Worst Quarterback of All Time for Every NFL Team
Finding a franchise quarterback is an inexact science. There needs to be the right combination of maturity, talent and luck for a quarterback and team to succeed together. When it works right, it’s magic and can buoy an ordinary team into a championship one or even a dynasty.
But when it doesn’t work right, it can be truly dreadful. The players on this list are in the latter category. They certainly weren’t all bad quarterbacks but just the worst fit for their individual team, meaning they provided that team with the worst possible outcome.
Some won the Super Bowl and even made the Pro Football Hall of Fame after leaving their jilted team with the bust label. Others offer cautionary tales or what-could-have-been moments. With that in mind, here is the worst quarterback for every NFL team.
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Arizona Cardinals: Lamar McHan
NFL career: 10 seasons (1954-63)
Other teams: Green Bay Packers (1959-60), Baltimore Colts (1961-63), San Francisco 49ers (1963)
Career stats: 113 G, 24-44-2 record, 42.3 CMP%, 9,449 YDS, 73 TD, 108 INT
Stats with Cardinals: 60 G, 15-33-2 record, 42.8 CMP%, 6,578 YDS, 50 TD, 77 INT
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Lamar McHan
The Cardinals have no shortage of candidates from which to pick in this, but McHan stands out as the worst of the lot.
Consider that the then-Chicago Cardinals chose him with the second pick of the 1954 draft, and then McHan failed to throw more touchdowns than interceptions or complete even 50 percent of his passes in any of his five seasons for the Cardinals.
Atlanta Falcons: Randy Johnson
NFL career: 10 seasons (1966-76)
Other teams: New York Giants (1971-73), Washington Redskins (1975), Green Bay Packers (1976)
Career stats: 75 G, 10-38-1 record, 50.3 CMP%, 8,329 YDS, 51 TDs, 90 INTs
Stats with Falcons: 46 games, 8-28-1 record, 48.1 CMP%, 5,538 YDS, 34 TDs, 65 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Randy Johnson
Randy Johnson was the first quarterback in Falcons' history but endured a dreadful, injury-plagued tenure running for his life. The Falcons’ first-round pick played five seasons there, winning no more than three games in any of those campaigns.
He made just 10 starts in his final five seasons after Atlanta cut him in 1971.
RELATED: Worst NFL Players in History
Baltimore Ravens: Kyle Boller
NFL career: 8 seasons (2003-11)
Other teams: St. Louis Rams (2009), Oakland Raiders (2010-11)
Career stats: 67 G, 20-27 record, 56.7 CMP%, 8,931 YDS, 48 TDs, 54 INTs
Stats with Ravens: 20-22 record, 56.9 CMP%, 7,846 YDS, 45 TDs, 44 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Kyle Boller
We thought about putting Trent Dilfer in this space, but Dilfer’s numbers actually weren’t as bad as Boller's, who the Ravens traded up to select in the first round from California to be their quarterback of the future. The Ravens had a championship-caliber defense during much of Boller’s tenure, but his inaccuracy and injuries curtailed any postseason success the Ravens had.
Baltimore finished no better than 20th in the NFL in offense in either of Boller’s two full seasons as starter, and they replaced him with Steve McNair in 2006 before drafting Joe Flacco in 2008.
RELATED: Worst NFL Head Coaches of All Time
Buffalo Bills: Dennis Shaw
NFL career: 9 years (1970-78)
Other teams: St. Louis Cardinals (1974-75), New York Giants (1976), Kansas City Chiefs (1978)
Career stats: 50 G, 8-27-2 record, 52.9 CMP%, 6,347 YDS, 35 TDs, 68 INTs
Stats with Bills: 45 G, 8-27-2 record, 52.9 CMP%, 6,268 YDs, 35 TDs, 67 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Dennis Shaw
Shaw had his best season with the Bills in his rookie campaign, throwing for 2,507 yards and a 10/20 TD/INT ratio that somehow netted him the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1970. But Shaw led the NFL in interceptions (26) in 1971 and never topped 2,000 passing yards in a single season again, despite starting all but three of Buffalo’s games in 1971 and 1972.
