The quarterback position is arguably the hardest (and most important) to play in all of professional sports. Quarterbacks are as indispensable in football as a goaltender is in hockey or a pitcher is in baseball. In the National Football League, the quarterback is the leader on the field and often times the face of the franchise.
They are among the most high-profile athletes in the world. The success of an NFL franchise often rests on the shoulders of their signal caller.
Considering the degree of difficult, it’s no wonder every NFL team has had more bad ones than good ones. With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of the worst quarterback in every NFL team’s history.
Arizona Cardinals – Ryan Lindley
Fans of the Arizona Cardinals have probably blocked out as much of the Ryan Lindley experience from their collective minds as possible. In his first season in Arizona, Lindley finished the year with a 46.7 passer rating, having thrown seven interceptions and no touchdowns.
After entering the NFL in 2012, Lindley didn’t throw his first official touchdown pass until 2014, when he rejoined the Cardinals after a one-year stint on the practice squad of the San Diego Chargers. In four seasons of professional football, including one season in the Canadian Football League, Lindley threw 4 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
Atlanta Falcons – Randy Johnson
Long before a near-7-foot baseball pitcher made the name famous, Randy Johnson was a starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons back in the late 1960’s…. And he was a terrible one to boot.
After winning only three games in his rookie year in 1966 (out of 11 starts), he actually managed to win even less games the following four years in Atlanta, winning a grand total of 5 times in 26 starts in the ensuing four years he was the starter.
Baltimore Ravens – Elvis Grbac
A year after the Baltimore Ravens dumped quarterback Trent Dilfer after taking the team to the Super Bowl, they qualified for the postseason once again with Elvis Grbac under center. Prior to that, Grbac had spent four season nas the starter for the Kansas City Chiefs, where he never won more than nine games as a starter.
Grback and the Ravens defeated the Miami Dolphins by a 20-3 score in the Wild Card roung of the playoffs, before losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers the following week. The Ravens released Grbac in a salary cap move after he refused to renegotiate his contract, and Grbac retired after being released.
Buffalo Bills – Alex Van Pelt
Despite the fact that Alex Van Pelt left the University of Pittsburgh having broken many records established by some guy named Dan Marino, Alex Van Pelt started his career as a backup quarterback, but took over as the starter of the Buffalo Bills in 1994 after Jim Kelly would suffer a major knee injury.
But that would be one of the only times that Van Pelt actually started; in nine years in Buffalo, Van Pelt started 11 games, finishing with a career 3-8 record in those starts.
Carolina Panthers – Jimmy Clausen
Never in history has there been a player for with the combination of breathtaking hype and incredible failure like Jimmy Clausen. The most over-recruited player in NCAA history to date, Clausen’s lackluster career at Notre Dame led him to fall to the 2nd round of the 2010 NFL Draft.
The Carolina Panthers, who selected him, decided to throw him to the proverbial wolves in his rookie year, and Clausen got eaten alive: three touchdowns and nine interceptions in 10 games as a starter. He had a huge hand in the Panthers finishing with a 2-14 record, and Carolina saw enough of him in that one year to decide to draft his replacement — Cam Newton — just one year after taking Clausen.
Chicago Bears – Bob Avellini
For all the glory the Chicago Bears have had on the defensive side of the football (and at the running back position), that hasn’t been shared at the quarterback spot. The history of the Bears franchise is filled with guys like Bob Avellini, who had one winning season during his first four years in the NFL.
Avellini finished his nine-year career in Chicago with more than a 2:1 ratio of interceptions to touchdowns (throwing 69 interceptions to only 33 touchdowns).
Cincinnati Bengals – Akili Smith
A one-year wonder who parlayed that brief success into the #3 overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft, Smith’s NFL career was an unmitigated disaster. First, the Bengals turned down the “Godfather” offer from the New Orleans Saints; Mike Ditka was selling the farm to move up to grab Ricky Williams, allegedly offering the Bengals a whopping nine draft picks (Cincinnati turned down the offer). He started off his tenure in Cincinnati completely on the wrong foot, missing a substantial portion of the team’s training camp, which many believed irreparably stunted his development in the NFL.
