Every great team needs a great quarterback. The man throwing the ball between 30 and 40 times a game is responsible for the offense of his team on the field, and he is also responsible for his teammates behind the scenes as the ideal QB is also the ideal locker room leader. Every franchise is in the search for the quarterback who will be a transcendent player on the team for the next decade.

For the Obvious Change Needed teams below, it has become apparent that there needs to be change made in order for the team to move forward. Whether through poor performance on that team or on past teams, or by the arrival of new QBs who have yet to impress front offices, these teams need to embrace change.

Be sure to check out this week's other "Franchise Quarterback" articles for in-depth analysis of additional QB categories.

Buffalo Bills

The candidates at QB: Matt Cassel, EJ Manuel and Tyrod Taylor

This past offseason, the Bills traded two picks to the Minnesota Vikings to acquire backup Matt Cassel. When the Bills acquired Cassel, it was expected that he would become the instant starter for the team. While head coach Rex Ryan would never say that Cassel was the surefire starter, he was the best choice talent-wise on the roster. The only other real competition on the roster under center, EJ Manuel, was benched early on last season in favor of the then-31-year-old Kyle Orton. However, Cassel would disappoint in practice early on in the offseason, leaving the door wide open for Manuel to potentially regain his starting job.

Later on in the offseason, the Bills also signed Tyrod Taylor, the backup to Joe Flacco in Baltimore in the last four seasons. Taylor had impressed Bills coaches in practice, and he was thrust into the heated (though it wasn't that hot to begin with) QB competition in upstate New York. A month away from the beginning of the regular season, and none of the three quarterbacks have taken the leap to place them squarely in the lead of this race. Even with Ryan naming Cassel as the starter in their first preseason game, it is in no way indicative of Cassel having an edge over the other two aside from veteran experience. A team that has turned some heads this offseason by acquiring LeSean McCoy and Charles Clay to add to an offense playing opposite a championship-caliber defense, the Bills' biggest question mark remains under center.

Chicago Bears

The current starter at QB: Jay Cutler

Cutler is without a doubt the strongest QB on the Bears' roster. That fact says something, considering how disappointed the Bears' coaching staff has been with Cutler's play lately. One year removed from signing a seven-year, $126 million extension with Chicago, Cutler has already been shopped frequently by the Bears' front office. The Bears are already regretting extending Cutler into 2020, as they no longer see him as the future of their organization. After throwing 18 interceptions in his first 14 games last season, Cutler was benched by the Bears for one game in favor of Jimmy Clausen, but was then forced back into the starting lineup after Clausen was injured in his one start. Despite being named the starter for the 2015 season, Cutler remains a player the Bears are looking to get off of their hands.

Cleveland Browns

The candidates at QB: Josh McCown and Johnny Manziel

Neither of these QBs is going to strike fear into any opposing defenses. It's just pure fact at this point.

McCown is on his seventh NFL team and made his biggest impact two years ago replacing Jay Cutler in Chicago. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were impressed by what McCown did in half a season's worth of play and decided to sign him to a two-year deal where he was named the unquestioned starter before the season even began. However, a dismal season with the Bucs, including a career-high 14 interceptions and a 1-10 record as a starter, led the team to release him after only one season. Cleveland would quickly sign him to a three-year deal and McCown would go on to be named the starter, but McCown showed last year that he cannot be consistently relied upon to have solid performances week in and week out.

Manziel was taken with the 22nd pick in the first round by Cleveland last year. However, his off-field antics and troubling alcoholism have placed him on the bench constantly. He didn't even see any snaps until Week 14 of last season, where he fell flat in a blowout loss. After the season concluded, Manziel checked himself into a rehab center, and after coming out, he remains the No. 2 option behind McCown. The Browns didn't draft Manziel in the first round to be a backup forever, and eventually, the team will need to stop hiding his issues behind veteran QBs and give him a shot. In the Browns' defense, Manziel has made it pretty hard for them to give him that shot.

Cleveland has been a quarterback short of being a playoff team for a long time, and with the current situation under center, it still doesn't look like one.

Houston Texans

The candidates at QB: Ryan Mallett and Brian Hoyer

Two longtime Tom Brady backups now compete for the starting job in Houston. It almost sounds storybook at this point. Even so, neither QB has had a standout streak of performances thus far in their career, and that's what probably makes Mallett the favorite to take the job in Houston. Hoyer has played backup to Brady, had a brief stint with Arizona and spent the last two seasons with Cleveland, but in none of the four has he had a series of breakout performances.

Mallett was Brady's backup from 2011-2013, but was traded to Houston before the beginning of last season. He became Ryan Fitzpatrick's backup for the first part of the season, but was then named the starter at the halfway point of last season. His reign as starter would be short-lived, as he tore his pectoral in only his second game as the Texans' starter. Now recovered and competing for the starting job, it is his potential to have a breakout season that puts him ahead of Hoyer in the race at the moment.

Houston has been devoid of a permanent option at quarterback since Matt Schaub left the team in 2013, and Mallett (or maybe even Hoyer) may be the solution they want.

Washington Redskins

The candidates at QB: Robert Griffin III, Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy

This situation is a bit unique. Robert Griffin III is the best talent on the roster, and head coach Jay Gruden still backs him as the unquestioned starter for the team. The only problem is that his legs have betrayed him in each of the past two seasons, and he hasn't been that impressive when he was on the field. Three seasons removed from his breakout rookie campaign where he beat out the likes of Andrew Luck, Ryan Tannehill and Russell Wilson to take the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, and RGIII is facing question marks from his legs and his teammates. At the end of 2013, Kirk Cousins was named the starter in favor of RGIII. In 2014, he was again benched for Kirk Cousins and later Colt McCoy. Many consider 2015 RGIII's last shot to keep his job in DC.