QBs of 1993

NFL Week continues here at The 1993 with a look at the year's starting quarterbacks.

There are a few in particular that had special significance to my interest in the NFL and football card collecting.
Let's start in the AFC:

Jim Kelly - Buffalo Bills 

Started all 16 games in 1993

Led the Bills to their third consecutive Super Bowl appearance

Hall of Famer

this 1993 Upper Deck card is in my collection

 

David Klingler - Cincinnati Bengals

Started 13 of 16 games in 1993

6th overall pick in the 1992 NFL Draft

Career record of 4-20 as an NFL starter

this 1993 Upper Deck card is in my collection 

 

 

Vinny Testaverde - Cleveland Browns

Earned starting job mid-season after Bernie Kosar was released

Last starting quarterback of the original Browns and first starting quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens

this 1993 Topps card is in my collection 

 

John Elway - Denver Broncos

Started all 16 games in 1993

Led NFL with 4,030 passing yards

Hall of Famer and current Broncos VP/GM

this 1993 Fleer Team Leader card is in my collection

 

 

Warren Moon - Houston Oilers

Started 14 games for the Oilers in 1993

1993 was Moon's last season in Houston; he was traded to the Vikings in April 1994

Hall of Famer

this 1993 SP card is in my collection

 

 

Jeff George - Indianapolis Colts

#11 started 11 games for Indy in 1993

Talented but enigmatic passer was traded to the Falcons in March 1994

this 1993 Select card is in my collection

 

 

Joe Montana - Kansas City Chiefs

Legendary leader of four-time champion 49ers was traded to Kansas City in April 1993 after missing nearly two seasons with an elbow injury

Led the Chiefs to their first ever appearance in the AFC Championship game

Hall of Famer

this 1993 SP card is in my collection 

The Montana trade was huge news at the time, even though he was 37 and coming off a major injury. His presence alone made the Chiefs instant contenders, though he didn't quite have enough left in the tank to win a fifth Super Bowl.

 
Jeff Hostetler - Los Angeles Raiders

Started 15 of 16 games in 1993

Signed with Los Angeles after serving seven seasons as Phil Simms' backup with the Giants

Led the Raiders to their final playoff appearance in Los Angeles

this 1993 Topps card is in my collection 

 

Scott Mitchell - Miami Dolphins

Started seven games in 1993 after Dan Marino was sidelined with an achilles injury

Parlayed his brief tenure as Dolphins' starter into a fat free agent contract from the Detroit Lions

this 1993 Bowman card is not in my collection

 

 

Drew Bledsoe - New England Patriots

1st overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft

Started 12 games as a rookie

Led the NFL in passing attempts three straight seasons from 1994-96

this 1993 Stadium Club card is in my collection

 

I was in sixth grade when the Patriots drafted Drew, and I remember talking about the new-look Pats with a friend at school. They were a laughingstock at the time, but with Bledsoe and Bill Parcells on board (plus a slick new uniform) it really felt like they were turning things around in Foxboro.

Boomer Esiason - New York Jets

Started all 16 games for the Jets in 1993

Long Island native was traded to New York in '93 after nine seasons as Cincy's signal-caller

He's still the last quarterback to win a playoff game for the Bengals

this 1993 Score card is not in my collection

My brother is a lifelong Jets fan and I bought him a Boomer Esiason jersey for Christmas in either 1993 or 1994. He bought me a Dan Marino jersey for Christmas around that time.

Neil O'Donnell - Pittsburgh Steelers

Started 15 games in 1993

Lowest interception rate of any starting QB in 1993 (1.4%)

Led Pittsburgh to the Super Bowl in 1995, their first since the 1970s

this 1993 Classic Pro Line card is not in my collection

 

Stan Humphries - San Diego Chargers

Started 10 games in 1993 (John Friesz started the other six)

Led the Chargers to their first - and only - Super Bowl appearance in 1994

 

 
this 1993 Fleer card is in my collection

 

 

Rick Mirer - Seattle Seahawks

2nd overall pick in the 1993 NFL draft

Started all 16 games as a rookie

Was sacked a league-leading 47 times in 1993

this 1993 Stadium Club rookie card has been in my collection since 1993 

I was excited about Mirer when he was drafted. I invested in his rookie cards and even bought a replica #3 Seahawks jersey early in his career.

