We dont blame you if you dont remember the highlights from Vince Evans career, as there werent many. Since his playing days ended, Smith has continued to be an advocate for issues he is passionate about. 66.1 percent completion percentage (best all-time), Early in his career, Jeff Hostetler backed up Phil Simms for the New York Giants and became an NFL starter only after Simms was injured in a game in December 1990. The fact that his career has gone continually downhill since the early 2000s has made some people forget the few seasons where Culpepper was among the best passers in the NFL. Brian Hoyer signed a one-year deal with the Bears in 2016 to backup starter Jay Cutler. Theismann was notable for wearing only a single-bar face mask that would not obstruct his vision throughout his career, and is perhaps most remembered for how his career ended: Hall of Fame LB Lawrence Taylor snapped Theismann's leg in half on a Monday Night Football game in November of 1985 while sacking the Redskins' QB. Van Brocklin was a two-time NFL champion, once with each franchise, and is the holder of the NFL's single-game passing yardage record (554 yards). Delhomme is also an investment banker and was named a chairmen of MidSouth Bancorp. After being selected 199th overall (sixth round) by the Patriots in the 2000 NFL Draft, no one could have ever imagined that Brady would put together arguably the most decorated career in NFL history. Aside from having a mental block against Baltimore, Collins has been in the league for a long time, and you can do a lot worse than this guy under center. Regardless of his play, he was talking trash the entire time. Blanda played for the Bears, Oilers, and Raiders in his long career. It was an interesting choice the St. Louis Rams made back in the day when they chose to release Kurt Warner and start Marc Bulger. He took the Panthers to a Super Bowl, where they lost to the New England Patriots in one of the Patriots' three titles in a four-year span. No press conference. Widely considered the NFLs first true dual-threat quarterback, he would go on to rush for 3,674 yards and 32 touchdowns during his career. After retiring, Leftwich wanted to remain close to the sport and decided to give coaching a shot. Hoyer ended up appearing in six games with five starts that season, throwing for 1,445 yards with six. After a few months away from the game, Elway made his decision public. At the same time, you hear people slam him for being basically a glorified game manager on a team that won FIVE championships (three NFL titles and the first two Super Bowls). Griese was the quarterback at the helm during the height of the Miami Dolphins' dynasty in the early 1970s, and he experienced a career revival when he started wearing glasses during the 1977 season, revealing that he had very subpar vision in his right eye. Johnson played in the NFL for 17 seasons, most recently with the Dallas Cowboys in 2007, though he played with the Vikings, Redskins, and Bucs before joining the Cowboys for his final season. If you put up Anderson's numbers against many QBs who are in the Hall, Anderson compares favorably. He has never been an elite quarterback, but he was certainly a good one for a long period of time, often labeled as "too old" only to promptly have a pretty good season. This made him an immediate fan favorite. McNair played most of his career with the Tennessee Titans, though he played his final two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens after Texas QB Vince Young was drafted to be McNair's replacement in Tennessee. The Cards gave him the huge deal based off a few good games with the Eagles, which clearly wasn't enough of a sample size. An incredible athlete. He was the only real superstar of the expansion New Orleans Saints. Jim Iwanicki (Jerry . Sipe threw for 4,132 yards and 30 touchdowns, leading the Browns into the playoffs as the "Kardiac Kids" since the Browns had won so many games by coming from behind at the last minute. Matt Hasselbeck, as many NFL fans know, is the Seattle Seahawks starting quarterback, and the guy is in the twilight of his career. How far the NFL has come! The other "forgotten" Cowboys quarterback is Danny White, the guy who had the misfortune of playing between the tenures of two-time champion Roger Staubach and three-time champion Troy Aikman. He also was named to four Pro Bowls. He also beat Johnn Unitass record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass, which had been held for 52 years, according to the New Orleans Saints. Jones played in Baltimore through 1981 before playing part of the 1982 season with the Los Angeles Rams, when he suffered a career-ending neck injury. However, I reserve the right to call him a douche bag. Jones's best season was 1976, when he won the NFL MVP award and had a passer rating of over 100, one of only three players to have a season with a QB rating of at least 100 during the 1970s (along with Ken Stabler and Roger Staubach). It also helped him earn NFL MVP honors in 1990. You know, the 11 time Pro Bowler, the guy who holds the records for most passes attempted, most passes