5 QBs who had the worst starts to their NFL careers
The NFL isn't always kind to the next big thing that comes out of the collegiate ranks. You can go ahead and re-emphasize that statement when talking about quarterbacks.
No position is as scrutinized as the signal-caller, and while the highest of highs are unmatched at the position, the lowest of lows have proven to be crippling to careers.
These 5 NFL QBs had the worst starts to their careers:
#1 - JaMarcus Russell
JaMarcus Russell came into the 2007 NFL season with all of the hype in the world and delivered, not just an underwhelming rookie season, but a worst-case scenario career relative to what front offices, pundits, and fans were expecting.
Russell's rookie season only saw a handful of appearances and just one start, but he ended up with twice as many interceptions (four) as he had touchdowns (two).
If Russell's NFL recruitment wasn't so over the top, this wouldn't have been as notable. But his hype included videos of the LSU product throwing the ball from a non-standing position three quarters of the field.
His third season in the league was so abhorrent (three TDs, 11 INTs, 50 QB rating) that the NFL never came calling again.
#2 - Ryan Leaf
Poor Ryan Leaf will never escape the shadow of Peyton Manning, and its not his fault in the slightest. NFL front offices projected the two to be neck-and-neck across the board, but time would tell us that the elder Manning had a clean sweep of Leaf in just about every category.
Obviously, the NFL Hall of Famer outplayed Leaf on the field. Manning was an off-the-field media darling, though. Leaf was famously a bad boy during his rookie season.
During the second game of the season against the Kansas City Chiefs, he completed just one of his 15 pass attempts, had two of them intercepted, and fumbled the ball four times, turning it over three. He cursed out a San Diego Union-Tribune reporter the next day.
Leaf finished his career losing four times as many games as he won as the starter, going winless in his final season in Dallas.
#3 - Eli Manning
Relative to what his career would end up becoming, it's fair to say that Eli Manning had one of the worst starts to a career a possible NFL Hall of Famer may ever have.
If he ends up enshrined in Canton, Ohio, it will not be because of his rookie season.
Manning replaced Kurt Warner -- after a two-game losing streak amid a decent start (5-4) otherwise for the former NFC Champion QB with the St. Louis Rams -- and ended up finishing the 2004 campaign 1-6 as a starter with six TDs, nine INTs, and an interception percentage north of four.
Many fans saw Manning's misfortune his rookie season as karma for his refusal to play for the San Diego Chargers, but the Ole Miss product got the last laugh with two of the most legendary Super Bowl wins of all time, both over Tom Brady and Bill Belichick's New England Patriots as heavy underdogs and featuring legendary tosses by the two-time Super Bowl MVP.
#4 - Matt Leinart
What Arizona Cardinals fans were expecting when Matt Leinart got drafted in 2006 was a night and day difference from the end product they received with the 10th overall pick.
Leinart gave up the chance to be selected #1 overall by returning to USC for the 2005 season and being outdueled by Vince Young and the Texas Longhorns in the BCS National Championship game. The 2004 Heisman winner bet on himself and lost some shine in a senior season that fell short of his junior year bar.
By the time he reached the NFL, the downward spiral couldn't be stopped. Leinart went 4-7 as the starter in his rookie year with more INTs than TDs and never had an INT % below three across six seasons. It took two seasons for the league to realize he wasn't starter material.
#5 - Josh Rosen
We don't mean to pick on Arizona Cardinals fans here, but the franchise has been snakebitten enough to have two QBs dwelling in infamny following failure in the desert.
Josh Rosen, like Leinart, dropped on draft night to the 10th pick. Deja vu ensued for Cardinals faithfuls.
Rosen also had his INTs surpass his TD total by season's end, but he didn't even make it to a second season in Arizona. Rosen was traded to the Miami Dolphins for second and fifth-round draft picks and then had a 1:5 TD-INT ratio.
Besides 11 pass attempts (two of which were completed) during the 2021 season, Rosen's NFL journey has been quiet since.