Who is Jalen Kitna's dad, Jon Kitna? Did he play in the NFL?

Detroit Lions 2006 Headshots
Former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna

Former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna has been in the news recently due to his son’s arrest on charges of child pornography. Jalen Kitna was a backup quarterback for the University of Florida; the school has since suspended him indefinitely.

Kitna, a redshirt freshman, appeared in only four games this season. He compiled a statline of 181 passing yards and a touchdown pass over those four games, completing 10 of 14 passes.

His dad, Jon, played in the NFL for 17 seasons. He appeared in 141 games across his NFL career. He recorded 29,745 passing yards and completed 60.3 percent of his passes, totaling 169 touchdowns and 165 picks. Kitna finished his career with a 77.4 quarterback rating.

The Seattle Seahawks signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Central Washington University. The elder Kitna was the 2003 NFL Comeback Player of the Year and World Bowl MVP in 1997. Kitna played for the Seahawks, the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and the Dallas Cowboys.

Jon Kitna is currently the head coach and athletic coordinator of Burleson High School in Burleson, Texas. He has four children with his wife Jeni.


Jon Kitna NFL Career Highlights

Although Jon Kitna mostly served as a backup quarterback in his 17 seasons in the NFL, his best year came in 2003. As a starting quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals that season, Kitna led the team to an 8-8 record, their first non-losing record season since 1996. The NFL subsequently named him the Comeback Player of the Year

Highlights of that season include Kitna playing every game and every offensive down. He also became the first Bengal to throw every single team pass in a single season. Kitna threw 137 straight passes without an interception and tied a career-high of four touchdown passes in a game in the Bengals' win against the San Diego Chargers in Week 12 of the 2003 season.

He would end the season throwing for 3,500 yards with 26 touchdowns to lead the Bengals to an 8-8 record.

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Edited by Nicolaas Ackermann