completed, most touchdowns, most consecutive starts you get the idea. I'm still trying to figure out why, exactly, Andy Reid decided that trading Donovan McNabb at all was a good idea, much less trading him within the division to the Washington Redskins. Brady has long said that his goal was to play until he was 45, and reported marital issues which ultimately turned into a divorce made the idea of him returning for a 24th season very unlikely. Starr lost just one playoff game in his storied 16-year career, placing him amongst the greatest postseason quarterbacks in NFL history. Despite the fact that he got a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, the fact remains that it was Eli's moment to datereally his only moment, but still most definitely Eli's moment. RB Terrell Davis had one of the greatest single seasons ever in 1998. He'd do a lot of modern quarterbacks shame without any kind of adjustment for the new rules that favor offense. Despite showing glimpses of his talent, Campbell was never able to find a system that he could shine in. Tommy Garrett is a writer for Pro Football Network covering the NFL and fantasy football. Leftwich, commonly remembered for his collegiate game in which he played with a broken leg, showed promise in the NFL but could never put it all together. The Associated Press. Anderson completed a much higher percentage of passes than did his contemporaries and in his only Super Bowl appearance was stonewalled by the great San Francisco 49ers dynasty. A classic "one-hit wonder," Steve Beuerlein was one of the league's best players in 1999, when he led the NFL with over 4,400 passing yards, setting many single-season franchise records with the Carolina Panthers. Following a stellar 16-season career, all with the New York Giants, Manning officially announced his retirement from football after the 2019 season. The "Blonde Bomber" didn't have eye-popping statistics, but he quarterbacked one of the great dynasties in NFL history: the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, who won four Super Bowl titles. He was never a show stopper at the position, evidenced by the fact that he constantly switched teams; however, you could win with this guy- and the Bucs did just that, along with a great Derrick Brooks-led defense. Additionally, in his second year with the team, Manning led the Broncos to a 13-3 record and a Super Bowl XLVIII spot. I don't know how I did them.". Go figure the only time a quarterback has won a Super Bowl and retired happened for the same franchise. Regardless, Young will still go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. Bradshaw was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989. The former Los Angeles Chargers quarterback would light up the scoreboard one week, and completely fall apart the next. He would bounce in and out of retirement over the final three seasons of his 20-year career, ending it with short stints with the Jets and Vikings. But then the unthinkable happenedthe Patriots lost. He has stayed in the limelight over the years with various television and movie appearances. Baugh's rookie contract was $8,000, which made him the highest paid player on the team, but it's also interesting to note that at the time he was drafted, Baugh didn't have a clue what, exactly, the NFL draft was. Brady hasn't said whether he plans to retire this offseason, but reports have indicated that he's open to a return. Plus, if he was set on retiring a year ago, what were the odds he would play multiple more seasons? Finally, he finished his playing career with the Washington Redskins. I'm still trying to figure out how this guy didn't stick anywhere. Picked up by the Dallas Cowboys in the 10th round, DeBerg spent time with the San Francisco 49ers, the Kansas City Chiefs, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before ending his career with the Atlanta Falcons. Kolb, who used to spend his offseasons fishing and hunting wild boar, is now using his entrepreneurial skills to make a name for him in the business world in Texas. Despite his apparent mediocrity, Vinny Testaverde wound up spending 21 years in the NFL and was a professional football player well into his 40s, according to ESPN. Some people feel that record is living on borrowed time, and yet, even the most prolific passers like Dan Marino and Peyton Manning have yet to take it down. Carolina had the number one scoring offense where the Broncos has the number one defense in the NFL for that season. Manning, however, did assemble some pretty impressive stats including having the worst win percentage of any QB in NFL history with at least 100 starts, going 35-101-3 (26.3%). 