Once he had finally been named the starter, he never looked back and led the Panthers to the Super Bowl in his first season. Similarly, some retired quarterbacks leave a lasting impression because of their talent and personality (i.e., Brett Favre, Joe Montana, etc. I guess that's what happens when you're followed by the likes of Steve Young and some guy named Joe Montana. 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. Having said that, look at the numbers. He now rightfully resides in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as well as the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. (As of Week 8 this season, Rivers was on pace to break the all-time single season passing yardage record. No Twitter update. In case you were curious, the 50th year since Layne's departure was the season when the Lions had the only 0-16 season in NFL history. He never fully regained form after that historically bad performance. Unfortunately, Leinart was never able to duplicate his collegiate success in the pros and lost his starting gig to the aging, yet amazing Kurt Warner on multiple occasions. Since he served in World War Two, Conerlys career didnt start until he was 27 years old in 1948. Allegedly, Layne put a curse on the Lions, saying that they would not win for 50 years. 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. In two successive AFC championships, Kosar's Browns lost to the Denver Broncos, first thanks to The Drive, when John Elway drove the Broncos 98 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, and then thanks to The Fumble, when Earnest Byner lost the ball on Denver's three-yard line. He is listed as the CEO/Owner of a carrier company called MK Transfer and is also the CEO of a real estate development company called Twelve Stones. Tarkenton would never win an NFL championship during his 18-year career spent with the Vikings and Giants, but he did lead the Vikings to the Super Bowl on three separate occasions. Despite showing glimpses of his talent, Campbell was never able to find a system that he could shine in. Of course, Warner got the last laugh when he returned to the SuperBowl in 2008 as a member of the Arizona Cardinals. Manning won the AFC West all four years he was in Denver, helping the Broncos reach two Super Bowls. Brees holds the record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass (54). Esiason's 1988 season was probably his best; he led the Bengals to the franchise's second Super Bowl birth. On one level, it's hard to believe that the quarterback in charge of the great Miami Dolphins dynasty of the 1970s isn't the greatest in franchise history. He was a six time All-Pro selection and was invited to 11 Pro Bowls. Namath also is well documented for his flamboyant Playboy lifestyle off of the gridiron. 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. Warner then ended up with the Arizona Cardinals, and became only the second quarterback to start in two Super Bowls with two different teams. He currently serves as a co-host and analyst for FOX's "NFL Sunday.". The No. But Young just has a couple more moments where I just look at it and say "wow." Nowadays, Garrard remains a staple in the Northern Florida community. This happened while Garrad himself was overcoming the burdens of Crohn's Disease, which he was diagnosed with in 2004. He played all the way through 1976 and promptly landed a gig at the University of Miami when he stopped playing. 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). 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. Herb Scharfman/Sports Imagery/Getty Images, recently admitted that he blew a few calls. 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. Leftwich must have proven his worth as he was hired as the Cardinals quarterbacks coach for the 2017 season. If there was ever a guy who is forgotten in NFL history, it's this guy. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs (there are those Ravens again, sorry). Elway was quickly traded to the Broncos, having never played a single down for the Colts. Today, Archie Manning is perhaps best known as the father of current NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning, but Archie was a pretty good player in his own right. Those people who were fortunate enough to make it down to "Lombardi Gras," as it was known, witnessed a celebration unlike any other. His best years were 1974-1977, when he went to four straight Pro Bowls and his Cardinals made the playoffs twice. A two-time Super Bowl champion (XL, XLIII), he's the youngest starting quarterback to win a Lombardi Trophy (age 23). The Colts tended to mirror their success of their young quarterback; when his play dipped, so, too, did the Colts' fortunes. After all, why do you think the Vikings put up with him? In the end, Denvers defense made the difference. 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. Rodgers is in great position to move up; he's almost a lock to move into the top 40 some day, barring injury. He is widely considered the best quarterback of his era, winning four AAFC championships and three NFL championships, all with the Cleveland Browns. The 13-time Pro Bowl signal-caller is second in NFL history in passing yards (80,358), completions (7,142), and touchdown passes (571). 10. While he didn't produce like Marino, O'Brien was pretty good in his own right, quarterbacking the Jets for the next ten seasons. The foundation helps provide resources to wounded veterans. Despite that, he would spend the longest stint of his 17-season career with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 1995 to 2004, when he decamped to join the Washington Redskins. Collins is a former No. After starting only 2 games in his first 5 NFL seasons, Delhomme joined the Carolina Panthers and immediately took over the starting job. 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. The Minnesota Vikings thought they had drafted a steal when they traded up to get Tarvaris Jackson in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft. 