Great NFL Quarterbacks Who Changed Teams

Some National Football League quarterbacks rise above the rest. These quarterbacks amass impressive statistics and exhibit excellence through out their careers. Some win Super Bowls, and a select few become enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Many great quarterbacks are associated with a single team. However, in some instances, often toward the end of their stellar career, great quarterbacks traded one football uniform for another.

  1. Joe Montana

    • Born in New Eagle, Penn., and a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Joe Montana was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in 1979. Montana led the 49ers to Super Bowl XVI, and ultimately to victory over the Dallas Cowboys he would go on to accumulate three more Super Bowl victories and be named Super Bowl MVP these times. In 1993 Joe Montana traded his 49er jersey for that of the Kansas City Chiefs. Montana was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.

    Johnny Unitas

    • Johnny Unitas was born in Pittsburgh, Penn. in 1933, and played his first professional football game, for the Baltimore Colts, in 1956. Unitas continued as a member of the Colts until 1972 and led them to back-to-back NFL championships in 1958 and 1959, and a Super Bowl win following the 1970 season. In 1973, Unitas played his final season with the San Diego Chargers. Unitas was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. Johnny Unitas died in 2002 at age 69.

    Joe Namath

    • Hailing from Beaver Falls, Penn., "Broadway" Joe Namath attended the University of Alabama in 1962. In 1965, the New York Jets of American Football League drafted Namath in the first round. Following a verbal guarantee that the Jets would defeat the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, Joe Namath led his team to a 16-7 victory. In 1977, Namath played his final season with the Los Angeles Rams. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.

    Fran Tarkenton

    • Born in Richmond, Vir. in 1940, Fran Tarkenton attended the University of Georgia and was drafted in the third round by the Minnesota Vikings in 1961. In 1967, Fran Tarkenton was traded to the New York Giants. Returning to the Vikings five years later, Tarkenton led Minnesota to six NFC division titles and three Super Bowl appearances. Fran Tarkenton was made a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986.

    Sonny Jurgensen

    • A native of Wilmington, N.C., and a graduate of Duke University, Sonny Jurgensen joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 1957. Seven seasons later, Jurgensen headed south to the Washington Redskins, where he would play the last eleven seasons of his storied career. After five Pro Bowl appearances and having amassed 32,224 passing yards, Sonny Jurgensen was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983.