This has been a rough week for two of the three quarterbacks drafted in the first round in 2004. Ben Roethlisberger is done for the season with elbow surgery and Eli Manning was benched. Another QB playing in that year, Drew Brees, is out after thumb surgery. That leaves Philip Rivers and Josh McCown. A look at who was calling signals in 2004.
Arizona Cardinals: Josh McCown
Currently a backup on the Philadelphia Eagles, Josh McCown actually started 13 games and went 6-7 for Arizona in 2004. He threw for 2,511 yards with 11 TDs and 10 INTs.
Atlanta Falcons: Michael Vick
The Falcons went 11-4 in games Michael Vick started. The lefty out of Virginia Tech threw for 2,313 yards and 14 TDs against 12 picks. He rushed for another 902 yards, averaging 7.5 yards per carry. Vick is currently a broadcaster and did work for the AAF Atlanta team before the league folded.
Baltimore Ravens: Kyle Boller
One of the bigger first-round disappointments, Kyle Boller came to the Ravens out of Cal. This was his second season and he went 9-7 as a starter with 2,559 yards passing, 13 TDs and 11 picks. Boller is currently the Managing Director for Acre Investment Co, LLC.
Buffalo Bills: Drew Bledsoe
Drew Bledsoe went 9-7 as QB of the Bills. The former No. 1 overall pick by the Patriots threw for 2,932 yards with 20 TDs and 16 picks. He is currently active with a winery, Doubleback.
Carolina Panthers: Jake Delhomme
Jake Delhomme was 7-9 as a starter. He threw for 3,886 yards with 29 TDs and 15 picks. Delhomme is active in Thorougbred horse racing as a trainer and owner.
Chicago Bears: Craig Krenzel
The Bears started a quartet of QBs in 2004: Chad Hutchinson, Craig Krenzel, Johnathan Quinn and Rex Grossman. Krenzel was the only one with a record above .500, going 3-2. Krenzel currently runs an insurance brokerage in Dublin, Oh.
Cincinnati Bengals: Carson Palmer
The Bengals had Carson Palmer, the Heisman winner from USC, as their QB and he led them to a 6-7 record in 13 starts. He threw for 2,897 yards with 18 picks and 18 TDs. He currently is retired from the NFL and a guest on radio sports-talk shows.
Cleveland Browns: Jeff Garcia
Jeff Garcia started 10 games for Cleveland, going 3-7. He threw for 1,731 yards with 10 TD passes and 9 picks. Garcia currently works for NBC Sports Bay Area.
Dallas Cowboys: Vinny Testaverde
A Heisman winner out of Miami, Vinny Testaverde started 15 games for the Cowboys, going 5-10. Testaverde completed 60% of his passes for 3,532 yards with 17 TDs and 20 picks. Testaverde recently was at a Tampa Bay Bucs preseason game watching his son, Vincent, play.
Denver Broncos: Jake Plummer
Jake Plummer guided the Broncos to a 10-6 mark in 2004. He threw for 4,089 yards with 27 TDs and 20 picks. Plummer currently lives in Colorado, living an active life, playing handball, biking, doing yoga and other exercises.
Detroit Lions: Joey Harrington
One of the bigger busts in of first-round QBs was Oregon’s Joey Harrington. He played for the Lions, who drafted him third overall. Harrington was 6-10 as a starter in 2004, throwing for 3,047 yards with 19 TDs and a dozen picks. Harrington is a part-time reporter for KGW and is president of the Harrington Family Foundation.
Green Bay Packers: Brett Favre
The Packers had the familiar No. 4 under center for all 16 games in a 10-6 regular season. Brett Favre threw for 4,088 yards with 30 TDs and 17 picks while completing 64.1% of his throws. Favre is doing what Hall of Famers do, enjoying life and occasionally finding the spotlight through interviews on different platforms.
Houston Texans: David Carr
David Carr had the fortune and misfortune of being the first pick of the Houston Texans. That meant the QB from Fresno State took a beating, getting sacked frequently. Carr was 7-9 in ’04, throwing for 3,531 yards and 16 TDs and 14 picks. He can be seen regularly on NFL Network.
Indianapolis Colts: Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning was 12-4 as Colts quarterback. The former Tennessee star threw for 4,557 yards and 49 touchdowns. He currently works for ESPN and appears on a plethora of commercials.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Byron Leftwich
Byron Leftwich played college ball at Marshall. He started 14 games in 2004 for the Jaguars, going 8-6. Leftwich threw for 2,941 yards with 15 TDs and 10 INTs.
Kansas City Chiefs: Trent Green
Trent Green was the Chiefs’ QB in a 7-9 season. He threw for 4,591 yards with 27 TDs and 17 picks. Green currently is TV color commentator.
