Tom Brady is on a multitude of lists for his fantastic play. Here’s one group he would like to not a part of — players with the most fumbles in their career. Every one of the top 11, courtesy of Profootballreference.com, is a quarterback.
11. Dan Marino
Dan Marino fumbled the ball 110 times in his Hall-of-Fame career. The Miami Dolphins’ star reached double digits in 1988 when he lost the ball 10 times. In 1985, ’94 and ’98, Marino had nine fumbles in each season.
10. Vinny Testaverde
Vinny Testaverde was under siege when he dropped back for much of a long NFL career. In three different seasons, the former Miami star reached double-digit fumbles as a pro QB with 116 total fumbles to his name. As a Jet in 2001, he coughed up the ball a dozen times. With Baltimore in 1997, there were 11 fumbles and as a Buc in 1990, he fumbled 10 times.
9. Tom Brady
You play long enough, there will be so me lists that you make, good, bad and ugly. The brilliant Tom Brady has fumbled 118 times in his career. In his first three seasons as a starter, Brady reached double-digits in each, losing the ball 36 times overall. Since, he has been to 10 or more twice: in 2006 and ’13.
8. Drew Bledsoe
The man who Tom Brady replaced is next on the list. Drew Bledsoe is in a tie for eighth place with 123 fumbles. The former No. 1 overall pick from Washington State led the NFL in 2005 as a Dallas Cowboy with 17 fumbles, one of four times he lost the ball more than 10 times in a season.
8. Boomer Esiason
Boomer Esiason is tied with Bledsoe at 122 fumbles. The lefty from Maryland, who played in the NFL for the Bengals, fumbled 10 or more times in eight seasons. He had one run of six consecutive seasons, where he totaled 69 fumbles from 1990-95.
6. Eli Manning
For the time being, Eli Manning won’t be adding to his current total of 124 fumbles. The San Diego Chargers’ No. 1 overall pick out of Ole Miss who was traded to the Giants for Philip Rivers, had his most fumbles in 2007 and 2009 when he coughed up the ball 13 times, respectively.
5. John Elway
John Elway is another Hall of Famer who takes his place on the list of those who fumbled the most. The Denver Broncos’ legend had 14 of his 137 career fumbles in 1984. He led the league with a dozen in 1991. Overall, he reached double-digits five times.
4. Kerry Collins
Kerry Collins played for six teams in his NFL career. He fumbled at least once for every one of them. He had a five-year run from 2000-05, where he fumbled 10 or more times in every season but 2003.
3. Dave Krieg
Dave Krieg is another quarterback who played for six teams and fumbled for each of them. His career-high in fumbles came in 1989 when, as a Seahawk, he went one better than his jersey number, coughing the ball up a league-leading 18 times. He reached double-digits nine times in his career and also led the league with 16 as an Arizona Cardinal in 1995. Overall, he tallied 153 fumbles.
2. Warren Moon
Warren Moon would have given the top spot a run had the NFL not whiffed on his talent coming out of Washington. That sent him to the CFL, where he starred before becoming a Houston Oiler. Moon played 17 NFL seasons and twice led the NFL in fumbles with 17 in 1984 and 18 in 1990, respectively. Overall, Moon was responsible for 161 fumbles.
1. Brett Favre
Brett Favre had a long and glorious career. And at the end of it, the run became somewhat inglorious. That said, he set plenty of records during his time with four teams — don’t forget he started off in Atlanta — and leads the way with 166 fumbles, 147 coming as a Green Bay Packer. His most fumbles came in 2001 when he lost the ball 16 times.
