Kurt Warner

Kurt Warner during a 2007 speech.
No. 13
Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth: (1971-06-22) June 22, 1971 (age 41)
Place of birth: Burlington, Iowa
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight: 214 lb (97 kg)
Career information
College: Northern Iowa
Undrafted in 1994
Debuted in 1995 for the Iowa Barnstormers
Last played in 2009 for the Arizona Cardinals
Career history
Green Bay Packers (1994)* Iowa Barnstormers (1995–1997) Amsterdam Admirals (1998) St. Louis Rams (1998–2003) New York Giants (2004) Arizona Cardinals (2005–2009) *Offseason and/or practice squad member only*
Career highlights and awards
GFC Player of the Year (1993) 4× Pro Bowl selection (1999, 2000, 2001, 2008) 2× All-Pro selection (1999, 2001) 2× AP NFL MVP (1999, 2001) 3× NEA NFL MVP (1999, 2001, 2008) PFWA MVP (1999) Super Bowl MVP (XXXIV) Super Bowl champion (XXXIV) Walter Payton Man of the Year Award (2008) Bart Starr Man of the Year Award (2009) At least 100 TD passes for two different teams (St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals) First QB to throw 3 TD passes in each of his first 3 games Most yards passing in a playoff campaign (1,156 in 2008) Holds top 3 passing records for Super Bowl games Iowa Barnstormers Hall of Fame
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2009
Pass attempts 4,070 Pass completions 2,666 Percentage 65.5 TD-INT 208–128 Passing yards 32,344 QB Rating 93.7 Stats at NFL.com

Kurtis Eugene "Kurt" Warner (born June 22, 1971) is a former American football player. He played quarterback for three National Football League (NFL) teams: the St. Louis Rams, the New York Giants, and the Arizona Cardinals. He was originally signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 1994 after playing college football at Northern Iowa.^[1] Warner would go on to be considered one of the best undrafted players of all time,^[2] following a 12-year career regarded as one of the greatest stories in NFL history.^[2][3]

Warner first attained stardom while playing for the St. Louis Rams from 1998–2003, where he won two NFL MVP awards in 1999 and 2001^[4] as well as the Super Bowl MVP award in Super Bowl XXXIV.^[5] He led the 2008 Arizona Cardinals to Super Bowl XLIII (the franchise's first-ever Super Bowl berth), and owns the three highest single-game passing yardage totals in Super Bowl history. Warner currently holds the seventh-highest career passer rating of all-time (93.7),^[6][7] and the third-highest career completion percentage in NFL history with 65.5%.^[8]

In 13 career playoff games, Warner ranks first all-time in completion percentage (66.5%), yards per attempt (8.55), and second in passer rating (102.8).^[8] He also holds the highest completion percentage for a single game during the regular season, at 92.3 percent (24/26), on September 20, 2009, against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He announced his retirement on January 29, 2010.^[9]

Early life[link]

Born in Burlington, Iowa, Warner played football at Regis High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and later went on to attend the University of Northern Iowa. At UNI, Warner was third on the Panthers' depth chart until his senior year. When Warner was finally given the chance to start, he was named the Gateway Conference's Offensive Player of the Year.

Professional career[link]

Arena Football[link]

Following his college career, Warner went undrafted in the 1994 NFL Draft. He was invited to try out for the Green Bay Packers' training camp in 1994, but was released before the regular season began; Warner was competing for a spot against Brett Favre, Mark Brunell and former Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer. While Warner was with the Packers, the head coach was Mike Holmgren and the quarterback coach was Steve Mariucci.^[10] After Warner was released, Mariucci had told him that he knew Warner had enormous potential but was not ready to be an NFL quarterback yet.

It was at this time that Warner stocked shelves at a Hy-Vee grocery store in Cedar Falls for $5.50 an hour.^[11] This story was often used as the starting point when telling of his rise to NFL stardom in 1999. A religious conversion around 1997 is also mentioned by him.^[12] Warner also returned to Northern Iowa and worked as a graduate assistant coach with the football team, all the while still hoping to get another tryout with an NFL team.