Of course, once he did sign, his off-the-field habits didn’t help either. Smith was later quoted as having given in to the temptations of his high draft selection, flying back and forth between Cincinnati and San Diego to party with his friends and multiple women regularly; he’s called himself “a complete embarrassment off the field.” Smith played in 22 NFL games and posted a career passer rating of 52.8. In one year at Oregon, he threw for 30 touchdown passes; in four seasons in the NFL, he threw for a total of five.
Cleveland Browns – Brandon Weeden
In 2012, NFL scouts and teams were first learning the drawbacks of drafting a quarterback who played in a spread offense in college. But after watching what Brandon Weeden looked like when he got to the NFL, it made front offices downright terrified of taking quarterbacks from those offenses. There were plenty of analysts who cautioned against taking Weeden with an early draft pick, but true to form, Cleveland threw all wisdom to the wind, selecting him with the 22nd pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.
It was clear from the get-go that Weeden wasn’t ready when, in his first game, he finished with a 5.1 passer rating after throwing four interceptions in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. That was the sixth-lowest passer rating in a season opener by any quarterback attempting at least 15 passes since the merger in 1970..
Dallas Cowboys – Chad Hutchison
In the era between Troy Aikman and Tony Romo, the Dallas Cowboys went through a comedy of errors at the quarterback position (and at head coach, too). Chad Hutchinson was one of those spectacular errors, as we witnessed during the 2002 season.
Despite the fact that he set the NFL record for most passes thrown by a rookie without an interception (95), Hutchinson still finished with a 2-7 record in the nine games he started, throwing only seven touchdowns and eight interceptions. One year later, when the Dallas Cowboys hired an actual grown up to coach the team (Bill Parcells), Hutchison was benched in favor of Quincy Carter. Two years after that, Hutchinson was out of the NFL.
Denver Broncos – Steve Tensi
When John Elway was merely a child in Northern California, the Denver Broncos were being quarterbacked by a gentleman named Steve Tensi. If that name doesn’t ring a bell, don’t worry; you’re not really missing much by not thinking about him.
Between 1967 and 1970, Tensi spent four years in Denver, and in all four years, he failed to finish with a winning record. During that span, he had a 10-21-1 record as the starter.
Detroit Lions – Joey Harrington
Even though Joey Harrington wasn’t drafted to an expansion team in the 2002 NFL Draft, he suffered a lot of the same fate as David Carr, who was drafted the year before him: suffering from a lack of talent, especially along the offensive line, as the quarterback of the Detroit Lions.
The Lions tried to find Harrington a wide receiver in the 2003 NFL Draft in Charles Rogers, but the latter’s career was destroyed because of injuries and substance abuse issues. Meanwhile, Harrington struggled under Steve Mariucci’s “win-now” approach, which culminated in the coach bringing in Jeff Garcia to replace Harrington.
Green Bay Packers – Randy Wright
Before Aaron Rodgers, there was Brett Favre. Before Favre, there was Don Majkowski, whose career was cut short due to injury.
But before even Majkowski, there was Randy Wright, who played four miserable seasons for the Green Bay Packers, finishing his career with a laughable 7-25 record as the starter, and 57 interceptions thrown in five seasons.
Houston Texans – David Carr
The first overall selection in the 2002 NFL Draft, and the first pick in the history of the Houston Texans franchise, David Carr spent the early part of his NFL career getting his brain beat in behind the Texans porous offensive line. He was sacked 76 times in his rookie season, and fumbled the football 12 times. In 2004, he was sacked 49 times, which was still the highest in the NFL.
Eventually, questions arose as to whether Carr was getting gun shy in the pocket (who could blame him?) and whether he was truly committed to football. After getting sacked 249 times during his first five years in Houston, the Texans replaced Carr by acquiring Matt Schaub via trade.
Indianapolis Colts – Curtis Painter
You’d think after watching Peyton Manning from the sidelines for a couple of years that Painter would have learned a thing or two. When veteran Kerry Collins, who was signed to replace Manning following neck surgery, got hurt early in the season, Painter took over and fell flat on his face. Even with a playoff-caliber roster around him, Painter had trouble moving the ball and avoiding costly errors, failing to lead the Colts to a single win.
Indy was 0-8 in games Painter started, as he completed 132 of 243 passes (54.3%) for 1,541 yards with six touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Jacksonville Jaguars – Blaine Gabbert
Blaine Gabbert was one of the first cautionary tales of the transition quarterbacks who play in a spread system face when coming into the NFL. Gabbert was forced into action as a rookie on the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the results weren’t pretty. In the three seasons he spent in Jacksonville, he was either injured, or just played terribly in general.