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. Rivers spent the final season of his 17-year NFL career as a member of the Indianapolis Colts, leading them to a wild-card berth. He would soon make his way to Green Bay in 1992 where he would flourish for the next 16 seasons. Related | NFL Super Bowl Predictions Against the Spread. Because of his game-manager style, Boller was able to extend his career for more seasons because of his reliability. 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. Quarterbacks are often the highest paid player on the team and are commonly seen dating professional models; attending the biggest parties; and buying the biggest houses. T his Sunday, the Green Bay Packers will square off against the Chicago Bears. Ferguson wore the No. The last time I checked, Aikman has three Super Bowl rings. It was his first losing season in the NFL, and he averaged a career-worst 9.6 yards per completion. 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. Theismann's Redskins won Super Bowl XVII, but failed to defend their title in Super Bowl XVIII the next year. At the time of this writing (April 2022), this list is as accurate as possible and with the exception of Tom Brady, all of the oldest quarterbacks are retired. A three-time NFL MVP (2007, '10, '17), Brady also has earned five All-Pro selections and 15 Pro Bowl invitations. Brunell had a fantastic connection with wideouts Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell. Griese had a 14-year professional football career, and all 14 years were with the Miami Dolphins. Especially in light of the fact that he's basically proven that on a personal level, he's pretty much a douche bag. If you'd asked me a few years ago, I would have told you that Carson Palmer would have climbed higher on this list. most of his career with the Buffalo Bills, played for the New York Giants for the entirety of his 14-year career, a professional football player for 17 seasons, finally retired in 2005 after a season with the same Patriots, spent the first five years of his post-collegiate career. That happens to bother me quite a bit- and so while Krieg undoubtedly deserves a spot, the fact that he played relatively poorly in comparison to his abilities when the chips were down hurts him on the list. No one will ever confuse Joe Ferguson for Peyton Manning, but he was good enough to stick around from 1973 all the way until 1990. His statistics were almost always mind-blowing; Moon is the only player to be enshrined in both the NFL Hall of Fame and the CFL Hall of Fame. After retiring, Leftwich wanted to remain close to the sport and decided to give coaching a shot. He is commonly seen on the pre and post game coverages of Pac-12 games. He called it a career after the 2020 season and will likely go into the Hall of Fame as soon as he's eligible. From 1980-82, White's Cowboys lost three consecutive NFC championships, and in 1983, White had what was statistically his best season. Starr would earn Super Bowl MVP honors in both of those wins. Of all the good Cowboys quarterbacks, Don Meredith is probably the one who is most frequently forgotten. Dallas always seemed to be behind late in the game and Staubach always seemed to come through to win at the last possible moment. While the quarterback position has certainly evolved throughout history there have been those field generals who have distinguished themselves from their peers regardless of the era in which they played. This is because Kevin Kolb absolutely robbed the Arizona Cardinals when they traded for him and gave him a massive contract in hopes that he would be their next franchise quarterback. His resume also includes two NFL MVP Awards (1992 and '94), seven Pro Bowl selections and six All-Pro selections. Delhomme is also an investment banker and was named a chairmen of MidSouth Bancorp. He appears to be a fairly safe bet for eventual induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was prolific in his attack and really brought the Oregon program back to national prominence. 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. 26.1 career yards/game rushing average, 4th all time for QB. However, I've got him as the last man out of the top ten for a couple of reasons. Gannon had an above average career in the NFL, and appeared in the Super Bowl against Tampa, which the Raiders lost. Of course, if Brady entered the season with plans to retire, there could still be a chance he follows through and steps away. Bobby Layne was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1948, but was behind both Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack on the depth chart, so he refused to return to the team in 1949. Both had started in 1990, but neither separated themselves. However, his final throw of the game and his career was a two-point conversion late in the game. They are listed in order of the date of each player's first start at quarterback for the team. The late George Blanda is next on the list, and he earns such a high spot because of his longevity at the professional level. Krieg, pictured here as a member of the Houston Oilers, his last team, spent the first 11 years of his career in Seattle. 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. However, it's not like the one ring by itself gives Favre a boost. Moving deeper into the top ten, we now see John Elway ranked at No. Greg Landry was the 11th overall pick in the 1968 draft and spent most of his career with the Detroit Lions before finishing his career with the Baltimore Colts and then the Chicago Bears. Surprised by his high placement? Kilmer is another guy that makes me glad I did my diligence. Still, there's not a lot of space for him in the San Francisco sports pantheon, so Brodie is often overlooked. In the 1970s, the Dallas Cowboys were "America's Team," and during the same time period, Roger Staubach became the team leader: "Captain America" or "Captain Comeback." Interestingly, the other quarterback to accomplish the feat is Kurt Warner, who like Morton also played intervening time between those two teams with the New York Giants. For a select group of quarterbacks, they were able to retire on their terms after winning the Super Bowl. You can readmore of his work hereand follow him at@TommygarrettPFNon Twitter. Otto Graham played for ten years with the Cleveland Browns, and in all ten seasons, Graham led the Browns the championship game. Ah, Jeff Garcia. I'm a Ravens fan, I'm allowed to hate this guy. Hell, it wouldn't be that much of a stretch to put Rivers ahead of Namath right now but it's hard to bump Joe down too far, even if I would bump him out of the Hall of Fame left to my own devices. 