retired quarterbacks in the last 20 years

Yeah, I know; Michael Vick's career numbers aren't that great. He was a solid but unspectacular player. Even so, the question for Staubach's teams became, "well he's got such a great supporting cast why did they get behind in the first place?". The athletic signal-caller, renowned for his legendary rocket arm, ranks among the top passers in NFL history in several categories as well. Over the course of his career, John Elway appeared in five Super Bowls, including two in his final two seasons in the league winning both. 1 overall draft pick out of Ole Miss entered the NFL in the shadow of older brother Peyton Manning, but it wasnt long before Eli began paving his own way into the annals of greatness among NFL quarterbacks. Brady also said that he hadn't thought about potentially retiring during the season. An incredible athlete. He was a REALLY GOOD game manager who also happened to win an NFL MVP. The winningest quarterback in NFL history (278 victories, regular season and postseason), Brady is No. On another level, it's more understandable when the other quarterback is Dan Marino, generally considered the best quarterback not to win an NFL championship. 1 overall pick in 1990 by the Indianapolis Colts, Jeff George was simply in the NFL a long time. Brett Favre (October 10, 1969 - Present) Every day, get free NFL updates sent straight to your inbox! According to the NFL, Blanda first played a professional football game in 1949 and didnt retire until 1975 as the leagues leading scorer. So there you have it: the No. He eventually made his way back to the Super Bowl after a successful 2008 campaign with the Cardinals. After leaving the NFL, Campbell has continued to use his status for good. Besides, anybody who has appeared on the cover of Madden had to be pretty good at some point! However, at a certain point you just have to look around and realize, "hey who else can we justify putting ahead of this guy?". However, the fact of the matter is if Roethlisberger retired RIGHT THIS SECOND he is already ahead of most QBs in league history. So if you're in the Texas construction industry, give Kevin Kolb a call. However, retroactively applied to previous seasons, Plum's 1960 season earned a rating of 110.4, which was the highest of any quarterback prior to 1989, by which time the NFL had started to adopt several rules favoring the offense and in particular the passing game. Plummer was drafted in the second round, 42nd overall, by the Arizona Cardinals, and he played there from 1997 until 2002. 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. Grossman retired on his own terms because he felt that he just wasn't mentally into the game anymore. Before his nuclear six-interception meltdown against the Cardinals in the playoffs two years ago, Jake Delhomme was John Fox's quarterback. An especially notable aspect of Gabriel's play is his 3.3 percent interception percentage (the percentage of his passes that were intercepted). Krieg, pictured here as a member of the Houston Oilers, his last team, spent the first 11 years of his career in Seattle. McNair's best statistical season was 2003, when he was co-MVP of the league with Peyton Manning. Carolina had the number one scoring offense where the Broncos has the number one defense in the NFL for that season. The major issue I have with Elway is what I call the "label change." If you talk to Troy Aikman, he'll tell you that he thinks he should be much higher; that because of the system he played in which was run-based he never got the chance to show what he could do. Beginning in 2000, Culpepper terrorized the NFL with his immense physical talent. Hostetler technically won a Super Bowl as a starting quarterback, but he lost the starting job to Phil Simms the next season and had trouble staying healthy, which eventually landed him with the Oakland Raiders and eventually the Washington Redskins. He retired in 1978 holding career passing records for completions, attempts, yards and touchdowns. He was replaced by Marc Bulger, who had enjoyed success in Warner's absence. His legacy is hurt by the fact that his two best teams, the 2000 and 2002 Raiders, lost to two outstanding defenses deep in the playoffs. He played for five other teams during the course of his career and backed up Troy Aikman during one of the Cowboys' Super Bowl years. Quarterback Drew Brees. 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. He never succeeded in the NFL and was out of the league permanently by 2014. Of course, Warner got the last laugh when he returned to the SuperBowl in 2008 as a member of the Arizona Cardinals. He was a perfect 2-0 in Super Bowl appearances, winning MVP honors in both games. He had all the physical tools anyone could ask for, and yet he simply couldn't put it all together. Leinart finally decided to call it quits in 2012. 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. The NC State product was selected fourth overall by the Giants in the famed 2004 QB draft class that also included Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning. Steve Youngs legacy might be even greater if he didnt have to spend three years backing up Joe Montana in San Francisco. But unlike guys like Peyton Manning or Dan Marino, the two statistically best passers of their eras, Elway didn't also have the stats where one or two rings could jump a guy all the way to the top. Tue, Jan 17, 2023 LOGIN Subscribe for $1 The Jacksonville Jaguarswere a solid playoff team in 2017, but the last time the Jacksonville Jaguars were a contender before that was back when David Garrard was at the helm. Just look at the TD/INT differential and QB rating and compare it to other QBs of the era. NFL record for lowest interception percentage in 1990. Tommy Garrett is a writer for Pro Football Network covering the NFL and fantasy football. A virtually-unknown and even-more overlooked coming out of Eastern Illinois University, Tony Romo went totally undrafted in 2003, and went from becoming a backup quarterback who caught the attention of several NFL teams, to being handed the starting job of America's most famous (or infamous) team in place of a struggling Drew Bledsoe. A two-time pro-bowl player, he won a championship in 1956. It was his first losing season in the NFL, and he averaged a career-worst 9.6 yards per completion. Lastly, Garrard remains a Crohn's disease activist and is always doing what he can to help find a cure. By the time he played his last season in Baltimore in 2001, he was just a shadow of what he had once been. He'd do a lot of modern quarterbacks shame without any kind of adjustment for the new rules that favor offense. As I mentioned on the introductory slide if your guy was the greatest in history, why didn't he win? Not surprisingly, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2021 in his first year of eligibility. He's also a former No. Clausen ultimately lost his first flag football game, but he was playing against Michael Vick (seriously, who could ever beat Vick in flag football?). It's more difficult than it should be for any title-winning QB. He played most of his career with the San Diego Chargers, but was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 1973 before finishing his career with Green Bay and finally with Houston. Harrington turned those passions into a reality as he is now a well accomplished jazz pianist and a very likeable reporter for a local Portland news station. Besides all of the statistics that are associated with signal-callers, especially in todays pass-happy game, its the only position that attributes wins and losses with any regularity. MORE:Breaking down Tom Brady's record by season with Buccaneers and Patriots. He's done for the year, but Tony Romo has put up pretty decent numbers during his time in the NFL. Rivers never looked back en route to a stellar 16-year run as a San Diego/Los Angeles Charger, winning more games than any other quarterback in franchise history. Before joining the Bills, Kelly spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers of the USFL, winning league MVP honors in 1984. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005. Elway has a fantastic game as well. 7 TD passes in one game (tied for NFL record). Still, despite not being the guy on the field for the record-breaking year, Green had a long and largely successful career in the league, though he ended up with the Kansas City Chiefs during his Pro Bowl seasons. Similarly, some retired quarterbacks leave a lasting impression because of their talent and personality (i.e., Brett Favre, Joe Montana, etc. The guy who replaced him in New England still plays QB there and you all remember him. He completed 18 of 29 passes for 336 yards with one touchdown and one interception and also scored a 3-yard rushing touchdown. He started and ended the 1972 season, when the Dolphins were a perfect 17-0, though he was relieved by Earl Morrall following an injury in week 5 as mentioned earlier. hence, a higher spot than some suggest that his statistics deserve. However, the sheer magnitude of that one upset earns the youngest Manning a relatively high spot compared to most active QBs. Kind of hard to believe, but it's true. He became involved in fantasy football and would provide player testimony to fantasy users to help them understand how different offensive systems/coaches can affect a players fantasy value. A Washington Redskins draft pick, Charlie Conerly played for the New York Giants for the entirety of his 14-year career. If you ask Boller what his plans are post-NFL, he will likely tell you that he is trying to "change the world, one bar at a time." Neil Lomax's nine year career, all with the Cardinals (both the St. Louis and Phoenix versions), was occasionally brilliant and occasionally warranted benching him. However, Young's improvisational skills proved best suited to the quarterback position. Bill Wade's major claim to fame is that he quarterbacked the NFL champion Chicago Bears in 1963. Cunningham was remarkably flexible and has been described by many as having more raw talent than any other QB to ever play the game of football. 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. 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. This made him an immediate fan favorite. Of course, Morton's legacy is somewhat diminished by the fact that he lost both of his Super Bowl appearances- to the Unitas-led Baltimore Colts in 1970 and to the Staubach-led Dallas Cowboys in 1977. Of all the good Cowboys quarterbacks, Don Meredith is probably the one who is most frequently forgotten. 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. Either way, in five years, Aaron Rodgers will be 42 years old and well past the typical retirement age for quarterbacks. Unitas and the Baltimore Colts began play at 2 p.m. every Sunday, which was unique to Baltimore: The Colts wanted to make sure that everyone who wanted to had time to go to church before the game started. Prior to last season, there is no way that Brees would rank this highly in the top 100. Since his playing days ended, Quinn has stayed relevant in the sport by becoming a sports analyst for Fox Sports, and he's actually pretty good at it. Of course, to be No. Elway was selected for nine Pro Bowls, was a three-time All-Pro honoree, and took home NFL MVP honors in 1987. Ken O'Brien played for 11 seasons in the NFL as part of the famed Quarterback Class of 1983, and he was taken three picks before Dan Marino. Baugh also won two NFL championships, in addition to being twice named NFL Player of the Year. Elway cited his chronic left knee as a big reason for his decision. After starting only 2 games in his first 5 NFL seasons, Delhomme joined the Carolina Panthers and immediately took over the starting job. 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. 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. By his own admission, Kosar isn't over the events of those two plays even today, and even after winning a Super Bowl ring as Troy Aikman's backup in Dallas. I don't think too many people are going to argue this oneMontana is the closest thing you can get to a consensus No. From that logic, I figure I'm within my rights to bump the league's most polarizing player into the top 80. Big Ben, as he is affectionately known, announced his retirement on Jan. 24 after 18 seasons as the Steelers' starting quarterback. After his career failed to ever get back on track, Bulger retired from the game and remained fairly under the radar. Manning holds multiple NFL records, both single-season and career. He also is currently second for all-time completion percentage (67.7), behind Deshaun Watson by 0.01. Tittle was the first quarterback to have consecutive 30+ TD pass seasons, something that only seven other quarterbacks have done in the history of the league. Delhomme continued to perform well, for the most part, until he had a five interception collapse against the Arizona Cardinals in the 2008 playoffs. The arguments about what Namath did for the game are all completely valid, and make him a lock to stay on this list so long as the NFL exists, though he will fall as time goes on- his stats really don't support his mythical status. October 14, 2021. No matter your feelings, Favre deserves a high spot on the list. Jake "the Snake" Plummer first earned his proverbial call sign for his elusiveness while playing for Arizona State University, and the nickname stuck with him throughout his college career. Leinart was also recently selected into the 2017 College Football Hall-of-Fame. From 1980-82, White's Cowboys lost three consecutive NFC championships, and in 1983, White had what was statistically his best season. In the AFC divisional playoff against the Oakland Raiders, the Browns trailed by two points and were within range for a short field goal attempt. Bulger, who had enjoyed success in Warner 's absence as he affectionately. 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