Instead, Green got hurt and was out for the season which made way for some guy named Kurt Warner who had been bagging groceries a year before at the same time. I'm about to get hammered no matter where I place Starr. 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. They are listed in order of the date of each player's first start at quarterback for the Bears. When you watch highlight films from the 1970s, you see a lot of Terry Bradshaw. Manning won the AFC West all four years he was in Denver, helping the Broncos reach two Super Bowls. 3 overall draft choice in the 1957 NFL Draft out of Stanford and won a league MVP award in 1970. Following a successful five-year stint with the San Diego Chargers to begin his career, the former second-round pick out of Purdue wound up with the New Orleans Saints where his career really began to take off. 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. The knock on Manning has always been that he doesn't usually play his best when the chips are down. Of course, if Brady entered the season with plans to retire, there could still be a chance he follows through and steps away. From that logic, I figure I'm within my rights to bump the league's most polarizing player into the top 80. Tough break, John. For a long time, it was Joe Montana and then everybody else in the greatest quarterback of all time conversation. In 2016, Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians decided to give Leftwich a shot as an intern for the team (Arians was a former coach of Leftwich during their time in Pittsburgh). 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 and his wife then started a nurse agency company in Florida that allows nurses to travel for work for months at a time and also provides nursing homes and hospitals with on-call nurses if needed. McNabb's legacy is in desperate need of a Super Bowl victory, yet somehow I doubt that one is forthcoming. NFL Network reported in December that "all options are on the table" for Brady in 2023. Along with Sid Luckman, "Slingin Sammy" was one of the first players to make the forward pass an integral part of how football was played. Perhaps the most unbreakable record in professional football is Unitas's record of 47 consecutive games with a touchdown pass. Moving deeper into the top ten, we now see John Elway ranked at No. He also holds several postseason records and is tied for the longest touchdown pass in NFL history (99 yards). 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. In 2017, Clausen joined the American Flag Football League and was paired up with legendary receiver Terrell Owens. He doesn't belong in the top 20 just yet, but if he wins another championship and keeps putting up numbers like these, it will be hard to rate guys like Dan Fouts ahead of him when all is said and done. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005. But don't forget how good Bulger was in his first couple seasons he put up legendary numbers. Nowadays, the suave Leinart remains in the football world as a collegiate football analyst for Fox Sports. One of the poster boys for prima donnas in the NFL and a former No. He was ahead of his time and is often credited with revolutionizing the quarterback position. 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. The former Heisman Trophy winner joined the Dallas Cowboys in 1969 at the age of 27, following a four-year tour of duty in Vietnam as an officer in the U.S. Navy. He also is a six-time All-Pro selection and was invited to nine Pro Bowls. He began his career with the 49ers before being selected in the 1967 expansion draft by a new expansion team, the New Orleans Saints. Gannon had an above average career in the NFL, and appeared in the Super Bowl against Tampa, which the Raiders lost. No matter your feelings, Favre deserves a high spot on the list. Nevertheless, it isn't like Simms was handed both rings: following the 1986 season, Simms played one of the best games of his career against the Denver Broncos, completing 22 of 25 passes. While he never made an appearance in the Super Bowl, his overall success as one of the most prolific passers of all time is matched and surpassed by only a select few. 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. The Indianapolis Colts have the longest streak in NFL history for consecutive 12-win seasons, and the biggest reason for that has been the play of Manning. 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 eight-time Pro Bowler ranks among the top five quarterbacks in NFL history in passing yards and touchdown passes. Chad Pennington 4 of 100 Ronald Martinez/Getty Images The first modern quarterback. There is no more revered or analyzed position in the NFL than quarterback. 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. The play call, "Red Right 88," was immortalized in Cleveland football lore, and since then, the Browns have been among the unluckiest teams in the NFL. 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. A perfect score then is 100 points, and the lowest possible is 12. Nowadays, Garrard remains a staple in the Northern Florida community. I hadn't heard of him. Taking statistical success as well as team accomplishments into consideration while acknowledging when they played, here are the 25 best quarterbacks in NFL history. Bill Wade's major claim to fame is that he quarterbacked the NFL champion Chicago Bears in 1963. Tarkenton at his retirement owned pretty much every meaningful passing record. But of course, there was "The Guarantee." He is the only QB to ever throw for more than 400 yards and keep a perfect 158.3 QB rating in the same game; he also combined with Marino to throw for over 900 passing yards in the same game, another NFL record. During his tenure in St. Louis, Warner won two league MVPs and went to three Pro Bowls. Coming out of college in 1978, Moon saw zero interest coming from the NFL and spent the first five years of his post-collegiate career in the Canadian Football League. After winning a national championship at Notre Dame, Joe Cool or The Comeback Kid as he is often referred, would go on to a legendary career with the 49ers. His 20-year run in New England is unprecedented: 17 division titles, nine Super Bowl appearances, and six world championships. Esiason had a somewhat unique style compared to most other quarterbacks, stemming primarily from the fact that he was left-handed; he is one of the most successful southpaw quarterbacks of all time. 