With no NFL teams willing to give him a chance, Warner turned to the Arena Football League in 1995, and signed with the Iowa Barnstormers. Warner was named to the AFL's First-team All-Arena in both 1996 and 1997 after he led the Barnstormers to Arena Bowl appearances in both seasons. Warner's performance was so impressive that he would be named twelfth out of the 20 Best Arena Football Players of all time.^[13]

Before the 1997 Arena season, he requested and got a tryout with the Chicago Bears, but an injury to his throwing elbow caused by a spider bite sustained during his honeymoon prevented him from attending.^[14]

In 2000 after his breakout NFL season, the Arena Football League used his new notoriety for the name of their first widely available video game, Kurt Warner's Arena Football Unleashed.

On August 12, 2011, Kurt Warner was named as an inductee into the AFL Hall of Fame.

St. Louis Rams[link]

In 1998, Warner was finally signed by an NFL franchise, the St. Louis Rams, and was allocated to NFL Europe's Amsterdam Admirals, where he would lead the league in touchdowns and passing yards.^[15] Incidentally, his backup at the time was future Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme, another famous rags-to-riches quarterback story. Returning to the United States for the season, Warner spent the 1998 season as St. Louis' third-string quarterback behind Tony Banks and Steve Bono. He ended his season completing only 4 of 11 pass attempts for 39 yards and a 47.2 QB rating.

1999 season[link]

After releasing Banks and Bono following the 1998 season, the Rams signed free agent Trent Green to be their starting QB, and Warner was promoted to second string. When Green tore his ACL in a preseason game, Warner took over as the Rams' starter. St. Louis coach Dick Vermeil famously stated in a press conference, "We'll rally around Kurt Warner and we will play good football" before even seeing Warner work with the Rams' starting offense. With the support of running back Marshall Faulk and wide receivers Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Az-Zahir Hakim, and Ricky Proehl, Warner put together one of the top seasons by a quarterback in NFL history, throwing for 4,353 yards with 41 touchdown passes and a completion rate of 65.1%. The Rams' high-powered offense, run by offensive coordinator Mike Martz, was nicknamed "The Greatest Show on Turf" and registered the first in a string of three consecutive 500-point seasons, an NFL record.

Warner threw three touchdown passes in each of his first three NFL starts; he is the only NFL quarterback in history to accomplish that feat. Warner drew more attention in the Rams' fourth game of the season, a home game against the San Francisco 49ers (who had been NFC West division champions for 12 of the previous 13 seasons). The Rams had lost their last 17 meetings with the 49ers, but Warner proceeded to throw a touchdown pass on each of the Rams' first three possessions of the game, and four TDs in the first half alone, to propel the Rams to a 28–10 halftime lead on the way to a 42–20 victory. Warner finished the game with five touchdown passes, giving him 14 in four games and the Rams a 4–0 record. Warner's breakout season from a career in anonymity was so unexpected that Sports Illustrated featured him on their October 18 cover with the caption "Who Is This Guy?" ^[16] He was named the 1999 NFL MVP at the season's end.

Kurt Warner at post-game press conference for Super Bowl XXXIV

In the NFL playoffs, Warner ultimately led the Rams to a Super Bowl XXXIV victory against the Tennessee Titans. In the game, he threw for two touchdowns and a Super Bowl-record 414 passing yards, including a critical 73-yard touchdown to Isaac Bruce when the game was tied with just over two minutes to play. Warner also set a Super Bowl record by attempting 45 passes without a single interception. For his performance, Warner was awarded the Super Bowl MVP, becoming the seventh player to win both the league MVP and Super Bowl MVP awards in the same year.^{[citation needed]}

2000 season[link]

Warner started the 2000 season where he had left off in his record-setting '99 season, racking up 300 or more passing yards in each of his first 6 games (tying Steve Young's record) and posting 19 touchdown passes in that stretch. Warner broke his hand and missed the middle of the season, but Trent Green filled in ably and the Warner/Green duo led the Rams to the highest team passing yard total in NFL history, with 5,232 net yards. Warner and Green's combined gross passing yard total was 5,492, which, if held by just one player, would surpass the single-season record held by Drew Brees (5,476 yards). In contrast to his previous season, however, Warner's turnover rate drastically increased in 2000, as he threw an interception in 5.2% of his attempts (compared to just 2.6% in 1999). The Rams were eliminated from the playoffs in the wild card round by the New Orleans Saints despite one of the most productive offensive years by an NFL team. In response to the disappointing season, nine of the Rams' eleven defensive starters would be cut during the offseason, and Trent Green was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs.^{[citation needed]}

2001 season[link]

Warner quickly returned to MVP form in 2001. Although his performance lagged behind his 1999 performance, he amassed a league-high 36 touchdown passes and 4,830 passing yards. Warner's penchant for turnovers carried over from 2000, as he tossed a career-high 22 interceptions (despite completing a career-high 68.7% of his passes), but he still led "The Greatest Show on Turf" to its third consecutive 6–0 start (becoming the first NFL team to do so, later equalled by the 2005–2007 Indianapolis Colts), an NFL-best 14–2 record, and an appearance in Super Bowl XXXVI. Warner was also named the NFL MVP for the second time in three seasons, giving the Rams their third winner in as many years (running back Marshall Faulk won in 2000).

