The Chicago Bears know firsthand of the perils of backup quarterback play.
In league where talent evaluators cannot identify enough starting quarterback talent to suit all 32 teams, the reserve-quarterback role is often filled by either an untested younger player or an over-the-hill veteran.
Since Jay Cutler's arrival via trade in 2009, five different backup quarterbacks have taken meaningful snaps for the Bears -- Jimmy Clausen, Josh McCown, Jason Campbell, Caleb Hanie and Todd Collins.
In the pre-Cutler era, Lovie Smith used six different quarterbacks from 2004 to 2008 primarily because Rex Grossman kept getting hurt -- Kyle Orton, Brian Griese, Chad Hutchinson, Jonathan Quinn, Craig Krenzel and Grossman.