I’m always torn on running quarterbacks. On the one hand, it’s a great way to add statistical value. But at the same time, it makes it seem like it’s only a matter of time before a season-altering injury will occur.
Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson are great players, with the rushing production being a key element of their success, but it’s a risky style of said. Something to be said, I think, for instead going with a quarterback who does a better job of staying out of the fray – Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow for sure, or perhaps one of the up-and-coming youngsters (Jordan Love, C.J. Stroud, Brock Purdy).
Allen, of course, has gone five years in a row without getting hurt, while Mahomes and Burrow have missed games in that time. But I don’t think that changes the probabilities. If a contestant in a game of Russian Roulette makes it through five rounds, does that mean the regular rules don’t apply to him?
Cam Newton and Daunte Culpepper were physically similar to Allen and played with the same style; injuries eventually caught up with them. Hurts is comparable to Allen; he had to play hurt last year and missed time the previous season.
Jackson stayed healthy last year but missed five games in each of his two previous seasons.
At the same time, there’s something to be said for just picking these guys and trying to ride it out. Even if theres’ an injury, there’s the possibility of keeping your fantasy team afloat with another quarterback (there are lot of good ones out there this year).
I was playing around with some on this. Below see the list of all quarterbacks who’ve run the ball at least 100 times in the last 40 years. The final column shows the number of starts the quarterback missed the next season.
There have been 38 of these quarterbacks, and half missed at least two games the next season. I’ve got them tagged with dots. Not all of the missed games have been due to injury (I see dog-fighting Michael Vick and discarded Tim Tebow) but a good number of injuries with this group.
| QUARTERBACKS WITH 100 RUSHING ATTEMPTS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Miss |
| 2019 | Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 15 | 176 | 1,206 | 6.9 | 7 | 1 |
| 2022 | Jalen Hurts, Phil. | 15 | 165 | 760 | 4.6 | 13 | 0 |
| 2022 | • Justin Fields, Chi. | 15 | 160 | 1,143 | 7.1 | 8 | 4 |
| 2020 | • Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 15 | 159 | 1,005 | 6.3 | 7 | 5 |
| 2023 | Jalen Hurts, Phil. | 17 | 157 | 605 | 3.9 | 15 | ? |
| 2023 | Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 16 | 148 | 821 | 5.6 | 5 | ? |
| 2018 | Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 7 | 147 | 695 | 4.7 | 5 | 1 |
| 2017 | • Cam Newton, Car. | 16 | 139 | 754 | 5.4 | 6 | 2 |
| 2021 | • Jalen Hurts, Phil. | 15 | 139 | 784 | 5.6 | 10 | 2 |
| 2020 | • Cam Newton, N.E. | 15 | 137 | 592 | 4.3 | 12 | 12 |
| 2021 | • Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 12 | 133 | 767 | 5.8 | 2 | 5 |
| 2020 | • Kyler Murray, Ari. | 16 | 133 | 819 | 6.2 | 11 | 3 |
| 2015 | • Cam Newton, Car. | 16 | 132 | 636 | 4.8 | 10 | 2 |
| 2012 | Cam Newton, Car. | 16 | 127 | 741 | 5.8 | 8 | 0 |
| 2011 | Cam Newton, Car. | 16 | 126 | 706 | 5.6 | 14 | 0 |
| 2023 | Justin Fields, Chi. | 13 | 124 | 657 | 5.3 | 4 | ? |
| 2022 | Josh Allen, Buff. | 16 | 124 | 762 | 6.1 | 7 | 0 |
| 2006 | • Michael Vick, Atl. | 16 | 123 | 1,039 | 8.5 | 2 | 15 |
| 2011 | • Tim Tebow, Den. | 11 | 122 | 660 | 5.4 | 6 | 14 |
| 2021 | Josh Allen, Buff. | 17 | 122 | 763 | 6.3 | 6 | 1 |
| 2022 | • Daniel Jones, NYG | 16 | 120 | 708 | 5.9 | 7 | 11 |
| 2012 | • Robert Griffin, Was. | 15 | 120 | 815 | 6.8 | 7 | 3 |
| 2004 | Michael Vick, Atl. | 15 | 120 | 902 | 7.5 | 3 | 1 |
| 1990 | • Randall Cunningham, Phil. | 16 | 118 | 942 | 8.0 | 5 | 15 |
| 2014 | Russell Wilson, Sea. | 16 | 118 | 849 | 7.2 | 6 | 0 |
| 2002 | • Michael Vick, Atl. | 15 | 113 | 777 | 6.9 | 8 | 12 |
| 2022 | Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 12 | 112 | 764 | 6.8 | 3 | 1 |
| 2023 | Josh Allen, Buff. | 17 | 111 | 524 | 4.7 | 15 | ? |
| 2013 | • Cam Newton, Car. | 16 | 111 | 585 | 5.3 | 6 | 2 |
| 2019 | Josh Allen, Buff. | 16 | 109 | 510 | 4.7 | 9 | 0 |
| 2002 | • Daunte Culpepper, Min. | 16 | 106 | 609 | 5.8 | 10 | 2 |
| 2014 | • Colin Kaepernick, S.F. | 16 | 104 | 639 | 6.1 | 1 | 8 |
| 2015 | Tyrod Taylor, Buff. | 14 | 104 | 568 | 5.5 | 4 | 1 |
| 1989 | Randall Cunningham, Phil. | 16 | 104 | 621 | 6.0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2014 | Cam Newton, Car. | 14 | 103 | 539 | 5.2 | 5 | 0 |
| 2015 | Russell Wilson, Sea. | 16 | 103 | 553 | 5.4 | 1 | 0 |
| 2005 | Michael Vick, Atl. | 15 | 102 | 597 | 5.9 | 6 | 0 |
| 2020 | Josh Allen, Buff. | 16 | 102 | 421 | 4.1 | 8 | 0 |
| 2018 | • Cam Newton, Car. | 14 | 101 | 488 | 4.8 | 4 | 14 |
| 1997 | Steve McNair, Ten. | 16 | 101 | 674 | 6.7 | 8 | 0 |
| 2010 | • Michael Vick, Phil. | 12 | 100 | 676 | 6.8 | 9 | 3 |
—Ian Allan