
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LANDOVER, MARYLAND - OCTOBER 27: Jayden Daniels #5 of the Washington Commanders looks to pass the ball against the Chicago Bears during the first quarter at Northwest Stadium on October 27, 2024 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
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Daniels’ mom plays the female role in the series. She’s gotten a bad rap in some circles, but in the series she comes across as any other athlete’s mom, protective first, second and third.
Ward’s mom is a part of the show too. My favorite moment in the whole show is after Ward gets hurt in the last game against Jacksonville, he calls his mom (or maybe she calls him) from the locker room. Ward is annoyed and injured and his mom is like “are you ok?” Ward responds, “no, I’m hurt!”
Ward is cocky like any rookie, but even-keeled. The Titans fire coach Brian Callahan early in the season, and the whole thing happens off screen. About the only comment Ward makes is to his girlfriend who said Callahan just told him to keep working hard.
In fact, the biggest thing missing in Quarterback Season 3 is a lack of perspective on the teams. No one talks about how bad Washington’s defense is, or how Mike Evans getting injured messed up the Bucs offense, or how Flacco’s beard almost reaches up to his eyes.
In that regard, Quarterback is a bit too hyperfocused, but it makes up for it with some fascinating behind the scenes stuff.
There are asides about how the helmet communication receivers don’t always work. Flacco and Burrow have a long talk about footwork and positioning - they don’t agree. Daniels uses a VR headset to help him prepare. Mayfield complains about a ball being wet in a game, but it’s because the team was in hurry-up and the refs couldn’t swap it out. Flacco jokes about getting the play calls wrong when he gets to Cincinnati. Ward throws ‘seeds.’
I’ve watched the NFL for 40 years and my favorite free time is, sigh, watching old NFL highlights and there’s things in Quarterback Season 3 I never knew. But what fans will learn in Quarterback Season 3 is fame and success are fleeting. You can throw all the seeds you want, but one big hit and your season is a bust.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
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