Buffalo traded Shaw to St. Louis after the 1973 season, and he only played in five games after.
Carolina Panthers: Chris Weinke
NFL career: 5 seasons (2001-07)
Other teams: San Francisco 49ers (2007)
Career stats: 29 G, 2-18 record, 54.4 CMP%, 3,904 YDS, 15 TDs, 26 INTs
Stats with Panthers: 27 games, 2-17 record, 54.3 CMP%, 3,800 YDS, 14 TDs, 26 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Chris Weinke
Weinke was 28 years old when the Panthers spent a fourth-round draft pick on him, which means time was against him from the get-go, but the 2000 Heisman Trophy winner was flummoxed out of the gate, going 1-15 and finishing with an 11/19 TD/INT ratio his rookie season.
Weinke made only five starts the rest of his career, ceding the starting role to Jake Del Homme, who took the Panthers to the Super Bowl in 2003, falling just a field goal short of upsetting the New England Patriots.
Chicago Bears: Mike Tomczak
NFL career: 15 seasons (1985-99)
Other teams: Green Bay Packers (1991), Cleveland Browns (1992), Pittsburgh Steelers (1993-99)
Career stats: 185 G, 42-31 record, 53.4 CMP%, 16,079 YDS, 88 TDs, 106 INT
Stats with Bears: 77 G, 21-10 record, 49.6 CMP%, 6,247 YDS, 33 TD, 47 INT
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 1 (1985)
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Bottom Line: Mike Tomczak
The Bears have had no shortage of mediocre-to-bad quarterbacks in their heyday, but it is conceivable to think Tomczak’s limitations kept Chicago from having a dynasty. Tomczak went 11-2 in his first 13 starts, winning his first 10 NFL starts, despite a 7/20 TD/INT ratio.
Tomczak lost the trust of Bears coach Mike Ditka, who went with Doug Flutie as the starter in Chicago’s stunning loss to the Redskins in the 1986 playoffs and had a 48.4 completion percentage in four lackluster postseason starts for Chicago.
Bottom Line: Akili Smith
Smith’s career was short and awful as his career statistics indicate. Cincinnati took Smith with the No. 3 pick in the 1999 draft, but a combination of the NFL’s speed and reported work-ethic issues limited him to just 17 starts.
Smith only won three games and turned the ball over 26 times in his four seasons with the Bengals. Cincinnati released Smith after the 2002 season when it selected Carson Palmer with the first pick, and Smith never played another NFL game.
Cleveland Browns: Mike Phipps
NFL career: 12 seasons (1970-81)
Other teams: Chicago Bears (1977-81)
Career stats: 119 G, 38-31-2 record, 49.2 CMP%, 10,506 YDS, 55 TDs, 108 INTs
Stats with Browns: 88 G, 24-25-2 record, 48.1 CMP%, 7,700 YDS, 40 TDs, 80 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Mike Phipps
Tim Couch was a candidate for this list since he was the top pick in the 1999 draft. But the Browns spent the third selection of the 1970 draft on Phipps, who never had a 2,000-yard passing season and never threw more than 13 touchdowns in a season.
Somehow, Cleveland went 10-4 in Phipps’ first full season as starter, despite his 47.2 completion percentage and 13/16 TD/INT ratio. Cleveland might’ve upset the undefeated Dolphins in the playoffs if not for Phipps’ five interceptions in its 20-14 loss, as turnovers became the hallmark of his tenure as an NFL quarterback.
Dallas Cowboys: Eddie LeBaron
NFL career: 12 seasons (1952-63)
Other teams: Washington Redskins (1952-59)
Career stats: 134 G, 28-54-3 record, 50.0 CMP%, 13,399 YDS, 104 TDs, 141 INTs
Stats with Cowboys: 52 games, 5-22-1 record, 51.9 CMP%, 5,331 YDS, 45 TDs, 53 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Eddie LeBaron
LeBaron actually had better numbers for Dallas than he did for Washington (more on that later), but LeBaron appears as the Cowboys selection because Dallas parted with a first-round draft selection to acquire LeBaron, who had been retired at the time.
