30 NFL quarterbacks who got better after leaving their first team

8. Jim Plunkett

Following an unbelievable career at Stanford, the New England Patriots believed they had an easy decision on their hands by going with Jim Plunkett at No. 1 during the 1971 NFL Draft.

Like most rookies quarterbacks, Plunkett saw his fair share of ups and downs during his first NFL season. He finished with a 6-8 record, while throwing for 2,158 yards to go along with 19 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.

With a year of experience under his belt, New England felt hopeful that Plunkett would take a major leap during his sophomore NFL season. Unfortunately, he would take a step back by going 3-11, while tossing just eight touchdowns compared to 25 interceptions.

After three more years with the Patriots, on top of two seasons spent with the San Francisco 49ers, Punkett would eventually go on to join the Oakland Raiders in 1978. While the first two years with his new team were far from exciting, Plunkett finally started to come around in 1980 when he took over for an injured Dan Pastorini by finishing the season with a 9-2 record.

But as impressive as this record was for Plunkett, this didn’t even come close to the amazing feeling of winning Super Bowl XV before going on to earn another title in Super Bowl XVIII a few years later after the team moved to Los Angeles.