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. 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. 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. From 1980-82, White's Cowboys lost three consecutive NFC championships, and in 1983, White had what was statistically his best season. Especially in light of the fact that he's basically proven that on a personal level, he's pretty much a douche bag. Simple: because he's Brett Favre. After his career failed to ever get back on track, Bulger retired from the game and remained fairly under the radar. After reversing his retirement decision last year, Tom Brady might be considering it for real this time after the Bucs were dumped from the NFL playoffs. This season, he also became the Packers' all-time leader in touchdown passes (449 and counting). 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. 86. All I know is that I haven't heard one word about Orton since he left the NFL in 2014. Nowadays, Orton remains a bit of a mystery. He guided the Kansas City Chiefs to an appearance in the very first Super Bowl in 1967 and helped the team win its first NFL title in 1970. Thanks to his background as a collegiate running back, Graham rushed for 44 touchdowns during his 10-year professional career. They are listed in order of the date of each player's first start at quarterback for the team. The 25 Chicago Bears starting quarterbacks of the last 20 years, ranked. Aikman was named to six Pro Bowls and received the distinguished Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 1996. 2 time NFL Player of the Year (1947, 1948). Chandler was the Falcons starting quarterback during John Elway's second Super Bowl winnot that many people remember much more than the "Dirty Bird" dance from that Falcons team. Baugh also won two NFL championships, in addition to being twice named NFL Player of the Year. Not exactly a name that jumps to mind when you think of quarterbacks from the '90s, but Blake was a pretty good one for several years in Cincinnati while he was throwing to Carl Pickens and Darnay Scott. A three-time NFL MVP (2007, '10, '17), Brady also has earned five All-Pro selections and 15 Pro Bowl invitations. After winning Super Bowl 50 in 2016, Manning retired from the NFL. Many believe Leftwich has what it takes to eventually become a head coach in the NFL. 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. It was his first losing season in the NFL, and he averaged a career-worst 9.6 yards per completion. He is very involved with charities throughout the state of Alabama and Atlanta areas. Like Bert Jones, it is sometimes difficult to figure out exactly how good Manning was simply because there was so little talent around him. Doug Flutie, one of the greatest college quarterbacks in history traveled a winding path on his way to becoming one of the oldest NFL quarterbacks of all time. At the same time, just the stratospheric nature of Manning's numbers alone warrant a place in the top five. Steve Grogan played in the NFL for 15 seasons, all with the New England Patriots, from 1975-90. We take a look at the top three available quarterbacks in the transfer portal #GoBucks The fastest quarterback to reach the 60,000- and 70,000-yard milestones, he's fourth all-time in career regular-season wins (172). This guy has one of the best winning percentages when he was with Denver, he also took the Cardinals to the playoffs when he was with them. He was among the first players ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in its inaugural class in 1963. Delhomme is also an investment banker and was named a chairmen of MidSouth Bancorp. After a lot of speculation and hope by Ohio State football fans, media, and others, quarterback C.J. If there was ever a quarterback that took way too much heat, it would be Donovan McNabb. As a result, hes the first quarterback to lead two franchises to a Super Bowl victory. It's probably because Orton retired without saying a word to anybody. 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. I don't know how I did them.". Marino is best known for his cannon arm and lightning-fast release. Tommy Garrett is a writer for Pro Football Network covering the NFL and fantasy football. There are just not very many players like Peyton Manning. He retired in 1994 after spending his final two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. He was part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2017. Brees ended his career with highlights including earning the title of Super Bowl XLIV MVP for the 2009 season and having the second-highest pass completion percentage in the NFL, behind only Tom Brady. Johnson was the last quarterback . 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. Nothing. I'd bet that some guys on this list would trade their higher standing just to have one. He should be inducted into Canton as soon as he's eligible. Tyler Maas. Manning became the first to start two Super Bowls with multiple franchises, with different head coaches each time (Dungy, Caldwell, Fox, and Kubiak). Ahhh the Run 'n' Shoot. However, Plummer decided to retire rather than play with the Buccaneers. 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. 