Less than three years after picking Gabbert, the Jaguars traded him for a 6th-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers. The best part of this pick? Gabbert was taken one spot of some guy named JJ Watt.
Kansas City Chiefs – Todd Blackledge
The Kansas City Chiefs thought so highly of Todd Blackledge that they made him the seventh pick of the 1983 NFL Draft, ahead of future Hall of Fame quarterbacks like Jim Kelly and Dan Marino. Even Blackledge himself admitted to being surprised that the Chiefs selected him over some of the other quarterbacks in the draft, and expected to hear his name called somewhere closer to the second round of the draft.
He spent most of his career being pulled in and out of games by the Chiefs coaching staff, never throwing for more than 1,707 yards in a season. After seven forgettable seasons in the NFL, Blackledge retired.
Los Angeles Chargers – Ryan Leaf
This one couldn’t have been more obvious. Where are we supposed to start with Ryan Leaf’s second season with the San Diego Chargers? Was it the fact that he threw five interceptions in his first two games? Or how about the fact that he was benched for backup quarterback Moses Moreno prior to the third game of the season?
Ironically, the piece de resistance wasn’t even the fact that Leaf finished with a 1-8 record as the team’s starter after shuttling in and out of the lineup, trading stints with Moreno. The worst part has to be the fact that he allegedly faked a hand injury, using that as an excuse to miss practice, and instead use that practice time to head to the golf course.
Los Angeles Rams – Dan Pastorini
Even though he spent only one year with the Los Angeles Rams (in 1981), Dan Pastorini certainly made his mark on franchise history… but not in a good way. Pastorini threw two touchdown passes, but a laughable 14 interceptions that year, giving him an unbelievable 1:7 ratio of touchdown passes to interceptions.
It shouldn’t be any surprise that he was one-and-done in Los Angeles, retiring just one season later.
Miami Dolphins – Rick Norton
It has to be brutal on your psyche, as a quarterback, if you don’t win a single game as a starter for your first three seasons in the NFL. Welcome to the life of former Miami Dolphins quarterback Rick Norton, who went 0-5 during his first three years in the league, and finished his career with a 1-10 overall record.
Ironically, after Norton retired, the Dolphins would go on to their glory years of the early 1970’s, when they won back-to-back Super Bowls.
Minnesota Vikings – Spergon Wynn
One of the quarterbacks famously selected before Tom Brady in the 2000 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns tried to do their best to ruin the career of ultra-raw project quarterback Spergon Wynn. Dumping him one season after drafting him, Wynn came to Minnesota, and started only two games for the Vikings.
Needless to say, they weren’t pretty; he threw six interceptions in those two games, both of which were losses for Minnesota.
New England Patriots – Mike Taliaferro
Even though they’re probably reveling in their unprecedented streak of success, fans of the New England Patriots know it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows for the team at the quarterback position. In their decades of sadness prior to the Bill Belichick era, the team has had some awful entries in their quarterbacking history.
Among that group includes Mike Taliaferro, who won 8 of 25 games during his three seasons with the Patriots, back when they were still the Boston Patriots (1968-1970).
New Orleans Saints – Heath Shuler
It’s amazing that Heath Shuler actually went to another team and, despite having more NFL experience under his belt, actually got worse. After flaming out as starting quarterback of the Washington Redskins (who originally drafted him in 1994), Shuler tried to salvage his career in New Orleans, when the team brought in Mike Ditka.
But Shuler was a total disaster — like everything in the Ditka regime — in New Orleans, leading noted football analytics site FootballOutsiders.com to declare Shuler as “The Least Valuable Quarterback of 1997.”
New York Giants – Dave Brown
The backup quarterback for the New York Giants who had the misfortune of following guys like Phil Simms and Jeff Hostetler, Dave Brown failed to tally a winning record in three of his first four seasons as a starter for the Giants, leading the once-proud franchise that dominated in the 1980’s to wander around the NFL wilderness in the 1990’s.
During his six seasons in New York, Brown never threw for more than 12 touchdowns in any year.