In Super Bowl XXXVI, Warner threw for 365 yards (then the second-highest, now the third-highest total in Super Bowl history) and a passing touchdown along with a rushing touchdown, but his rhythm was largely disrupted by New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick's defensive game plan, and he tossed two costly interceptions which helped stake the heavy-underdog Patriots to a two-touchdown lead. After falling behind to the Patriots 17–3, though, the Rams rallied to tie the game late in the fourth quarter on a one-yard Warner QB sneak touchdown run and a 26-yard touchdown pass from Warner to Ricky Proehl. The game ended in a loss for Warner and the Rams when Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri booted a game-winning field goal as time expired, giving the Patriots the first of three Super Bowl wins in four years.^[17]

2002–03 seasons[link]

Warner began the 2002 season as the Rams' starter, but he played poorly, throwing seven interceptions against only one touchdown as the team went 0–3. In the Rams' fourth game, this one against the Dallas Cowboys, Warner broke a finger on his throwing hand. Warner attempted to come back later in the season, but his injury allowed him to play only two more games (both losses). In contrast to his 103.4 career passer rating entering the season, Warner posted a minuscule 67.4 rating in 2002. The following season, Warner was replaced as the Rams' starting quarterback for good after fumbling six times in the team's opening-day game against the New York Giants. Warner later revealed that he had previously broken his hand and that it had not fully healed, making it more difficult to grip the football.^[18] His successor as the Rams' starting quarterback, Marc Bulger (another relatively unheralded quarterback coming out of college), stepped into the breach and played well upon replacing Warner.

New York Giants[link]

2004 season[link]

The Rams released Warner on June 1, 2004, and two days later, he signed a two-year deal with the New York Giants. Warner started the 2004 season as the Giants' starting quarterback, winning five of his first seven games, but following a two-game losing streak, highly-touted rookie quarterback Eli Manning was given the starting job. The Giants had a 5–4 win-loss record at the time of Warner's benching, finishing at 6–10 overall (going only 1–6 under Manning). Following the season, Warner chose to void the second year of his contract, and thus became a free agent.

Arizona Cardinals[link]

2005 season[link]

In early 2005, Warner signed a one-year, $4-million contract with the Arizona Cardinals, and was quickly named the starter by coach Dennis Green. Warner posted three relatively mediocre performances before injuring his groin and being replaced by former starter Josh McCown. McCown performed well enough in the two games Warner missed that Green named McCown the starter for the remainder of the season.^{[citation needed]}

But after McCown struggled in two straight games, Green re-inserted Warner into the starting line-up. After playing fairly well in two consecutive losses (passing for a total of nearly 700 yards), Warner defeated his former team, the Rams, by a score of 38–28. He passed for 285 yards and three touchdowns while posting a quarterback rating of 115.9. Warner's season ended in Week 15 when he partially tore his MCL.^{[citation needed]}

Warner signed a new three-year deal with the Cardinals on February 14, 2006. The deal had a base salary of $18 million and, with performance incentives, could have been worth as much as $24 million.^[19]

2006 season[link]

In Week One of the 2006 NFL season, Warner won the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award, throwing for 301 yards and three touchdowns in a win over San Francisco. Two weeks later, Warner passed the 20,000-yard passing milestone in his 76th game, the second-quickest of any player in NFL history (Warner accomplished the feat in one game more than it took record-holder Dan Marino).

After three subpar games in Weeks 2–4, Warner was replaced at quarterback by rookie Matt Leinart in the fourth quarter of Week 4. Then-coach Dennis Green stated that Warner would be the backup quarterback for the remainder of the season. In Week 16, Leinart went down with a shoulder injury against the 49ers, forcing Warner to see his first action since Week 4. Warner filled in nicely, as he was able to hang on for the Cardinals win. In Week 17 against the San Diego Chargers, Warner started again in place of the injured Leinart, throwing for 365 yards (which led the NFL for that week) and a touchdown, though the Chargers were able to hang on for a 27–20 win.

