The 10 most underrated quarterbacks in NFL history

4. Vinny Testaverde

What if I told you there’s a quarterback who won a Heisman Trophy, then had 46,223 career passing yards (15th all-time) in the NFL, and he’s also top-20 ever in passing touchdowns (275) and completions (3,787). He also started 16 games in a season in both his age-37 and age-38 seasons, and 15 games in his age-41 season. Oh and he played until he was 44 years old, starting six games for the Carolina Panthers in 2007.

The title of this slide gave it away, but that quarterback is Vinny Testaverde. He became a punching bag and a punch line right away upon being drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers No. 1 overall in 1987. In his first two full seasons as a starter, 1988 and 1989, he threw 33 touchdowns against 57 interceptions as he threw the most picks in the league both seasons. In 1990, he famously admitted to Terry Bradshaw that he was color blind.

Testaverde got some notoriety with the Cleveland Browns, when Bill Belichick notably benched Bernie Kosar in favor of him, and it was with that franchise that he had his best season. In 1996, as the Baltimore Ravens’ quarterback by then, Testaverde had 4,177 passing yards (second in the league) and 33 touchdown passes (second in the league) on his way to his first career Pro Bowl selection at 33 years old.

The New York Jets went 12-4 in 1998, and 12-1 in the games Testaverde started as he had 29 touchdown passes and just seven interceptions. They also reached the AFC Championship, as the best team Testaverde played on.

Testaverde is a poster boy for a quarterback’s success being tied to the situation he lands in. Even Steve Young was not very good early in his career in Tampa Bay, before reaching the heights he did in San Francisco. Any critique of Testaverde as a pure numbers compiler, due of course to his longevity, is misplaced.