Today, we finish our look at undrafted free agents (UFAs) who
clawed their way onto the NFL playing field and became stars. Our last two players profiled are both
quarterbacks—but their similarities end there.
KURT WARNER
Iowa Barnstormers, 1995-1997
Amsterdam Admirals, 1998
St. Louis Rams, 1998-2003
New York Giants, 2004
Arizona Cardinals, 2005-2009
Kurt Warner’s route to the NFL elite had more twists than a
barrel full of pretzels. Warner went
undrafted after graduating from Northern Iowa University in 1994. He was invited to the Green Bay Packers’
training camp but was released before the start of the regular season; since he
was competing with Brett Favre (who started for the Packers for over 15 years),
Mark Brunell (who played in the league nearly 20 years), and 1994 Heisman
Trophy winner Ty Detmer, you could say the odds were not in Kurt’s favor.
Stocking shelves at a grocery store in Cedar Falls, Iowa was
not going to pay the bills for long, so he decided to return to the Northern
Iowa football team as a graduate assistant coach. He also signed with the Iowa Barnstormers, a
team in the Arena Football League.
Warner had an impressive career in the AFL, being named to the All-Arena
team (the AFL’s equivalent of the Pro Bowl) twice and leading his team to
consecutive Arena Bowl appearances. Kurt
was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 2011.
After a freak spider bite on his throwing elbow prevented a
tryout with the Chicago Bears in 1997, Kurt finally got an NFL contract in
1998. He was hired by the St. Louis
Rams, who promptly sent him to Amsterdam to play QB for the Amsterdam Admirals,
a team that was in the now-defunct NFL Europe. He
was brought back to St. Louis for the 1998 NFL season, as the third-string QB.
Warner finally got
a starting gig in the NFL in 1999 when the Rams’ starter, Trent Green, was injured prior
to the start of the season. With little
time to work with the rest of the offense, expectations were not high. Warner proved the doubters wrong, and in
convincing fashion. Achieving numbers
that put him near the top of the record books, he threw for over 4,300 yards
with 41 touchdown passes; with super stars like running back Marshall Faulk and
wide receivers Isaac Bruce and Tory Holt, the Rams offense earned the nickname
“The Greatest Show on Turf.” Their
crowning achievement was victory over the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV;
Warner earned both the Super Bowl and league MVP awards.
After leaving the Rams in 2003, Kurt Warner was signed by
the New York Giants; however, he lost the starting jobs after the first two
games of the 2004 season to Eli Manning, and we all know how things have turned
out for Eli. Kurt chose to become a free
agent after the season, he found a second home with the Arizona Cardinals. Like his career, his tenure with his new team
began with fits and starts: he was named
the starter, but lost the starting job after a groin injury; when his
replacement, Josh McCown struggled, he was put back in the starting
position. In 2006, he was benched in
favor of rookie Matt Leinart after the first three games, and the two men would
exchange roles several times over the course of that season, and the next.
The quarterback situation in Arizona was finally resolved in
2008. Warner responded to his new-found
security with stellar performances, ending up with over 4,500 passing yards for
30 TDs. Not only did Warner lead his
team to their first post-season home victory since 1947, but he navigated them
through a story book playoff run, leading them to their first ever Super Bowl,
Super Bowl XLIII. Unfortunately,
the Cardinals lost a heartbreaker to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-23.
 |
| Walking off the field after Super Bowl XLIII |
Since retiring after the 2009 season, Kurt has had a very
full calendar. He’s been on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, been an analyst
for NFL Network, has made numerous TV appearances and is slated to host a new
reality series on USA Network called The
Moment. The recipient of the NFL’s
Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2008, Warner and his family have devoted
themselves to many charitable causes, primarily through his First Things First
Foundation.
Other Notable UFAs of the 1990’s:
John Randle (1990), defensive
tackle: Minnesota Vikings, 1990-2000 and Seattle Seahawks, 2001-2003 (pictured below)
Adam Vinatieri* (1996), placekicker (and
another Amsterdam Admirals alum): New
England Patriots, 1996-2005 and Indianapolis Colts, 2006-present
Jeff Saturday** (1998),
center: Indianapolis Colts, 1999-2011
and Green Bay Packers, currently
TONY ROMO
 |
| Tony at Eastern Illinois |
Romo was signed as a UFA by the Dallas Cowboys soon after
the draft and he settled into his role as a third, then second-string
quarterback until the 2006 season. That
season began with veteran Drew Bledsoe as the starter for the Cowboys. Bledsoe had signed on with the team the
previous year and had led the team to an improved record and hope for the
future. Unfortunately for Drew, his
performance dropped off significantly in 2006 and he would be replaced by Tony
Romo halfway through the season. Romo,
and the Cowboys, never looked back and Bledsoe was released at the end of the
season; he announced his retirement in April 2007.***
Unfortunately, the 2006 season became the start of a pattern
in Romo’s career: seasons starting with stellar
performances by Romo, who appears to be leading a cohesive offensive team; then
missteps by Romo late in the season that either have the Cowboys limping into
the playoffs, or being left out of the postseason entirely. As a starter, Romo has a dreadful record in
the month of December: 2-5 in 2006 (with
a loss in the first game of the playoffs), 2-2 in 2007 (another loss in the
team’s first playoff game); 1-3 in 2008 (no playoffs); 3-2 in 2009 (losing in
the second round of the playoffs); and 1-4 in 2011.*****
Romo’s late season collapses are a bit of a mystery,
considering the impressive statistics he has managed to put together over his
short career to date. Tony owns several
team records, including the number of games with three or more TD passes (24),
games with 300 or more passing yards (32), and season passing yards (4,483 in
2009). His career passer rating of 96.9
is second in the NFL (behind only Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers who has a 104.1
rating).
Cowboys devotees
certainly hope Romo can shake off the December doldrums in 2012, but until
then, they’ll continue to be his biggest defenders, and sharpest critics.
Other Notable UFAs of the 2000’s:
Antonio
Gates (2003), tight end: San Diego
Chargers, 2003-present
[Gates was
featured in our Stars and Legends
post on tight ends.]
Kris Dielman
(2003), left guard: San Diego Chargers,
2003-2011
Wes Welker (2004), wide receiver: San Diego Chargers, 2004 (looks like the
Chargers had good scouts in 2003 and 2004); Miami Dolphins, 2004-2006; and New
England Patriots, 2007-present
[Click here
for Welker’s profile in our wide receiver Stars post.]
*Vinatieri has made appearances in other
Naptime Huddle posts for his ice-cold performances under pressure. Click here
for his appearance in “Super Bowl Game Changers."
**Since it was widely anticipated that Jeff
Saturday would retire this offseason, especially with Peyton Manning moving to
Denver, Jeff appeared in our first post on this year’s retirees. Click here
to read that post.
***Of course, this
wasn’t the first time Bledsoe would be supplanted by a rising star—the first time
was at the end of his tenure in New England.
Tom Brady stepped in for an injured Bledsoe in the second game of the
2001 season and Drew would never start a game for the Patriots again.
****This spectacular
error merited a spot in Naptime Huddle’s series “Super Bowl Game Changers”; click here for the post that includes Romo’s “Ruh roh.”
*****Romo’s 2010
season ended on October 25th when a hit by New York Giants linebacker Michael
Boley broke his left clavicle.
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