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Quarterbacks being traded and released in the NFL is nothing new. Sometimes Q.B.s are released due to their contracts ending or the team and player feeling like it's the right time to move on. This was how Tom Brady left the New England Patriots after 20 seasons to move to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
We also see quarterbacks traded regularly, with one such example happening this week, with Matt Ryan leaving the Atlanta Falcons to move to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a third-round 2022 NFL draft selection.
Some quarterback transactions don't work for either team. Take the Oakland Raiders trading away a first- and second-round draft pick to the Cincinnati Bengals for Carson Palmer in 2011, only for Palmer to go 4-11 during an injury-plagued two years in Oakland before he was traded to the Arizona Cardinals in 2013.
Despite this, many quarterbacks find a new gear and excel in new surroundings when they move franchises, and we are here to talk through five Q.B.s who bounced back after switching teams.
Five times NFL quarterbacks bounced back after being traded or released
#5 - Alex Smith to the Kansas City Chiefs
Alex Smith was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers first overall in the 2005 NFL draft and remained their starter until 2012 when Colin Kaepernick lit up the league as Smith dealt with a concussion. The 49ers would make it to the Super Bowl, and coach Jim Harbaugh announced Kaepernick was the Niners' new starter at quarterback.
Smith was then traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in February 2013. Coincidentally, this was during the same offseason that head coach Andy Reid would arrive in Kansas City. Smith would shine, making the only three Pro Bowls of his career, leading the league in passer rating with 104.7 in 2017, and he took the Chiefs to three playoff appearances in four years as a starter.
Smith would also be crucial for the development of Patrick Mahomes, who was drafted in 2017 and would sit and learn behind Smith for a season before becoming the starter at quarterback.
#4 - Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams
Like Smith, Matt Stafford was also a former first overall draft selection who found success after switching teams. After being drafted by the Detroit Lions in 2009, Stafford had been starved of success, primarily due to the incompetence of the franchise. This had led to just a single Pro Bowl appearance in 2014 when most NFL fans would agree his talent was worthy of way more.
Stafford posted good numbers in Detroit, including passing for 41 touchdowns in 2011, but when he was traded to the L.A. Rams in 2021, he excelled. Stafford had a career year, matching 41 touchdown passes and a career-high completion percentage of 67.4 as the Rams went all the way and won Super Bowl 56.
The Rams gave up a lot to get Stafford - two first-round draft picks and a third-rounder and quarterback Jared Goff, but they won't have any regrets, and neither will Stafford, who signed a four-year extension to remain in L.A. in March 2022.
Five times NFL quarterbacks bounced back after being traded or released
#3 - Brett Favre to the Green Bay Packers
The Atlanta Falcons selected Brett Favre with the 31st overall pick in the 1991 NFL draft. Head coach at the time, Jerry Glanville, wasn't a fan though, saying it would take a plane crash to put Favre in the game. Amazingly, Favre took only four snaps under center for the Falcons, being intercepted twice and sacked once.
This wretched form would see him traded to the Green Bay Packers in 1992 for their first-round pick in that year's draft, and it would be the best thing to ever happen to Favre.
After the trade, he would become one of the best quarterbacks of his era, starting for the Packers from 1992 to 2007, winning three consecutive MVPs from 1994 to 1996, and winning Super Bowl 31 against the New England Patriots.
During his 16 seasons in Green Bay, Favre would make 253 consecutive starts, from September 20, 1992, to January 8, 2008, before becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer following retirement.
#2 - Steve Young to the San Francisco 49ers
Steve Young first started out playing quarterback in the USFL with the Los Angeles Express, before dysfunction within the Express led him to join the NFL and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They had selected him first overall in the CFL and USFL supplemental NFL draft of 1984.
However, Young wouldn't find success in Tampa, with the Bucs a horror show and in the middle of 12 consecutive 10-loss seasons. Young didn't improve things either, with the QB going 3-16 as a starter and throwing just 11 touchdowns against 21 interceptions.
He was traded to the 49ers for second- and fourth-round draft picks and would sit behind Hall of Famer Joe Montana. Young quickly became the best backup in the league, and when Montana went down with an injury in 1991, he became a starter and would do so from 1991 to 1999.
During this time, Young won NFL MVP in 1992 and 1994 and the Super Bowl 29 in 1994, where he also took home Super Bowl MVP honors. He would also make seven Pro Bowls and pass for 232 touchdowns.
Young would end his career in San Francisco, having led the league in passer rating on six occasions and passing touchdowns four times. He would be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
#1 - Drew Brees to the New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints and the city of New Orleans as a whole were rebuilding in 2006, as the Saints had just gone 3-13, which led to them hiring Sean Peyton as head coach, and the city of New Orleans was still recovering from the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina.
Drew Brees was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in 2001 and had put up solid but not spectacular numbers, never passing for over 4000+ yards or 30 touchdowns.
Following the Chargers' selection of Philip Rivers in the 2004 NFL draft, Brees was released and decided to test free agency and joined the Saints on a six-year $60 million deal in March 2006.
Brees' acquisition would pay immediate dividends, with Brees passing for a league-high 4,418 passing yards in his first year in New Orleans. Three seasons later, he would win the Super Bowl with a 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl 44 in 2009.
Following this, Brees would have a plethora of personal success, making 13 total Pro Bowls, two Offensive Player of the Year Awards, and most seasons in NFL history as the passing leader with seven.
Brees also became the first quarterback to ever throw for 80,000 yards and retired following the 2020 NFL season.
Poll : Who had the better career?
Drew Brees
Philip Rivers
64 votes