Dallas has also had a slew of spectacular quarterbacks, like Tony Romo, Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, Danny White and others, but LeBaron won just five of his 28 starts for Dallas before retiring.
Denver Broncos: Steve Ramsey
NFL career: 7 seasons (1970-76)
Other teams: New Orleans Saints (1970)
Career stats: 55 G, 14-17 record, 49.5 CMP%, 6,437 YDS, 35 TDs, 58 INTs
Stats with Broncos: 54 G, 14-17 record, 49.6 CMP%, 6,437 YDS, 35 TDs, 58 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Steve Ramsey
Frank Tripucka actually had much worse numbers, but he had his number retired and was beloved during the team’s AFL days. Ramsey was largely ineffective during his 31-start tenure in Denver. In his only full season as starting quarterback, Ramsey completed just 47 percent of his passes and had an 11:13, touchdown-to-interception ratio.
The Ramsey era paid off for Denver because the Broncos ultimately traded him to the New York Giants for Craig Morton, who led Denver to the Super Bowl in 1977.
Detroit Lions: Joey Harrington
NFL career: 6 seasons (2002-07)
Other teams: Miami Dolphins (2006), Atlanta Falcons (2007)
Career stats: 81 G, 26-50 record, 56.1 CMP%, 14,693 YDS, 79 TDs, 85 INTs
Stats with Lions: 58 games, 18-37 record, 54.7 CMP%, 10,242 YDS, 60 TDs, 62 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Joey Harrington
Harrington was one in a long line of Detroit first-round draft busts in the 2000s, which might be why he appears on the list in the first place. Harrington was the No. 3 pick in the 2002 draft and started 55 games in a Lions uniform before he was benched by coach Steve Mariucci midway through the 2005 season.
Whatever the case, Harrington was drafted to be the savior as QB in Detroit but never met the billing.
Bottom Line: Randy Wright
The Packers have been blessed with a long line of exceptional quarterbacks, with Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre and Bart Starr all winning championships in Green Bay. But between them were wastelands in the 1970s and 1980s, where quarterbacks like Wright played the position.
Wright has the worst win percentage in franchise history of any quarterback who has played at least 16 games and ultimately was unseated by Don Majkowski, who had a really solid tenure before Favre took over.
Houston Texans: Tom Savage
NFL career: 3 seasons (2014-17)
Other teams: None
Career stats: 13 G, 2-7 record, 57.5 CMP%, 2,000 YDS, 5 TDs, 7 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Tom Savage
David Carr is roundly considered the worst QB in Texans history, but he had the unenviable task of taking over an expansion team that basically had no chance in its first four seasons. When Savage was named starter for 2017, the Texans were coming off a division title and playoff victory, but it only took him one game to be replaced by DeShaun Watson.
After Watson injured his knee, Savage took over again but went just 1-5 in six starts and was replaced as Houston’s starter for the second time of the season, for TJ Yates. Savage’s career never recovered.
Indianapolis Colts: Jeff George
NFL career: 12 seasons (1990-2001)
Other teams: Atlanta Falcons (1994-96), Oakland Raiders (1997-98), Minnesota Vikings (1999), Washington Redskins (2000-01)
Career stats: 131 G, 46-78 record, 57.9 CMP%, 27,602 YDS, 154 TD, 113 INT
Stats with Colts: 52 G, 14-35 record, 57.0 CMP%, 9,551 YDS, 41 TDs, 46 INT
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Jeff George
Jeff George is one of the cautionary tales for anyone who puts too much stock in a prospect. The first pick of the 1990 draft, who Indianapolis traded two players and three draft picks to select, struggled and sulked through his 49-start tenure with the Colts. Fans began referring to him as “Boy George,” a dig at his immaturity, and he won just six of his first 28 NFL starts.