New York Jets – Browning Nagle
Former University of Louisville quarterback Browning Nagle will forever go down in infamy if for nothing else but one fact — that he was selected exactly one pick before a rifle-armed kid from the University of Southern Mississippi named Brett Favre.
Nagle really only played one true season with the New York Jets after being drafted in 1991. In 1992, Nagle won only three of the 13 starts he made, throwing 17 interceptions.
Oakland Raiders – Jamarcus Russell
Who can forget the fact that heralded NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper raved about Jamarcus Russell’s private workout, comparing his passing ability to that of John Elway? Russell had one of the strongest arms we’ve ever seen from an NFL Draft prospect, but one of the worst work ethics we’ve seen from a quarterback prospect as well.
Between his battles keeping his weight down, and his well-publicized issues with misusing codeine, Russell was out of the NFL just three seasons after being selected #1 overall.
Philadelphia Eagles – Bobby Hoying
Despite being a third-round selection in the 1996 NFL Draft, Bobby Hoying really had no business playing in the NFL. While he was a decorated player coming out of Ohio State University, he was a disaster in the NFL, getting benched midway through his second season after failing to lead the Philadelphia Eagles to a single win.
He was a major reason why the team finished with 3-13 record, which led to the Eagles’ hiring Andy Reid.
Pittsburgh Steelers – Mark Malone
Riding the fumes of those great Pittsburgh Steelers’ teams of the 1970’s, after Terry Bradshaw retired, quarterback Mark Malone — the team’s top pick in the 1980 NFL Draft — assumed the role of starting quarterback.
After not playing in his rookie season, Malone would go on to throw more interceptions than touchdowns in each of his first three seasons, and “helped” the Steelers to a 6-10 record in 1986, which was their lowest win total in 15 years.
San Francisco 49ers – Steve Spurrier
Before he became the head ball coach at the University of Florida and University of South Carolina, Stephen Orr Spurrier won the Heisman Trophy in 1966, and became the third overall pick of the 1967 NFL Draft. But when Spurrier got to see the field as the team’s quarterback (in admittedly limited and infrequent fashion), he flat out stunk.
For all his pass-happy offenses as a coach, Spurrier didn’t throw a touchdown pass in the NFL until his third year in the league. The only position where Spurrier ended up starting for the 49ers, at least early on, was at punter.
Seattle Seahawks – Stan Gelbaugh
There are a lot of players who played in the (now defunct) World League of American Football, and came back to the NFL and made a successful career. Stan Gelbaugh was not one of them. The former London Monarchs quarterback was named the Offensive MVP of the WLAF.
But after coming to the NFL, he spent his last four seasons in Seattle, throwing only seven touchdowns — compared to 12 interceptions — in four seasons. In fairness, he only started nine games in Seattle, riding the pine for most of his time there.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Vinny Testaverde
Even the 1986 Heisman Trophy winner and best quarterback in college football couldn’t overcome the misery that was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for most of the 1970’s and 1980’s. In his first three seasons in the NFL, Testaverde threw an unfathomable 63 interceptions, winning a grand total of 10 starts in 33 games.
Outside of his rookie season, when he started in only four games, Testaverde threw at least 15 interceptions in each of his five subsequent seasons in Tampa. To be clear, Testaverde was not the least talented quarterback to suit up for the Bucs, but he did have (arguably) the worst tenure in team history.
Tennessee Titans – Billy Joe Tolliver
the longtime journeyman backup quarterback who spent time on six NFL teams in 13 seasons, Billy Joe Tolliver saved his worst for his one year as the quarterback of the Houston Oilers (the predecessors of the Tennessee Titans).
In 1994, Tolliver went 0-7 as the team’s starter, tossing only six touchdowns (and seven interceptions) in seven games, while averaging a career-low 5.4 yards attempt. After leaving Tennessee, Tolliver went 2-11 when starting over the remainder of his career.
Washington Redskins – Ralph Guglielmi
A stud quarterback at the University of Notre Dame, the Washington Redskins selected Ralph Guglielmi with the 4th overall pick way back in the 1955 NFL Draft.
Let’s just say that, from there, they didn’t get much return on their investment. After finishing his rookie year with a 3-0 record in the games he played, Guglielmi eventually went 2-12-3 as the quarterback over the next three years.
After spending four years in Washington, like a bad decision made in an election, Guglielmi was gone.