19. A three-time NFL MVP (2007, '10, '17), Brady also has earned five All-Pro selections and 15 Pro Bowl invitations. Vick has gained limitless notoriety through the dog fighting ring and his subsequent two years in jail. A record that will likely never be broken. During his career with Philadelphia and then Minnesota in 1998 Randall Cunningham was one of the league's most electrifying players and a dual-threat quarterback. It didnt help that his final season with the Minnesota Vikings wasnt anything to write home about, but the year before that he passed for 4,202 yards and 33 touchdowns, according to the NFL. Fouts never made it to the Super Bowl, which obviously hurts his overall stock to some degree, but his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993 speaks volumes. #5 - Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons) Matt Ryan is 36 years old. It's a luxury for the Ravens to have this guy on their roster backing up Joe Flacco. McMahon spent the most significant years of his career with the Bears, but he also played for San Diego, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Arizona and Green Bay before he hung up his cleats. Better known these days as the head coach for the Stanford Cardinal, Jim Harbaugh played for 15 seasons in the NFL before beginning his coaching career. The Bungles couldn't do much beyond throw the ball, however, so much of Blake's efforts were wasted. He frequently led his teams to come-from-behind victories, earning himself the label "Captain Comeback," a title Roger Staubach earned before him. Rodgers' NFL career got off to a late start after playing a backup role to Brett Favre in his first three seasons in Green Bay. Similarly, some retired quarterbacks leave a lasting impression because of their talent and personality (i.e., Brett Favre, Joe Montana, etc. Williams's victory was without doubt the high point of his career; he dealt with injuries afterward and eventually lost his starting job to Mark Rypien. I'm about to get hammered no matter where I place Starr. He was the most prolific passer of his era, which is all the more impressive when you consider that he played in an option-based offense and never played the quarterback position until he reached the professional level. In any event, following the 1989 game in which Everett pretty much got killed by the 49ers defensive front for the entire game, Everett was perceived by many as someone who shied away from contact. When he's not working a game, however, you can find Campbell on one of the many golf courses throughout Georgia. His 3,407 rushing yards rank ninth among quarterbacks. Tarkenton is rightly remembered as a great scrambler, but sometimes people forget exactly how good he was as a passer. By 21st-century standards, Len Dawsons stats from the Pro Football Hall of Fame dont jump out at you, but hes one of the all-time greats to step on the field. NFL Network also said that Brady entered the season planning to retire but could be open to considering his options in free agency. A title that has since been passed on to Tom Brady. He also holds several distinguished NFL records, and was a six-time Pro Bowler. Griese had a 14-year professional football career, and all 14 years were with the Miami Dolphins. Manning would have his shot at redemption in 2015. GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers believes he can still produce at an MVP level in the right situation if he opts to play next . He is commonly seen on the pre and post game coverages of Pac-12 games. Both had started in 1990, but neither separated themselves. Bradshaw rarely put up phenomenal numbers during his 14 NFL regular seasons as quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite the fact that Flutie consistently played better, Johnson looked the part of an NFL quarterback with a prototypical NFL build. MORE:Four times Tom Brady has flipped out on coaches, teammates and tablets in 2022. I hadn't heard of him. Favre built a legacy in Green Bay, leading the Packers to back-to-back Super Bowls (XXXI and XXXII) and a world championship in 1996 (XXXI). Andrew Luck, star quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts, shocked the world Saturday night when he announced his retirement from football--at the age of 29. Staubach led 23 game-winning drives in his career, including the famous "Hail Mary" pass in the 1975 game against the Minnesota Vikings. A two-time pro-bowl player, he won a championship in 1956. According to Pro Football Reference, his best season was 1980 with the Chicago Bears when he completed 53% of his passes for 2,039 yards and 11 touchdowns. Steve Young is one of the more interesting characters in NFL history, having done things like wash his helmet in the shower. The longtime Indianapolis Colts QB joined the Denver Broncos in 2012 following his release from the team after drafting Andrew Luck. Many people believed that the Cardinals and Matt Leinart were a perfect combination after he fell to them at the #11 pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He also is a six-time All-Pro selection and was invited to nine Pro Bowls. Chris Chandler is another guy who makes the list primarily because of his longevityhe played in the NFL for a whopping 17 years at the QB position. Some quarterbacks thrive after retiring and others suffer adversity. According to Pro Football Reference, he spent most of his career with the Buffalo Bills, where he had five winning seasons in 12 years. He played in four Super Bowls, winning twice (XLI and 50), and was named MVP in leading the Colts to