The Colts cut him after the 1993 season, and George shook the bust label by becoming more accurate, throwing 113 touchdowns to just 67 interceptions with the Falcons, Raiders, Vikings and Redskins. But Colts fans still can’t stand the thought of him.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Blaine Gabbert
NFL career: 9 seasons (2011-18)
Other teams: San Francisco 49ers (2014-16), Arizona Cardinals (2017), Tennessee Titans (2018)
Career stats: 56 G, 13-35 record, 56.2 CMP%, 9,063 YDS, 48 TD, 47 INT
Stats with Jaguars: 28 G, 5-22 record, 53.3 CMP %, 22 TDs, 24 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Blaine Gabbert
The Jaguars traded up six spots for the right to draft Gabbert, which was one more spot than Gabbert had wins in his tenure in Jacksonville. Gabbert’s development was stunted by three different head coaches in his three seasons there and a season-ending arm injury in 2012.
But he also couldn’t stop turning the ball over for Jacksonville, losing eight fumbles in his first two seasons before being benched in 2013 with a dreadful 1:7, touchdown-to-interception ratio. He saved face after leaving Jacksonville, posting a respectable 59.3 completion percentage and 26:23, touchdown-to-interception ratio in five seasons.
Kansas City Chiefs: Todd Blackledge
NFL career: 7 seasons (1983-89)
Other teams: Pittsburgh Steelers (1988-89)
Career stats: 46 G, 15-14 record, 48.1 CMP%, 5,286 YDS, 29 TDs, 38 INTs
Stats with Chiefs: 40 G, 13-11 record, 49.1 CMP%, 4,510 YDS, 26 TDs, 32 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Todd Blackledge
It wasn’t just that Blackledge couldn’t stay on the field but that Kansas City could’ve had any number of better options in the 1983 draft. Blackledge was selected seventh overall, the second quarterback chosen in arguably the greatest draft for quarterbacks in NFL history.
Blackledge couldn’t complete even 50 percent of his passes in his 24-start tenure for the Chiefs, which would’ve been enough to put him on this list. When you add the fact that Kansas City passed on Jim Kelly and Dan Marino to pick Blackledge from Penn State, he’s arguably the most obvious selection on this list.
Las Vegas Raiders: JaMarcus Russell
NFL career: 3 seasons (2007-09)
Other teams: None
Career stats: 31 G, 7-18, 52.1 completion percentage, 4,083 yards, 18 TDs, 23 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: JaMarcus Russell
It’s hard to overstate just how terrible Russell was in his three NFL seasons, particularly when squaring that against his incredible college career that elevated him to the top pick of the 2007 draft. Russell lit up Notre Dame in the 2007 Sugar Bowl and showed exceptional raw talent that made him the top prospect of his draft year.
But the lethal combo of weight gain and under-preparedness produced a dreadful result, and the Raiders moved on from Russell after just 25 starts in three seasons. Russell never even caught on as a camp arm anywhere else and is widely considered the biggest draft bust in NFL history.
Los Angeles Chargers: Ryan Leaf
NFL career: 3 seasons (1998-2001)
Other teams: Dallas Cowboys (2001)
Career stats: 25 games, 4-17 record, 48.4 completion percentage, 3,666 yards, 14 TDs, 36 INT
Stats with Chargers: 21 games, 4-14 record, 48.0 completion percentage, 3,172 yards, 13 TDs, 33 INT
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Ryan Leaf
It’s hard to believe some actually thought Leaf should’ve been picked ahead of Peyton Manning in the 1998 NFL draft, but Leaf’s tale was similar to that of Russell’s. But the Chargers had to trade up to acquire the rights to draft Leaf.
He started only 18 games in a Chargers uniform and still has the seventh most interceptions in franchise history.
Los Angeles Rams: Zeke Bratkowski
NFL career: 15 seasons (1954-71)
Other teams: Chicago Bears (1954-60), Green Bay Packers (1963-71)
Career stats: 132 G, 18-30-1 record, 51.3 CMP%, 10,345 YDS, 65 TDs, 122 INTs
Stats with Rams: 30 G, 3-21 record, 52.5 CMP%, 3,559 YDS, 20 TDs, 35 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 3 (1965, 1966, 1967)
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Bottom Line: Zeke Bratkowski
The Rams acquired Bratkowski from the Bears and made him their starting quarterback for the 1961 season. But Bratkowski won just three of his 24 starts for the Rams and was unseated by Roman Gabriel as Los Angeles’ starting QB after throwing six interceptions in his first four starts of 1963 as the Rams started 0-5.