7 spot. The former Boston College Eagle and Heisman Trophy winner might be best known for his famous Hail Mary against Miami in 1984, and he was part of a major quarterback controversy with Rob Johnson in Buffalo. Leinart finally decided to call it quits in 2012. Don't feel bad for Delhomme, however, as he has been extremely successful since retiring from the NFL. 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. Despite having some sporadic success in the NFL, especially with the 49ers in 2010, Smith failed to remain in the league and was forced to play in the Canadian Football League until he retired in 2014. According to the report, Brady "feels good enough to keep playing" and has become more like himself as he gets further removed from a very public divorce that was finalized earlier in the season. Babe Parilli played mostly with the AFL's Boston Patriots in the 1960s and is a member of their all-decade team, though he won his Super Bowl ring while backing up Broadway Joe Namath in Super Bowl III. Grogan ran for over 500 yards and had five rushing TDs himself during that season, and he wasn't afraid to take off and run. While he has three Super Bowl rings (XXIII, XXIV, XXIX) to his credit, only one of those came as a starting quarterback in Super Bowl XXIX. For his efforts, Fouts was named NFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year in 1982. After a few months away from the game, Elway made his decision public. Here's what we know as to whether Brady will retire after this season. They are often the face of the franchise and get the rewards and accolades associated with that. Still, his career has been a long one, and Hasselbeck has provided stability at the QB positionsomething that isn't very easy to find (just ask the Cardinals). Lamonica was a winner, and it's hard to penalize him for not winning a Super Bowl against a stacked team like Vince Lombardi's Packers in Super Bowl II. Exactly how high Rivers can climb is yet to be seen, but I'd guess he'll land in the top 25 so long as he adds an NFL title somewhere along the way. Still, the '99 season was so outstanding that it earned him a spot on the list. Campbell then began a stretch of five seasons in which he went from starter to bench and back to starter with both the Redskins and the Raiders. However, Plummer decided to retire rather than play with the Buccaneers. They are listed in order of the date of each player's first start at quarterback for the Cowboys. He also was named to four Pro Bowls. Sorry, you lose points. The eight-time Pro Bowler ranks among the top five quarterbacks in NFL history in passing yards and touchdown passes. The World's Most Entertaining Car Website. Years after he finished playing in Baltimore, the late Johnny Unitas is still remembered and idolized for what he did on the football field. Everybody knew that Jackson would need time to develop into an NFL caliber quarterback, but his physical attributes were through the roof and too hard to resist. Bartkowski played in the league 11 years, the first 10 with the Atlanta Falcons before finishing his career with the Los Angeles Rams. 1 overall pick in the draft out of UC Berkeley. I'm not averse to putting "young guns" on the list, but I won't jump Joe Flacco to No. Even without his CFL career numbers added on, Moon's statistics are still impressive; until Brett Favre broke Moon's major passing records in 2007, Moon held the NFL record for passing touchdowns and passing completions. Gannon never had the biggest arm in the game, but he had some good numbers and warrants a place in the top 50. Kind of hard to believe, but it's true. Whether that's true or not, his comments don't give the impression that a decision will be announced right after the end of the season. MORE:Breaking down Tom Brady's record by season with Buccaneers and Patriots. Philip Rivers was a once-in-a-lifetime player. 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. The former No. McNabb's legacy is in desperate need of a Super Bowl victory, yet somehow I doubt that one is forthcoming. List of Chicago Bears starting quarterbacks View source The following is a list of starting quarterbacks for the Chicago Bears that have started a regular season game for the Bears. Quarterback of the Cleveland Browns from 1974-83, Sipe's career was okay, maybe above average, with one notable exception: the 1980 season. Beginning in 2000, Culpepper terrorized the NFL with his immense physical talent. However, the fact that a guy hasn't won a Super Bowl doesn't mean he wasn't one of the best to ever play the position. In so far as there were "blockbuster" trades in 1964, the trade that brought him to Philadelphia in exchange for Sonny Jurgenson probably qualifies. Unique lists featuring pop culture, entertainment and crazy facts. Before joining the Bills, Kelly spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers of the USFL, winning league MVP honors in 1984. Meredith played for nine seasons under Tom Landry. MORE:Brady to Dolphins? Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. At age 38, Rodgers doesn't appear to be slowing down. While every NFLwants to go out on top, few get that opportunity to do so. Marino was named NFL Rookie of the Year in 1983 and NFL MVP in '84. 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