Teams
- Washington Redskins (1994-1998)
- Detroit Lions (1999)
- Denver Broncos (2000-2001)
- Cincinnati Bengals (2002)
- Minnesota Vikings (2003-2004)
- Miami Dolphins (2005)
- St. Louis Rams (2006-2007)
- Minnesota Vikings (2008)
Accolades
- 1x Pro Bowl (1996)
“You’re terrible. Get out of here now.”
-Anonymous University of Tulsa Football Fan (source)
Gus Frerotte wasn’t supposed to be a regular NFL starter. He was destined to be a career back-up at best. He didn’t go to a big-conference school, starting three years for the University of Tulsa. He finished his college career with more interceptions than touchdowns and barely completed 50% of his passes. Hell, his name even looks like a typo. Taken in the seventh round of 1994 NFL Draft, Frerotte wasn’t even the only quarterback taken by Washington that year. The Redskins used the #3 overall pick to take the draft’s first quarterback, and their star of the future, Tennessee’s Heath Shuler. But for those overlooked, if there is anything history has taught us it’s that patience is indeed a virtue.
Coming off a 4-12 season, new Washington Head Coach Norv Turner looked in a youthful direction in 1994 to try and improve a bottom five scoring offense. Unfortunately, his prized rookie that year, Heath Shuler, was not yet up to the task. In eight games, he went just 1-7 with a pitiful 59.6 passer rating. Between injuries and underperformance by Shuler and Week 1 starter John Friesz, Turner gave “practice squader” Gus Frerotte a chance. In Week 8, Frerotte would make his first pro appearance and, behind 226 yards passing and two TDs, lead Washington to only their second win of the season. But Frerotte’s performance would wane over the next three games and Shuler would take the job back in a 3-13 year for the Redskins.
With Shuler battling injuries right out of the starting gate in Week 1 of ’95, Gus Frerotte began to win over D.C.’s football fans. In 11 starts, he led the league in yards per completion with 13.8. When he was benched in a Week 12 loss to Seattle, the crowd jeered Shuler who responded with two interceptions. After a 6-10 end to the season, Coach Turner started the 1996 campaign with Frerotte under Center. It almost worked. Washington boasted a Top 10 scoring offense and was 7-1 halfway through the season, before imploding and finishing 9-7. The Tulsa alum garnered Pro Bowl honors however, throwing for 3,453 yards. He also won the quarterback competition, as Heath Shuler was traded to New Orleans after the season.
After losing a postseason slot tiebreaker to Minnesota the previous year, Washington, at 8-7-1, again missed the postseason in 1997 by just a headbutt to the Vikes. Wait… a headbutt? Yup, with 6-5 Washington facing the Giants on a Sunday night, Frerotte celebrated a second quarter TD run by headbutting a padded wall. Veteran back-up Jeff Hostetler would come in to face his old team and get intercepted three times in a 7-7 tie. Frerotte would start the following week, but be placed on injured reserve the rest of the season. The bad karma carried into ’98 where Frerotte only started two games, both losses, and was benched for then-unknown commodity Trent Green.
For the next six years, Gus Frerotte would be tossed around like a hot potato. He would start six regular season games for Detroit in ’99, winning two, but would get the start in their postseason match-up with his former team, Washington. It wouldn’t go well for Frerotte and the Lions in a 27-13 loss. While racking up 267 yards of offense and a touchdown, Gus would also be picked off twice in the loss. In 2000, Frerotte would play decently as Brian Griese’s back-up in Denver, notably throwing for 462 yards and five TDs (note: and four picks) in a 38-37 win over San Diego during the former season. Starting for an injured Griese in the Wild Card round, Frerotte would get battered by the eventual champion Baltimore Ravens defense in a 21-3 loss. He would be held to just 124 yards passing and commit an interception before giving way to Jarious Jackson. Frerotte would go on to start only one game for Denver in 2001 before moving on.
Frerotte would lose all three starts for Cincinnati in ’02. He would then spend the following two seasons backing up Daunte Culpepper in Minnesota, winning his two lone starts. In 2005 however, Miami Dolphins Head Coach Nick Saban would name Gus Frerotte the team’s starter. It would be the quarterback’s first season as the main guy under Center in eight years. Finding some of the juju that made him a fan favorite in Washington, he went 9-6 and fell four yards shy of a second career 3,000-yard season. At 9-7, Miami was left outside the postseason in an uber-competitive AFC. To “thank” Frerotte for his efforts, the Dolphins released him upon signing his former quarterback competition in Minnesota, Daunte Culpepper.
After two mostly-uneventful years in St. Louis, 37-year old Gus Frerotte returned to the Twin Cities in 2008 to back up Tarvaris Jackson. After an 0-2 start, the Vikings quickly turned to the veteran to save the season. Even though the individual numbers weren’t great, Frerotte would lead Minnesota to eight wins over the next 11 games. But a lower back injury would force him to the bench for the season’s final three contests. Thanks in part to his efforts, the Vikings would make the postseason, but fall in the Wild Card round to Philadelphia. The season would be Frerotte’s last in the NFL.
Guys drafted 197th overall aren’t supposed to start 95 career games, and they aren’t supposed to play 15 seasons. After being left to traverse the NFL wilderness following his departure from Washington after the 1998 season, Gus Frerotte managed to make rosters on six different teams over ten years, while starting two playoff games and playing until 37 years of age. Amazing for a guy for whom essentially nothing was expected and who wasn’t taken until the final round of his respective draft. I mean, even Tom Brady was at least taken in the sixth round.
Chart
| Season | W-L% | Tot Y/G | Tot TD/G | Tot TO/G | Y/C/Y/A | Cmp % | TD% | Int% |
| Reg Season | -0.009 | -0.037 | -0.169 | -0.099 | 0.055 | -0.068 | -0.078 | -0.067 |
| Playoffs | -0.400 | -0.191 | -0.655 | -0.128 | -0.126 | -0.216 | -0.654 | -0.109 |
Longevity Bonus = 0.0 Title Bonus = 0.0
Index Score = -3.212 (average QB = 0.0)
Deviation Rank (out of 153)
| Season | W-L% | Tot Y/G | Tot TD/G | Tot TO/G | Y/C/Y/A | Cmp % | TD% | Int% |
| Reg Season | 104th | 90th | 133rd | 142nd | 23rd | 146th | 124th | 121st |
| Playoffs | T-130th | 118th | 142nd | 111th | 133rd | 147th | 141st | 109th |
Why isn’t he on the Top 100 list?
Gus Frerotte just didn’t put up significant numbers compared to his counterparts. He was more of a blue collar underdog folk hero than a legitimate stud in D.C. He’s outside the Top 100 in all eight postseason categories, and in all eight regular season categories except two. He boasts only one 3,000 yard passing season in 15 years of pro ball. Gus never exceeded 18 touchdown passes in a year either, and the only category he ever led the NFL in was yards per completion in 1995.
But what made him good?
That leads us to the one thing Gus Frerotte truly did excel at: getting the ball downfield. He’s a Top 25 all-time guy in average of yards/completion + yards/attempt deviation. That figure was helped on November 30, 2008 when he became the 11th player in NFL history to complete a 99-yard touchdown pass. While he only served as his teams’ primary starter for five seasons, he started at least one game in 13 of his 15 NFL seasons.
The Quarterback Project 