3 biggest one-season wonder QBs of all time in NFL history
The challenge for any quarterback in the NFL is not to become a one-season wonder. There have been scores of quarterbacks in the NFL who have had breakout seasons and been feted as the next big thing, only to be unheard of the following season. Here, we look at three such quarterbacks who scaled the headiest of heights only once to become a one-season wonder before fading away.
One-season wonder QBs who lit up the NFL
#1 - Mark Rypien
Mark Rypien is a Lombardi Trophy winner and was the Super Bowl XXVI MVP. He led the then-named Washington Redskins to the NFL Championship. He was the backup behind Jay Schroeder and Doug Williams until 1991, when he finally got the chance to start. He had an extraordinary 1991 season, throwing for 3,564 yards, 29 touchdowns, and a 97.9 quarterback rating.
What could have been the start of an elite career was curtailed by a season-ending injury the following season. Even though Mark Rypien played for seven more seasons after his Super Bowl win, he never scaled those heights again.
#2 - Greg Cook
Greg Cook was a one-season wonder in the only professional football season he ever played. Selected fifth overall in the AFL draft, he played for the Cincinnati Bengals. He suffered a torn rotator cuff three games into his career but kept playing despite that and threw for 1,895 yards. He set the record for yards per attempt in a single season in his rookie season.
Greg Cook (1966-68)
1969 NFL Draft - #5 Overall Pick (Cincinnati Bengals) https://t.co/bFjGPET6pg
He had surgery in the offseason to fix his injury, but he was never the same and played only once more in professional football. He remains one of the biggest "what-if" stories in professional football.
#3 - Steve Beuerlein
Steve Beuerlein had a pretty bland career until 1999. He was a backup to Troy Aikman. He also was the first-ever quarterback for expansion franchise Jacksonville Jaguars. But when traded to the Carolina Panthers in 1995, four years later, he exploded into life. He threw for 4,436 yards and 36 touchdowns. His stats overshadowed Kurt Warner's "The Greatest Show on Turf" that season.
Steve Beuerlein threw 36 touchdowns in 1999, 13 more than Troy Aikman ever threw in a single season. https://t.co/5124a2deW0
The next season, Jake Delhomme replaced him as the starting quarterback at the Panthers, and he moved the following season to the Denver Broncos. He spent two years there before retiring, never hitting the heights he did as a one-season wonder in 1999.