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. But he did manage to take home NFL MVP honors in 1978, along with three Pro Bowl selections over the years. podcast that he plans to take his time the next time he weighs retirement. 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. Stabler scored what appeared to be the winning touchdown with just over a minute left in the game, but his heroics were foiled by Franco Harris and the so called "Immaculate Reception," which kick-started a rivalry between the Steelers and Raiders that was at its strongest in the 1970s. 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. He simply won't go away. October 14, 2021. Norm Van Brocklin played the first nine years of his twelve year career with the Los Angeles Rams and then finished his career with the Philadelphia Eagles. 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. Which quarterbacks retired after winning a Super Bowl? A guy with a lot of upside, Matt Schaub is the first active player to appear on the list that has a real chance to move up, especially with the kind of talent around him on the Houston offensemost notably Andre Johnson and now Arian Foster. 1 overall draft choice by the New England Patriots in 1993, and he remained with the team until 2001 when he was hit by Jets LB Mo Lewis and was injured. Esiason played nine seasons of his career with the Bengals, from 1984-92 and then a final season in 1997. Brady has long said that his goal was to play until . Fouts was surrounded by players like Kellen Winslow, Charlie Joiner, John Jefferson, and Wes Chandler, so there was no shortage of targets. Grossman lost his starting job the next season and never fully bounced back, although he did have a strong final season in Washington. The foundation helps provide resources to wounded veterans. Of the top two, Aikman is the first to appear. They are listed in order of the date of each player's first start at quarterback for the 49ers. It isn't necessarily something that the NFL likes to talk about, but it bears repeating. Brady's greatest legacy is still the three Super Bowl wins in the early 2000s. Guys like him don't come around very often. If you are looking for an offense that could score at will, this could be it. Grossman had a roller coaster career as a starter in the NFL, most notable during the 2006 season in which he led the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl despite his propensity for costly turnovers and many fans calling for him to be benched. A two-time Super Bowl champion (XL, XLIII), he's the youngest starting quarterback to win a Lombardi Trophy (age 23). 1 quarterback of all time, "Joe Cool." In a nutshell, Favre has been everything you'd expect a great quarterback to be but nothing more. Big Ben, as he is affectionately known, announced his retirement on Jan. 24 after 18 seasons as the Steelers' starting quarterback. Kosar was involved in some controversy with respect to how he entered the league, but was in the rare position to choose his team- in this case, the Cleveland Browns. He was the first black starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl, and to this day remains the only black starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl. (Just google Everett's confrontation with that douche bag Jim Rome if you're interested in some drama.) ), but others are quickly forgotten about after leaving the spotlight of the NFL. Leinart was also recently selected into the 2017 College Football Hall-of-Fame. If you put up Anderson's numbers against many QBs who are in the Hall, Anderson compares favorably. After retiring, Leftwich wanted to remain close to the sport and decided to give coaching a shot. 45 just because I'm a Ravens fan and think/hope/pray he will have a great career. George played for seven teams in a 14-year career. But no matter how good the quarterback is, the run always comes to an end at some point. Don't feel bad for Delhomme, however, as he has been extremely successful since retiring from the NFL. Krieg, pictured here as a member of the Houston Oilers, his last team, spent the first 11 years of his career in Seattle. 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. 12 jersey has been retired by the 49ers, and yet he's probably only remembered as the third-greatest quarterback in franchise history. Like Brady Quinn, Leinart is actually a very likeable and knowledgeable football commentator. Or maybe it's because he was always the solid quarterback that nobody seemed to want? He would go on to break countless passing records during his storied career. He is tied with Peyton Manning for second with 186 career regular-season wins. O'Donnell played for the Bengals, Jets and Titans after his time in Pittsburgh. Bert Jones was selected second overall in the 1973 NFL draft by the Baltimore Colts to be the eventual successor to all-everything QB Johnny Unitas, and he played at Memorial Stadium for eight seasons. Stabler's first major appearance in the public spotlight was in relief of an injured Daryle Lamonica in the 1972 playoff game between the Raiders and the Steelers. He also was elected to six Pro Bowls during his career and is widely recognized as the most prolific passer of his era. Speaking of Manning, you wont see him on this list. He has "great affection" for the franchise, according to Ian Rapoport, and they team has spent big to put pieces around him. That, in addition to spending his first two seasons in the USFL (1984-85), and two more quarterbacking an abysmal Buccaneers team in 1985-86. Baugh also ranks as a top-20 punter in NFL history with a career average of 45.1 yards per punt. 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. Although his NFL days are over, Clausen has refused to give up on his love of the game. 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