victory over the Bears in Super Bowl XLI. NFL record for lowest interception percentage in 1990. I'm not sure that's a fair question, but it is regularly asked nonetheless, and Staubach comes in at No. Even in his lone Super Bowl loss, Brady did what he had to do. He won with different people around him on offense and pretty good defenses. Moon never won an NFL championship- five Grey Cups in the CFL will have to do- but his numbers alone warrant such a high place on the list. After leaving Philadelphia, Jaworski played with Miami and finished his career in Kansas City. Krieg ranks very highly in many career passing categories, but his teams rarely went deep into the playoffs, and indeed his postseason statistics are generally worse than those in the regular season. Marino has everything else as far as numbers, including the all-time single season yardage record (5,084), most games with at least 300 yards passing (63), most games with 400 yards passing (13), and most 4th quarter comebacks including both regular and postseason (51). Just look at the numbers. He is tied with Peyton Manning for second with 186 career regular-season wins. Grossman lost his starting job the next season and never fully bounced back, although he did have a strong final season in Washington. The Bills are in the argument for unluckiest franchise in league history, and it starts with two words: "Wide Right." Kilmer is another guy that makes me glad I did my diligence. Best known for his calm demeanor and ability to overcome even the most adverse situations, Montana's legacy as one of the greatest to ever play the game is secure. Because of his game-manager style, Boller was able to extend his career for more seasons because of his reliability. He had stints with the New York Jets from 1993-5 and Arizona Cardinals from 1996 between his Cincinnati tenures. Marino was named NFL Rookie of the Year in 1983 and NFL MVP in '84. They are listed in order of the date of each player's first start at quarterback for the 49ers. It was his first losing season in the NFL, and he averaged a career-worst 9.6 yards per completion. In 2000 he helped the Dolphins beat Peyton Manning's Colts 17-14, allowing the Dolphins to beat out Indianapolis for the AFC East division title. To me, Young and Favre are about the same. Having retired in the summer of 2021, according to the NFL, Drew Brees played in the National Football League as a quarterback for over 20 years, primarily with the New Orleans Saints. The former No. Brady has long said that his goal was to play until . If you are looking for an offense that could score at will, this could be it. If it weren't for injuries and bad luck, Boller could have turned out to be a very good starting quarterback in the NFL. It is interesting to note that Jones is occasionally described as someone who would be one of the better players ever, had he been in possession of a better supporting cast; this view is held by former Giants GM Ernie Accorsi. Obviously, the major knock on Tarkenton is that he never won a Super Bowl despite having multiple attempts with a great supporting cast around him. Years after he finished playing in Baltimore, the late Johnny Unitas is still remembered and idolized for what he did on the football field. He is also the only quarterback on this list to also kick field goals in professional NFL games, even if most of his numbers are pre-merger. He was never especially remarkable and was eventually replaced by Michael Vickwho the Falcons drafted No. If you listen to a lot of NFL analysts these days, they seem ready to rank Eli much higher up this list already, though I will readily admit that he very well could climb with greater production. He also is currently second for all-time completion percentage (67.7), behind Deshaun Watson by 0.01. Eli is basically a "one hit wonder" as well, defeating the Patriots in arguably the greatest upset in NFL history, and he's largely failed in clutch situations since. Brady's greatest legacy is still the three Super Bowl wins in the early 2000s. 1 in career passing yards (84,520) and touchdowns (624), and he just led the league in both categories in the 2021 season, at the age of 44. He will forever be acknowledged for his high football IQ, relentless preparation, and immense character, both on and off the field. These NFL QBs didn't last that long and had to pick up different professions after stepping away from football. Nowadays, the suave Leinart remains in the football world as a collegiate football analyst for Fox Sports. He only made one Pro Bowl, but playing with the Bungles it's hard to make a lot of those A former No. Fouts was taken in the third round out of the University of Oregon, and led the league in passing yardage four times in his career. Johnny U was the quintessential quarterback of his era, leading as a shining example for every signal-caller that tried to follow in his footsteps. San Francisco 49ers, 1979-1992; Kansas City Chiefs, 1993-94. The Hall has room for Joe Namath but not for Ken Anderson? Get real. He would spend all 16 seasons of his Hall of Fame career in Denver, where he would