2007 season[link]

Leinart was given the starting quarterback job at the start of the 2007 season. But in the third game of the season, against the Baltimore Ravens, Warner came off the bench to relieve an ineffective Leinart during the 4th quarter with the Ravens leading 23–6 at the beginning of the period. He would lead a furious comeback, as he completed 15 of 20 passes for 258 yds and 2 TDs. This brought Arizona to a tie game (23–23), though Arizona would go on to lose the game 26–23 after Baltimore kicked a last-second field goal.

On September 30, 2007, during the week 4 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Warner relieved Leinart again, following another ineffective start by Leinart. Warner finished with 14/21 for 132 yards with one touchdown pass and no interceptions, while Leinart re-entered the game in the 4th quarter and led the Cardinals to their final touchdown. After Leinart was placed on injured reserve, Warner was named starter for the remainder of the 2007 season.^[20]

Warner passed for a career-high 484 yards against the 49ers in a 37–31 loss on November 25, but had a fumble in the end zone in overtime that was recovered by Tully Banta-Cain to lose the game. However, the following week showed an improvement for Warner and the Cardinals, earning a victory over the Browns that brought the Cardinals to 6–6 and kept them in the chase for the NFC Wild Card playoff spot. Warner finished the 2007 season with 27 passing touchdowns, just one shy of the Cardinals franchise record. Warner's performance earned him a $1 million bonus for the year, and he fell just short of attaining a 90.0+ passer rating, which would have given him an extra $500,000.^{[citation needed]}

2008 season[link]

Leinart was named the Cardinals' starting QB going into the 2008 off-season, but Ken Whisenhunt stated that it would be very possible for Warner to be the starter before Week 1 of the regular season. Indeed, Warner was named the starter on August 30, 2008. That season, Warner had 4,583 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and a completion percentage of 67.1%.^[21] Warner also received FedEx Air Player of the Week honors for his performance during weeks 9 and 11 of the season.

On December 7, 2008, Warner led the Cardinals to a 34–10 win over his former team, the Rams, securing for the Cardinals the NFC West Division title and their first playoff berth since 1998. It was the Cardinals' first division title since 1975 and third of the post-merger era. As a result, the Cardinals would play only their second home playoff game ever, as they had never played a home playoff game in St. Louis despite winning two division titles. On December 16, 2008 Warner was named the starting quarterback for the NFC team in the 2009 Pro Bowl.^{[citation needed]}

2008 post-season[link]

On January 3, 2009, Warner led the Cardinals in their victory over the Atlanta Falcons 30–24 at home in the first round the playoffs. During the game Warner went 19 for 32, a completion percentage of 59.4%, for 271 yards. He threw two touchdowns and one interception.^[22] This win represented the first time the Cardinals had won a post-season home game since the 1947 NFL Championship Game.

On January 10, Warner led the Cardinals in their 20-point defeat of the Carolina Panthers 33–13 in Charlotte, North Carolina in the second round of the playoffs. During the game Warner went 21 for 32, a completion percentage of 65.6%, for 220 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. This win represented the first time the Cardinals won a game on the East Coast that entire season.

On January 18, Warner threw for 279 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions against the Philadelphia Eagles to help lead the Cardinals to their first Super Bowl appearance in history. Warner is the second quarterback to make Super Bowl starts with two different teams joining Craig Morton (1970 Dallas Cowboys and 1977 Denver Broncos). He also became the third quarterback in NFL history to win a conference championship with two different teams, following Craig Morton and Earl Morrall.

In Warner's third career Super Bowl appearance on February 1, the Cardinals lost Super Bowl XLIII 27–23 to the Pittsburgh Steelers, leaving him with a career 1–2 record in Super Bowls. Despite losing, Warner still managed to throw for 377 yards (the 2nd-highest total in Super Bowl history), completed 72.1% of his passes, and had a quarterback rating of 112.3. Warner has now recorded the three highest single-game passing yardage totals in the history of the Super Bowl, and joined Joe Montana, John Elway, Ben Roethlisberger, Terry Bradshaw, and Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks to throw a touchdown pass in three different Super Bowls. Warner has taken his team to the Super Bowl every year that he has played as the starting quarterback during all regular and post season games.^[23]

2009 season[link]

