Five teams will line up at the start of September with a quarterback who has hoisted the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season.

Twenty-seven teams will begin the journey with a quarterback searching for the path to a title.

Clifton Brown of the Sporting News recently looked at the quarterbacks without a Super Bowl ring and which one has the best chance to get fitted for one at the end of the year.

His front runners?

Kerry Collins, who played in Super Bowl XXXV and lost, Joe Flacco and Donovan McNabb, who has a Super Bowl loss in XXXIX.

Knocking at the door?

Jake Delhomme, Philip Rivers and Tony Romo.

Others to watch?

Drew Brees, Jay Cutler and Matt Ryan.

Collins, Flacco, McNabb, Delhomme, Rivers and Ryan all were in the playoffs last season. Romo has playoff experience and Brees has been to an NFC Championship Game. That makes Cutler the only one of the bunch who has yet to gain playoff experience. He’s yet to have a winning season, in fact, but the Bears feel strongly they will be competing in January and some view them as the favorite in the NFC North. It’s an interesting list and we found it a little striking that only five current starters have a ring.

That list:

Tom Brady 3
Ben Roethlisberger 2
Eli Manning 1
Peyton Manning 1
Kurt Warner 1

The most recent Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks to not be playing?

Brad Johnson, Super Bowl XXXVII
Trent Dilfer, Super Bowl XXXV
John Elway, Super Bowls XXXIII, XXXII