San Diego (LA) Chargers:
A 25-year-old QB from Purdue named Drew Brees went 11-4 as the starter for SD. He threw for 3,159 yards with 27 TDs against 7 picks. Brees went out this week with an injured thumb. The Saints hope he returns in 6 weeks.
Saint Louis (LA) Rams: Marc Bulger
Marc Bulger played college ball at West Virginia. He started 14 games for St. Louis in ’04, going 8-6 with 3,964 yards passing, 21 TDs and 14 INTs. He is a farmer of sorts, growing soybeans and corn. The Marc Bulger Foundation works on projects involving the military, police and firefighters
Miami Dolphins: A.J. Feeley
A.J. Feeley was one of a number of starters for Miami. Feeley went 3-5 in 8 starts sharing the duties with Jay Fiedler and Sage Rosenfels. Feeley threw 11 TD passes and 15 picks while accumulating 1,893 yards. Feeley is currently a Brand Ambassador for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Minnesota Vikings: Daunte Culpepper
Daunte Culpepper started all 16 games for the 8-8 Minnesota Vikings. He threw for 4,717 yards and 39 TDs against 11 picks. Culpepper went through some rough times after his NFL career, losing a home to foreclosure and having to close his restaurant.
New England Patriots: Tom Brady
Tom Brady went a Brady-like 14-2 in 2004. He threw for 3,692 yards with 28 TD passes and 14 picks. We all know where he is in 2019.
New Orleans Saints: Aaron Brooks
The Saints went 8-8 in ’04 while Aaron Brooks had a solid season. The QB threw for 3,810 yards with 21 TDs and 16 picks. Brooks returned to his hometown of Newport News, Va., after his career.
New York Giants: Eli Manning
Eli Manning knows how Kurt Warner felt in 2004. Manning replaced Warner as the Giants’ starter after the Hall of Famer went 5-4 in 9 starts. Manning came on and was 1-6 with 1,043 yards passing, 6 TDs and 9 picks. Remember, the Chargers drafted Manning, who wanted no part of San Diego. This week, he was relegated to backup duty behind Daniel Jones.
New York Jets: Chad Pennington
Chad Pennington went 8-5 in 13 starts for the Jets. The former Marshall QB threw for 2,673 yards with 16 TDs against 9 picks. He became a youth football coach after his NFL career. In 2018, Pennington was named head coach of Sayre’s new football program in Kentucky.
Oakland Raiders: Kerry Collins
Kerry Collins threw for 3,495 yards with 21 TD passes and 20 picks as Oakland went 3-10 in his 13 games as a starters. Collins was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2018. “I am extremely honored to be included in the College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2018,” Collins said last year. “I was surrounded by great players and coaches during my time at Penn State, and was fortunate to have been part of an unbelievably talented undefeated 1994 Big Ten Championship team.”
Philadelphia Eagles:
After starring at Syracuse, the Eagles drafted Donovan McNabb in the first round. He went on to become a long-time starter in Philly. In 2004, he went 13-2 as the Eagles’ QB, throwing for 3,875 yards with 31 TDs and 8 picks. McNabb went into broadcasting after football. He recently said if he had to do it again, he would have chosen basketball over football as a career.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger
Ben Roethlisberger had quite the rookie debut in 2004. He started 13 games and won them all for the Steelers. He threw 17 TD passes and 11 picks while gaining 2,611 yards through the air. Roethlisberger was injured Sunday in a loss to Seattle and is done for the 2004 season.
San Francisco 49ers: Tim Rattay
Tim Rattay and Ken Dorsey combined for the starts as the Niners went 2-14. Rattay won 1 of his 9 starts, throwing for 10 picks and 10 TDs to go with 2,169 yards. Rattay is the Redskins’ QB coach in 2019. Dorsey is the QB coach for the Bills.
Seattle Seahawks: Matt Hasselbeck
Matt Hasselbeck went 7-7 for Seattle, throwing for 3,382 yards with 22 TDs and 15 picks. He currently is in the broadcast booth.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
Brian Griese did not enjoy the success his two-time, Super Bowl champ Bob did in the Sunshine State. In 2004, Brian Griese went 4-10 for the Bucs while throwing 20 TD passes, 10 picks and for 2,632 yards. He currently works as a broadcaster.
Tennessee Titans: Steve McNair
The late Steve McNair made 8 starts for Tennessee in 2004. He went 3-5 throwing for 1,343 yards with 8 TD passes and 9 picks.
Washington Redskins: Mark Brunell
Mark Brunell made 9 starts for Washington in 2004. Patrick Ramsey got the call in the other 7 games. Brunell was 3-6 while throwing for 1,194 yards, 7 TDs and 6 picks. Ramsey was 3-4 in his starts. Brunell is head coach at Episcopal School of Jacksonville and a sports analyst for News4JAX. Ramsey works as operations manager and partial owner of his father-in-law’s construction company Lincoln Builders, Inc. and works daily in the corporate Ruston, La, office.