Warner announced his desire to return to the Cardinals for the 2009 season. The Cardinals offered him a two-year contract worth around $20 million but Warner was looking for a contract that would pay him about $14 million a year and the two sides could not come to an agreement. On February 27, 2009 Warner became a free agent^[24] and went on to have talks with the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers offered Warner a contract worth more than that offered by the Cardinals. On March 4, Warner re-signed with the Cardinals to a two-year deal^[25] worth $23 million total, $4 million for each of the next two years, with a $15 million signing bonus.^[26] Warner underwent arthroscopic hip surgery to repair a torn labrum on March 17, 2009.^[27] On September 20, 2009, Warner broke the NFL’s single-game record for completion percentage in the regular season, completing 24 of 26 passing for 243 yards and two touchdowns. Warner's 92.3 percent completion rate broke the previous NFL record set by Vinny Testaverde in 1993.

On November 1, 2009, Warner threw a career-high equaling 5 interceptions during a 34–21 loss to the Carolina Panthers. During the same game Warner became the first quarterback in the NFL to throw for over 14,000 yards with two different teams. On November 8, 2009, Warner equaled his career-high of 5 touchdown passes in a single game during a 41–21 victory over the Chicago Bears. This performance led to Warner being named both the NFC Offensive Player of the Week^[28] and the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week.^[29]

On November 15, 2009, Warner reached a career milestone with his 200th touchdown pass during a 31–20 win against the Seattle Seahawks.^[30]

On November 22, 2009, during a 21–13 victory over the St. Louis Rams, Warner left the game after suffering a concussion.^[31] Warner continued to suffer from post-concussion symptoms and on November 29, 2009, he was deactivated against the Tennessee Titans, breaking his consecutive starts streak at 41 straight games.^[31][32]

On December 6, 2009, Warner returned to action as the Cardinals defeated the Minnesota Vikings 30–17. Warner registered his fourth consecutive game with a passer rating of 120 or better, making him only the second quarterback in NFL history to accomplish the feat.^[33] After his three-touchdown performance, Warner was named both the NFC Offensive Player of the Week^[34] and the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week.^[35]

On December 27, 2009, Warner became only the second quarterback in NFL history to throw 100 touchdown passes with two different teams (Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is the other), in the Cardinals' 31–10 win over the St. Louis Rams.^[36]

On December 29, 2009, Warner was named an alternate quarterback for the NFC team in the 2010 Pro Bowl.^[37]

2009 post season[link]

On January 10, 2010, Warner threw 5 touchdowns and completed 29 of 33 passes for 379 yards in a 51–45 victory over the Green Bay Packers. The game had the highest combined total score in NFL playoff history.^[38] Warner became one of the very few quarterbacks in NFL history to throw more touchdowns (5) than incompletions (4) in a playoff game. Warner finished the game with the second highest quarterback rating in NFL playoff history with a rating of 154.1.^[39] He also became the second quarterback to throw for 5 touchdown passes in a playoff game twice, and the first to do so since the merger. He is also the oldest player to throw that many touchdown passes in a playoff game (38 years, 202 days). Warner also tied the NFL record for consecutive playoff games with at least three touchdown passes (3 games). Since the playoff game was his last at home in the playoffs during his career, he finished a perfect 7-0 in home contests (4-0 with St. Louis; 3-0 with Arizona).^[40]

On January 16, Warner was injured in the first half trying to tackle the ball carrier after an interception on the way to a 45–14 loss at New Orleans in the NFC Divisional round. He returned for the second half, but yielded to understudy Matt Leinart midway through the fourth quarter. After the game, Cardinals players thought the hit was cheap and intentional. In 2012, the NFL found out that the Saints put a bounty on Warner.^[41]

Retirement[link]

On January 29, 2010 Warner officially announced his retirement from the National Football League. He said he was looking forward to finally being a true father to his seven kids, and that he wanted to spend time with his wife. He spoke on the impact and influence of his family, former teammates, and God.^[42] He will be eligible for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame following the 2014 season.

Warner became an Iowa Barnstormers broadcaster for the 2011 Arena Football League season. On May 22, 2010 he was inducted into the Arena Football Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Iowa Barnstormers Hall of Fame.

In 2011, after an injury to quarterback Jay Cutler, rumors circulated about Warner, along with either Donovan McNabb and Brett Favre, joining the Chicago Bears to be the second-string after the failures of Caleb Hanie. Unlike McNabb and Favre, who were willing to fill in, Warner denied these rumors. The Bears ultimately signed Josh McCown.^[43]

Career stats[link]