go on to play in five Super Bowls. Kosar did not have a prototypical build for an NFL quarterback, and tended to throw sidearm rather than with a conventional over-the-top motion. He retired in 1978 holding career passing records for completions, attempts, yards and touchdowns. Although another quarterback on this list, Byron Leftwich, was originally chosen over Garrard to be the starter in Jacksonville, Garrard continued to develop and eventually became the starter and star of the team. In the three following Super Bowls, the Bills were blown out, and one of the most talented teams in league history- the 90s Bills- broke up without ever winning a Super Bowl. Jones left the Colts and soon afterward, without a franchise quarterback for the first time in many years, the Baltimore Colts packed up and left for Indianapolis. However, despite the gaudy offensive numbers, Fouts's teams never appeared in a Super Bowl, though they did get to the AFC title game in 1980 and 1981. Moon would spend the majority of his NFL career in Houston running the Oilers' famed run-and-shoot offense. Bartkowski played in the league 11 years, the first 10 with the Atlanta Falcons before finishing his career with the Los Angeles Rams. While many retired NFL players spend years trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives after they retire, Harrington had a strong sense of self and passion for TV and music. By the time he played his last season in Baltimore in 2001, he was just a shadow of what he had once been. He is widely considered the best quarterback of his era, winning four AAFC championships and three NFL championships, all with the Cleveland Browns. Either way, in five years, Aaron Rodgers will be 42 years old and well past the typical retirement age for quarterbacks. When the Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV, he quarterbacked that team instead of an injured Trent Green. Plummer's best season was probably in 2005, when he broke a few significant franchise passing records set by the great John Elway; however, Plummer always displayed a tendency to throw interceptions in bunches, which led to the Broncos' decision to draft his eventual successor, Cutler, in the first round. It is a testament to exactly how good Manning was that he made two Pro Bowls near the end of his tenure with the Saints. Note: Statistics in tables are for regular-season games. More recently, Smith (on the right in the photo above) became part of a group (including Ted Ginn Sr. and Eric Metcalf) to help bring medical marijuana dispensaries to the Cleveland area. All I know is that I haven't heard one word about Orton since he left the NFL in 2014. 5. And his team is 3-5.). The former No. What is really interesting about Dawson's career is that he was drafted in the first round by the Pittsburgh Steelers but never got a chance to play when the Steelers acquired Bobby Layne in a trade with Detroit. He might be embattled and wearing the wrong team's colors these days, but the fact that he's become a polarizing figure shouldn't obscure Favre's legendary career. Although the business is very successful, Grossman has hinted at the idea that he may return to football in some coaching capacity. His three Super Bowl MVP selections are surpassed only by Tom Brady. After a stellar career at the University of Florida, Rex Grossman entered the NFL as the #22 pick of the 2003 NFL Draft, being selected by the Chicago Bears. It was at that point that things got surreal. The man who led the Seattle Seahawks to their first Super Bowl appearance in 2006 was only about halfway through his career at that point. Byron Leftwich was selected with the #7 overall pick in the the 2003 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars and nearly immediately became the starter, even jumping David Garrard on the depth chart to do so. He took over a team ranked dead last in defense, and quarterback Scott Mitchell, who rewrote Utah's record book, entered the NFL Draft after his coach Jim Fassel was fired. Look for PHIVEbar at a store near you. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965. Theismann's Redskins won Super Bowl XVII, but failed to defend their title in Super Bowl XVIII the next year. Maybe it's a stretch to put Rodgers this high, especially given that he's only in his third full season as an NFL starter. I'm not sure that I'm ready to just suddenly jump this guy all the way to the top because he proved all the doubters wrong. But for the most part, Bulger can be found on his farm in Missouri and tending to some of his crops, while also doing good work through his charity foundation. List of San Francisco 49ers starting quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo (2017-present) Nick Mullens (2018-2021) C. J. Beathard (2017-2021) These quarterbacks have started at least one game for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. Montana was no slouch during the regular season either, earning NFL MVP honors in both 1989 and '90. I am too young to have seen him in his prime, but the '98 season with Minnesotathe best in his careerwas enough to make me a believer.