The Arizona Cardinals have had a long list of quarterbacks play and start for them. Very few of them found any level of success after coming to Arizona.
Josh McCown was one of only a few.
Players like Timm Rosenbach, Stan Gelbaugh, Stoney Case, Kent Graham Dave Brown, Boomer Esiason, Dave Krieg, Jeff Blake, John Skelton, John Navarre, Kevin Kolb or Max Hall either were old and washed up by the time they were in Arizona or they accomplished nothing in the league
McCown announced his retirement Monday after 16 years in the league. He played his first four with the Cardinals. He went on to be with seven other teams and start 54 more games. He won only 13 of those 54 games but, as long as he lasted in the league, his career can be viewed as a success.
What other former starters had any level of success after playing for the Cardinals?
Chris Chandler
Chandler started 17 games in three seasons for the Cardinals, going 5-12. He would end up starting 152 career games. He was only 67-85 overall, but he was a Pro Bowler twice for the Atlanta Falcons and led them to the Super Bowl after the 1998 season.
Steve Beuerlein
Beuerlein showed some promise as a Cardinals starter, going 9-12 over two seasons in 1993 and 1994. However, Buddy Ryan did not like him and sent him away. He had a journeyman career thereafter as a backup and part-time starter, but lasted eight more seasons in the league after Arizona. He was a full-time starter in Carolina for three seasons from 1998-2000 and was great in 1999. He made the Pro Bowl, led the league in passing yards and threw 36 touchdown passes.
Jake Plummer
Plummer was good for many years after leaving the Cardinals. He found a good situation in the Denver Broncos and, in four years, made a Pro Bowl, went 39-15 as a starter and went to the postseason three times.
Derek Anderson
Anderson, who played for the Cardinals in 2010 and is known more for a postgame meltdown than anything else, carved out a nice career as a backup after leaving. He spent the next seven years as Cam Newton’s backup in Carolina. He started two games last season for the Buffalo Bills before retiring last month. He only started six games after his time with the Cardinals, but his career was notable.
Matt Barkley
Barkley’s career is the one that doesn’t make any sense. Having accomplished virtually nothing in his career, he still is in the NFL six years after he was drafted. He spent one year with the Cardinals in 2015, never even appearing in a game. He spent time with the Chicago Bears, then with the Cincinnati Bengals and then with the Buffalo Bills. He signed a two-year contract in the offseason to rejoin Buffalo.
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