Now let's look at the starting quarterbacks for each NFC team:

Bobby Hebert - Atlanta Falcons

Started 12 games for the Falcons after signing with the team in the off-season

Earned his only Pro Bowl appearance in 1993

Was mentioned in an episode of Seinfeld

this 1993 Pro Set card is not in my collection

Jim Harbaugh - Chicago Bears

Started 15 of 16 games in 1993

Has the third-most career passing yards in Bears history

Currently the head football coach at the University of Michigan
 

this 1993 Pacific Prizm card is not in my collection

 

Troy Aikman - Dallas Cowboys

Started 14 games for Dallas in 1993

Led the Cowboys to their second consecutive Super Bowl win

Hall of Famer

 
this 1993 Collector's Edge card is in my collection 

Rodney Peete - Detroit Lions

Started 10 games for the NFC Central champions

Lions' second-leading rusher in 1990 and 1991

Married to actress Holly Robinson Peete

 
this 1993 Fleer card is in my collection

 

Brett Favre - Green Bay Packers

Started all 16 games in 1993 (and 1994, and 1995, and 1996, and 1997...)

Led Green Bay to their first playoff appearance and win since 1982

Hall of Famer

this 1993 SP card is in my collection 

 

 

Los Angeles Rams - Jim Everett 

Started nine games in 1993 (someone named T.J. Rubley started the other seven)

Led the NFL in touchdown passes in 1988 and 1989

Traded to the Saints in March 1994

this 1993 Upper Deck card is in my collection

 

My wife was a big Jim Everett fan in the late '80s-early '90s. She was psyched when the Rams beat the Giants in the 1989 playoffs.

 

Jim McMahon - Minnesota Vikings

Started 12 games for Minnesota in 1993

Threw as many touchdown passes (9) in his starts as backup Sean Sailsbury did in his four starts

Until researching this post I had no recollection of his Vikings tenure

this 1993 Stadium Club card is in not my collection

 

 

Wade Wilson - New Orleans Saints

Started 14 games for the Saints in 1993

Atlanta's backup in 1992, he switched places with Bobby Hebert in the off-season

Earned a Super Bowl ring as Troy Aikman's backup with the 1995 Cowboys

this 1993 Pro Set Power card is in not my collection

 

 

Phil Simms - New York Giants  

Started all 16 games in 1993

MVP of Super Bowl XXI is the second-leading passer in Giants history

Retired after the 1993 season

this 1993 Collector's Edge card is in my collection 

 

 

Bubby Brister - Philadelphia Eagles 

Started 8 games for the Eagles (Randall Cunningham started four)

Was Pittsburgh's starting QB from 1988-1990

Earned two Super Bowl rings as John Elway's backup in Denver

this 1993 Topps card is not in my collection 

 

 

 
Steve Beuerlein - Phoenix Cardinals

Started 14 games for Phoenix in 1993

Won a Super Bowl as Troy Aikman's backup with the 1992 Cowboys

First starting QB in Jacksonville Jaguars history

this 1993 Fleer Ultra card is not in my collection  

 

 

Steve Young - San Francisco 49ers

Started all 16 games

Led the NFL in passer rating and touchdown passes in '93

Hall of Famer and two-time NFL MVP

this 1993 Playoff card is not in my collection 

Craig Erickson - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Started 15 of 16 games for Tampa (Steve DeBerg started one)

Set career highs for passing yards and touchdowns in 1993

Also started 15 games for the Bucs in 1994

this 1993 Upper Deck card is in my collection

Mark Rypien - Washington Redskins

Started 10 games in 1993 (Rich Gannon started four)

MVP of Super Bowl XXVI signed with Cleveland in 1994

His nephew Brett Rypien started for the Denver Broncos earlier this season

this 1993 Collector's Edge card is in my collection 

Do you have any memories or favorite players from the 1993 season? Are any of these names unfamiliar to you?

Thanks for reading!



 

 

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