Bratkowski was waived and finished his career in Green Bay, where he became beloved as the backup to Bart Starr for three championship teams.
Miami Dolphins: Chad Henne
NFL career: 10 seasons (2008-18)
Other teams: Jacksonville Jaguars (2012-17), Kansas City Chiefs (2018)
Career stats: 68 G, 18-35 record, 59.3 CMP%, 12,960 YDS, 58 TDs, 63 INTs
Stats with Dolphins: 36 G, 13-18 record, 60.7 CMP%, 7,114 YDS, 31 TDs, 36 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Chad Henne
Chad Henne was a second-round draft pick out of Michigan in the 2008 draft. Henne agreed to a four-year, $3.5 million contract with the team on July 26. Out of training camp, Henne earned the backup-quarterback role behind starter Chad Pennington. During the second game of the 2008 season, Henne made his NFL debut in a blowout loss against the Arizona Cardinals and spent the remainder of the season on the bench, only playing in two other games.
Henne made his first career start the next season but never showed enough consistency for the Dolphins to make a long-term commitment, and he was not re-signed when his contract expired in 2012.
Minnesota Vikings: Joe Kapp
NFL career: 4 seasons (1967-70)
Other teams: Boston Patriots (1970)
Career stats: 51 G, 24-21-3 record, 48.9 CMP%, 5,911 YDS, 40 TDs, 64 INT
Stats with Vikings: 40 G, 23-12-3 record, 50.2 CMP%, 4,807 YDS, 37 TDs, 47 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Joe Kapp
Joe Kapp’s tenure proves the win-loss record isn’t everything when judging quarterbacks, particularly in Minnesota, which has had a slew of successful signal-callers through its NFL tenure. In his best season in Minnesota, 1969, Kapp completed just 50.6 percent of his passes and threw for just 1,726 yards in 13 games, and the Vikings went 12-2.
But Kapp threw just one playoff touchdown to four interceptions and turned the ball over three times in Minnesota’s stunning 23-7 loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl IV. One can only wonder if the Vikings could’ve had a championship under their belt if they’d hung onto Fran Tarkenton, whose 1968 trade paved the way for Kapp’s emergence as the starter.
New England Patriots: Jim Plunkett
NFL career: 15 seasons (1971-86)
Other teams: San Francisco 49ers (1976-77), Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders (1978-86)
Career stats: 157 G, 72-72 record, 52.5 CMP%, 25,882 YDS, 164 TDs, 198 INTs
Stats with Patriots: 61 G, 23-38 record, 48.5 CMP%, 9,932 YDS, 62 TDs, 87 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 2 (1980, 1983)
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Bottom Line: Jim Plunkett
It’s easy to forget that Plunkett started his standout career in New England and would have been considered a colossal bust based on his tenure there. Plunkett was the first overall pick in the 1971 draft but showed inaccuracy and a penchant for interceptions, particularly in 1974 when he led the NFL with 22.
Steve Grogan unseated him as starter after five ineffective games in the 1975 season, and after two mediocre seasons in San Francisco, Plunkett showed some of that promise with the Raiders, where he led them to four playoff appearances and a pair of championships.
New Orleans Saints: Archie Manning
NFL career: 15 seasons (1971-84)
Other teams: Houston Oilers (1982-83), Minnesota Vikings (1983-84)
Career stats: 151 G, 35-101-3 record, 55.2 CMP%, 23,911 YDS, 125 TDs, 173 INTs
Stats with Saints: 134 G, 35-91-3, 55.2 CMP%, 21,734 YDs, 115 TDs, 156 INTs.
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Archie Manning
When NFL fans of a certain age think of quarterback busts, Archie Manning is usually the first name to come to their minds. Manning had the misfortune of playing for arguably the worst team in NFL history, the 1970s Saints, and became a cautionary tale for people who thought college QBs could will dormant franchises to success.
