This is the second installment of my "Best to Worst" series.
This time around, I am going to run down the top three players in the last 10 years whose careers stalled with their second NFL team.
Let's get started.
No. 3 San Francisco 49ers/Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Jeff Garcia
Garcia came onto the scene in 1999 with the San Francisco 49ers. In five seasons with the 'Niners, Jeff amassed 113 touchdown passes with his best season in 2000 where he threw for 4,278 yards, 31 touchdowns, and a QB rating of 97.6.
Now if you are like me you will remember that he was not brought back in order to make room for the future QB in Alex Smith. That worked out right. What you probably don't remember is the team he went to.
The Lions? The Eagles? None of the above. He went to Cleveland and took over for Tim Couch. Garcia only lasted one season with the Browns and then spent the next year with the Lions and then the Eagles.
Garcia is currently in his 10th NFL season and in his fifth away from the 49ers, he has only been able to put up 43 touchdowns.
The difference between his first five seasons and his second five is 70 touchdown passes. That is why Jeff Garcia is my No. 3 pick.
“If I had it my way, I never would have left San Francisco, but things change and that's the nature of this business. We have to move on. We hopefully get opportunities down the road that we take advantage of.”
No. 2 Minnesota Vikings/New England Patriots WR Randy Moss
- B/R Ticket Guide
Randy Moss joined the Minnesota Vikings in the 1998 season as a rookie. He didn't wait long to establish himself as one of the top receivers in the NFL.
In his rookie campaign, Moss snagged 69 balls for 1,313 yards and 17 touchdowns. Moss played in seven season with the Vikings and during that time put up outstanding figures. He posted over 9,000 yards receiving and 90 touchdowns.
After a falling out with the team, Moss was traded to the Oakland Raiders. That was not the best career move in my book. In two seasons with the team, Moss had only 1,558 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns. It was thought that if Moss stayed with the Raiders he would end his career as a has been.
Of course we all know that did not happen. Due to Moss's drive to win a championship, he was able to resurrect his career after shopping himself around and being snatched up by the Patriots. His first year as a Pat, Moss broke the NFL record for receiving touchdowns in a season with 23.
Moss will undoubtedly go down as one of the best in the game when he hangs it up, but because of his sabbatical in Oakland he is my No. 2 pick.
"How I approached the game when I was younger, it was very angry, not at anyone in particular just the game of football. Now, I still carry that same chip on my shoulder, but now I do understand that I'm a little bit older."
Who's No. 1?
No. 1 Minnesota Vikings/Detroit Lions QB Daunte Culpepper
Culpepper was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 1999, but he did not see playing time until the next season in 2000. What a season it was though. He threw for 3,937 yards, 33 touchdowns, and a QB rating of 98. Culpepper was on cloud nine as his career took off and culminated in his 2004 season.
In that year, Culpepper broke Dan Marino's single-season combined total yards record with 5,123 total yards and a Vikings record with 39 touchdown passes, he also passed for 4,717 yards, and had a QB rating of 110.9. Hall of fame here I come right?
Wrong. The next season Culpepper struggled through an injury and that offseason parted ways with the team. Culpepper was signed by the Miami Dolphins in 2006 and struggled again with a knee injury. He moved on to the Raiders the next season, and again could not keep his job.
In the fall of 2008, Daunte Culpepper retired from the NFL. A few weeks later, he was giving a chance with the Detroit Lions. Daunte is now the starting QB for the 0-12 Lions, but he may be out of a job again next year depending on what direction the team goes.
In seven seasons with the Vikings, Culpepper racked up 135 passing touchdowns. In his three season since, he has only 10 and that is why Culpepper is my No. 1 pick.
"I am grateful to the Lions organization for giving me an opportunity to both continue my NFL career and make a positive impact in the Detroit community. I hope to contribute to the team in whatever role coach Marinelli needs for me to play.”
Well that's it everyone, hope you enjoyed this. Happy Holidays to you and yours.
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about 1 month ago
Good article. I agree with all of them. Jeff Garcia is so underrated that it's ridiculous.
from about 1 month ago
Thanks man. Happy holidays!
about 1 month ago
Agree with all three...but the only Culpepper has been unable to really resurrect his careeer to the success he enjoyed earlier...both Moss and to a lesser extent Garcia are play-off hopefuls...Culpepper has no chance of that right now.
from about 1 month ago
My thoughts exactly Oliver, thanks for the read!
about 1 month ago
Watching Culpepper on Thanksgiving night was tough. Coming out of semi-retirement, he looked like he had Thanksgiving dinner AND THEN went to the game. Your right about Moss, he is an elite WR, and it's great to see him in a mature environment where he can excel. As far as Garcia, I love this guy. He plays with a chip on his shoulder the size of the Golden Gate Bridge. Sometimes I think Gruden benches him just to tick him off as motivation.
from about 1 month ago
Yeah Culpepper looked horrible.
about 1 month ago
big mistake 49ers not keeping him a nd working throught he bad times back to the good! buc s win. 49ers.......... well i won t comment on my home town team. i don t want to cry and spoil my weekend! thomas
from about 1 month ago
Yeah I never realized the numbers Garcia put up in San Fran. Its a shame for the Niners.
about 1 month ago
big mistake 49ers not keeping him a nd working throught he bad times back to the good! buc s win. 49ers.......... well i won t comment on my home town team. i don t want to cry and spoil my weekend! thomas
about 1 month ago
correction, culpepper did not break marino's record manning did his record was 48 not 38....and moss made culpepper ne way he is a scrub w/o him...moss has played with 12, now 13 different starting qbs in his career and look at his numbers no one mentions dat in oakland he was injured...he wasn't just giving up on his team like everyone says
from about 1 month ago
YEah thanks for the correction, typing to fast and did not complete the thought.
from about 1 month ago
Moss is good, but the year Culpepper did so well Moss only had 700 some yards and 13 tds. Moss only gets a bad wrap for his attitude, which he has changed in New England
about 1 month ago
Ty Law? no?
from about 1 month ago
Law had his best year as a pro with his second team, the Jets in 2005. He had 10 INTS 62 tackles and 1 TD. So no ;)
from about 1 month ago
Also it would not be fair to put anyone from the Patriots on here that played for them during one or more Super Bowl then left. It was tupid for them to leave, but this list measures stat wise and not how good the team was.
about 1 month ago
tom, a little behind in my reading this week for obvious reasons. i apologize for getting to this so late.
i'd like to see more names listed. i like what you're doing, just wondering if there's more out there.
moss is the perfect example of a stalled career. garcia's experience, to me, embodies that notion that certain players are not a good fit and doomed for failure in certain systems. don't remember much about cleveland, but it never seemed like he could get it going there. obviously he still had something in the tank.
about 1 month ago
Good article Tom, and I agree with the picks. Culpepper might be able to get back to success if the Lions make some strides in the off-season and he is able to get his weight down a little bit. He has always been big but was very elusive and athletic which allowed him to be a true dual-threat. This season, he is upwards of 265lbs. which is huge and he isn't able to escape defenders quite the same as he used to. He has mentioned wanting to drop some pounds so I think that given an offseason to get in shape, while learning the ins and outs of the system will set him up for success going into next year.
about 1 month ago
Great article Tom. I agree with all of the guys you mentioned, especially Culpepper. He got off to such a great start in Minnesota. It's a shame that it all went down hill from there whether it was the Dolphins or Raiders (I won't give him a hard time about Detroit yet since it's only been a few games).
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