Teams
- Seattle Seahawks (1996-2000)
- Cincinnati Bengals (2001-2005)
- Detroit Lions (2006-2008)
- Dallas Cowboys (2009-2011, 2013)
Accolades
- NFL Comeback Player of the Year (2003)
“[Jon Kitna was] probably the most instrumental individual in my career… a true vet and a true mentor.”
-Carson Palmer, former Quarterback, Cincinnati Bengals (source)
Jon Kitna wasn’t supposed to play in the NFL. Sure he put up great numbers in college, but that was for D-II Central Washington University and he was unsurprisingly overlooked in the 1996 Draft. But one of his teammates was a nephew of Seattle Seahawks head coach Dennis Erickson. Seattle’s skipper gave Kitna a look and apparently liked what he saw, signing the undrafted free agent to the Pacific Northwest’s NFL franchise. While the rookie didn’t see any action his first year, he won a championship just one year later… in NFL Europe. And as starter for the Barcelona Dragons, he led his squad to victory in the World Bowl, earning game MVP honors.
Kitna would spend 1997-1998 primarily backing up Warren Moon, although he did manage to make six starts during that time, winning four. The former World Bowl MVP would get his shot in 1999, with new head coach Mike Holmgren in the fold. Kitna would lead Seattle to a surprising 8-2 start. The pace ended up being unsustainable, but at 9-7, the Seahawks still earned a Wild Card berth. Kitna ended up playing well for a first-year starter, finishing in the Top 10 in passing yards (3,346) and passing TDs (23). But his first NFL postseason went sour as Seattle gave up a second half 17-10 lead and fell to Miami 20-17. Kitna ended up with 162 yards and a touchdown, but also two interceptions.
Although his completion rate jumped 7.5 percentage points in 2000, Jon Kitna also became more turnover-prone, tossing 19 picks to 18 touchdowns in 12 starts, and also fumbling an NFL-most 17 times. Seattle would go 6-6 in those games, and finish 6-10. In the offseason, Kitna signed with Cincinnati where, in 2011, he would lead the league in pass attempts. While he managed to throw for 3,216 yards, he also threw 22 INTs in 15 games, with just 12 of his passes finding the end zone. Kitna’s passer rating plummeted to 61.1 and the Bengals finished 6-10.
In 2002, Kitna began the season as back-up to Gus Frerotte. But he would take back the reigns in Week 5 as Cincy stumbled to an 0-4 start. And while Kitna improved, making fewer mistakes than the previous two seasons (16 TDs and 16 INTs), the Bengals were hapless on both sides of the ball and ended at 2-14. In the offseason, with the #1 pick in the Draft, Cincinnati selected USC star quarterback Carson Palmer. But rather than tossing their rookie into action, the Bengals allowed Kitna to tutor their prized draft pick. In earning Comeback Player of the Year honors for 2003, the Central Washington grad would have his finest season. In starting all 16 regular season contests, Kitna threw for 3,591 yards, 26 TDs, and only 15 INTs. Still struggling with a subpar defense, the Comeback Player of the Year’s efforts on offense, along with a solid running game from Rudi Johnson and Corey Dillon, boosted the Bengals to an 8-8 season.
As kind as the ’03 season was to Jon Kitna, it was time to pass the torch to the team’s future in Carson Palmer. The former NFL Europe star would fill in three starts for Palmer in ’04, going 2-1, as the Bengals again finished 8-8. But Carson Palmer would blossom into one of the game’s best in 2005, leading Cincy to the franchise’s first Division crown in 15 years. And when it seemed like Cincinnati was finally bound to break through over their rivals, the Steelers, Palmer would suffer a crippling knee injury early in their Wild Card match-up. Kitna, who had not started a game all season, was called into emergency duty. He played admirably, totaling 222 yards of offense and a TD, but he was also induced into two INTs as Pittsburgh won 31-17 on their way to the franchise’s fifth super Bowl title.
Carson Palmer would make a quasi-miraculous return to the Bengals the following season, but it would be without his back-up/mentor. In the offseason Jon Kitna signed with Detroit, where he would stay for the next two seasons. His efforts for a struggling franchise were valiant, surpassing 4,000 yards passing in ’06 and ’07 (he also led the league in completions his first year in Motown) while being sacked a league-most 114 times over those two seasons. But like in Cincinnati, Kitna could not overcome one of the NFL’s worst defenses. The Lions went just 10-24 from 2006-2007.
The absolute pits came one year later though, in 2008, when a combination of Jon Kitna, Daunte Culpepper, Dan Orlovsky couldn’t produce a single win for the historically inept 0-16 Lions. Detroit cleaned house and drafted University of Georgia star Matthew Stafford at #1 overall. Again replaced by the league’s top draft pick, Kitna signed with Dallas in ’09. Although he saw no action that year, he did make nine starts for the Cowboys in 2010, going 4-5 while throwing 16 TD passes to 12 INTs. Kitna saw minimal action in 2011 and essentially retired, although he re-signed with Dallas at the end of the 2013 season as an emergency quarterback. In a final classy gesture, Kitna donated his earnings for the game to the high school team he was coaching.
Jon Kitna never made the Pro Bowl, started just one postseason game, and only had a regular season winning record once over 14 seasons of NFL action. But his value as a dependable, solid option is shown in that he was his team’s primary starter for eight seasons over four different franchises. He also threw for 29,475 yards in the regular season, good enough for 37th all time at the time of his retirement and ahead of guys like Terry Bradshaw, Ken Stabler, and Joe Namath. Even if he was never one of the game’s best quarterbacks, Jon Kitna won a World Bowl, was named “Comeback Player of Year”, and spent all or part of 16 seasons in the NFL. And all while being an undrafted D-II player out of Central Washington.
Chart
| Season | W-L% | Tot Y/G | Tot TD/G | Tot TO/G | Y/C/Y/A | Cmp % | TD% | Int% |
| Reg Season | -0.077 | 0.031 | 0.004 | -0.306 | -0.035 | 0.018 | -0.069 | -0.176 |
| Playoffs | -0.400 | -0.213 | -0.348 | -0.458 | -0.213 | -0.078 | -0.304 | -0.730 |
Longevity Bonus = 0.9 Title Bonus = 0.0
Index Score = -3.122 (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 | 139th | 49th | 75th | 153rd | 129th | 69th | 120th | 143rd |
| Playoffs | T-130th | 123rd | 124th | 141st | 149th | 116th | 124th | 144th |
Why isn’t he on the Top 100 list?
Jon Kitna was exceedingly prone to turnovers. Of all the quarterbacks studied, he’s dead-last in deviation for turnovers per game, hurt by three seasons of 20+ interceptions and two years of leading the NFL in fumbles. Also, having spent the bulk of his career with Cincinnati and Detroit (when both organizations were at a nadir) negatively impacted his win-loss percentage with a regular season record of 50-74 as starter. Additionally, two postseason appearances were less-than-memorable for Kitna with two interceptions in each. Both were losses.
But what made him good?
Being mired on below-averaged teams concealed (or maybe even benefitted) Jon Kitna’s prowess at racking up yards. He’s 49th all time in deviation for total yards per game, helped by finishing fourth and sixth, respectively, in passing yards in 2007 and 2008. Kitna’s accuracy is underrated too, retiring with a 60.3% career completion rate, 69th all time in terms of deviation for completion percentage. Additionally, he managed to rack up 180 career touchdowns, by ground and air, putting him at 75th all time for total touchdowns per game.
The Quarterback Project 