Losing and poor development doomed Manning’s prospects of NFL success, though we like to think his failings helped him mentor his sons, Peyton and Eli, to their surefire Hall of Fame careers as NFL QBs.
New York Giants: Joe Pisarcik
NFL career: 8 seasons (1977-84)
Other teams: Philadelphia Eagles (1980-84)
Career stats: 61 G, 9-21 record, 47.3 CMP%, 5,552 YDS, 24 TDs, 48 INTs
Stats with Giants: 32 G, 8-19 record, 44.5 CMP%, 3,979 YDS, 18 TDs, 43 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Joe Pisarcik
Dave Brown largely gets mocked as the worst quarterback in Giants history, usually because of New York’s decision to spend the first overall pick of the 1992 supplemental draft on him, but Piscarcik’s career with the Giants was even worse than that.
Pisarcik lost 19 of his 27 starts in a Giants uniform and authored perhaps the lowest moment in franchise history when he fumbled away a game against the Philadelphia Eagles in a loss that has since been dubbed "The Miracle at the Meadowlands."
New York Jets: Christian Hackenberg
NFL career: 2 seasons (2016-17)
Other teams: None
Career stats: 0 G, 0-0 record, 0 CMP%, 0 YDS, 0 TDs, 0 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Christian Hackenberg
The Jets have certainly had their share of terrible quarterbacks to choose from, but none rival that of Hackenberg, who the Jets spent a second-round pick on in the 2016 draft. But he never even played a down in the NFL.
Hackenberg had a good career at Penn State, throwing to stalwart receivers like Chris Godwin during his three years there, but he was inaccurate in practice and the preseason and was rarely even active over the course of two forgettable seasons in New York.
Philadelphia Eagles: Bobby Thomason
NFL career: 8 seasons (1949-57)
Other teams: Los Angeles Rams (1949), Green Bay Packers (1950)
Career stats: 85 G, 18-24-2 record, 51 CMP%, 9,480 YDS, 68 TDs, 90 INT
Stats with Eagles: 68 G, 18-23-2 record, 50.0 CMP%, 8,124 YDS, 57 TDs, 80 INT
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Bobby Thomason
Thomason certainly played in a different time for quarterback play, and his tenure started out OK in Philadelphia, with a pair of winning seasons and a Pro Bowl honor in his first two seasons there.
But things quickly unraveled for the quarterback and his team, as Thomason went 7-17-2 with 51 interceptions in his final 26 starts with the Eagles — still somehow reaching the Pro Bowl in 1956 despite a 4:26, touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Mark Malone
NFL career: 10 seasons (1980-89)
Other teams: San Diego Chargers (1988), New York Jets (1989)
Career stats: 73 G, 23-30 record, 50.9 CMP%, 10,175 YDS, 60 TDs, 81 INTs
Stats with Steelers: 60 G, 21-24 record, 50.2 CMP%, 8,582 YDS, 54 TDs, 68 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Mark Malone
We love Malone’s thoughtful and insightful analysis on television, but sometimes, the best analysts are the ones who couldn’t produce on-field success. To be fair, the Steelers have had a robust number of great quarterbacks in their heydays, and Malone wasn’t so much untalented as he was unlucky to just miss the exceptional dynasty days and take over the starting job from Terry Bradshaw, which he did in 1984.
But Malone’s 46-start tenure with the Steelers netted just three postseason games — in an era where the Steelers became a religion in Western Pennsylvania.
San Francisco 49ers: Steve DeBerg
NFL career: 17 seasons (1978-98)
Other teams: Denver Broncos (1981-83), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1984-87, 92-93), Kansas City Chiefs (1988-91), Miami Dolphins (1993), Atlanta Falcons (1998)
Career stats: 206 G, 53-86-1 record, 57.2 CMP%, 34,241 YDS, 196 TDs, 204 INTs
Stats with 49ers: 39 G, 7-28 record, 55.8 CMP%, 7,220 YDS, 37 TDs, 60 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Steve DeBerg
DeBerg had the terrible fortune of preceding not one, but two Hall of Fame quarterbacks in his career — Joe Montana in San Francisco and John Elway in Denver — but San Francisco was in a position to select Montana in part because of DeBerg’s early struggles in a 49ers uniform.
DeBerg had a largely successful career in Kansas City, where he became the first in a long line of ex-49ers quarterbacks to find success with the Chiefs.
Seattle Seahawks: Rick Mirer
NFL career: 8 seasons (1993-2003)
Other teams: Chicago Bears (1997), New York Jets (1999), San Francisco 49ers (2000), Oakland Raiders (2003)
Career stats: 80 G, 24-44 record, 53.3 CMP%, 11,969 YDS, 50 TDs, 76 INTs
Stats with Seahawks: 55 G, 20-31 record, 53.4 CMP%, 9,094 YDS, 41 TDs, 54 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Rick Mirer
Mirer had a standout career at Notre Dame and was the consensus top overall quarterback before the 1993 draft. But the Patriots chose Drew Bledsoe with the first pick, and Mirer went second to Seattle where he had an abysmal tenure and is one of the more underrated busts in NFL history.
Mirer was co-offensive rookie of the year in 1993 but never threw more than 13 touchdowns in a season in his career. The only saving grace for Mirer’s tenure in Seattle was the fact he fetched the Seahawks a first-round selection from the Chicago Bears in a 1997 trade.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Steve Young
NFL career: 15 seasons (1985-99)
Other teams: San Francisco 49ers (1987-99)
Career stats: 169 G, 94-49 record, 64.3 CMP%, 29,907 YDS, 232 TDs, 107 INTs
Stats with Buccaneers: 19 G, 3-16 record, 53.3 CMP%, 3,217 YDS, 11 TDs, 21 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 3 (1988, 1989, 1994)
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Bottom Line: Steve Young
The Buccaneers, like a lot of teams on this list, have had no shortage of candidates for this choice. But consider how history could’ve been different if Young stayed with the Buccaneers and evolved into the quarterback he became in San Francisco. The Bucs were a laughingstock and considered Young a bust when they traded him to San Francisco after selecting Vinny Testeverde in the 1987 draft.
But under Bill Walsh and George Seifert, Young’s career took off, and he won two MVPs and was named the MVP of Super Bowl XXIX.
Tennessee Titans: Zach Mettenberger
NFL career: 2 seasons (2014-15)
Other teams: None
Career stats: 14 G, 0-10 record, 60.3 CMP%, 2,347 YDS, 12 TDs, 14 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Zach Mettenberger
Zach Mettenberger’s numbers certainly aren’t the worst on this list, but they gloss over the fact that he boasts the worst win percentage on this list and his inability to put points on the board while quarterbacking the Titans. Tennessee averaged just 14 points per game in his 10 career starts, albeit in the two worst in franchise history.
But any opportunity for Mettenberger to seize the starting role was undone by a 75.4 career quarterback rating.
Washington Commanders: Norm Snead
NFL career: 16 seasons (1961-76)
Other teams: Philadelphia Eagles (1964-70), Minnesota Vikings (1971), New York Giants (1972-74, 76), San Francisco 49ers (1975-76)
Career stats: 178 G, 52-100-7 record, 52.3 CMP%, 30,797 YDS, 196 TDs, 257 INTs
Stats with Washington: 42 G, 9-30-3 record, 48.6 CMP%, 8,306 YDS, 46 TDs, 71 INTs
Super Bowl/NFL titles: 0
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Bottom Line: Norm Snead
Norm Snead was the quarterback Washington acquired from the Cowboys in the Eddie LeBaron trade, which somehow doesn’t look so bad given the fact it was one terrible quarterback exchanged for another. Snead’s tenure in the nation’s capital somehow netted him two Pro Bowl appearances despite his dreadful 9-30-3 record and 48.6 completion percentage.
Consider also that Washington spent the No. 2 overall pick, ahead of four other Hall of Famers chosen in the first round and Fran Tarkenton who was selected in the third. Snead improved away from Washington, and LeBaron struggled in the district, too.