NFL: Ranking Quarterbacks who were one-hit wonders

NFL: Ranking Quarterbacks who were one-hit wonders: 11. Chris Simms

The son of the legendary Phil Simms came into the NFL with a ton of expectations. He showed at the University of Texas that he had all the skills to make throws that less skilled quarterbacks couldn’t make. He was drafted in the third round of the NFL Draft so he could cook behind Brad Johnson in Tampa. He was the third-string quarterback until he blew past Brian Griese and Brad Johnson in 2004. He wasn’t able to keep the starting job, and Griese eventually took it.

Simms finally became the starter in 2005 after Griese was lost for the season. He had a knack for late-game heroics, and he led the Bucs to their first playoff berth since winning the Super Bowl. He actually had some bad luck throughout the season, including leading the team to field goal range against the Bears only to watch the kicker miss and then Edell Shepard drop the game-tying touchdown pass in the playoff game against Washington.

In 2006, Simms’ promising career derailed in a fashion never seen before. He got sacked viciously by the Carolina Panthers, but he returned to the game. Most fans didn’t see a problem, but after the game, things took a turn. Simms was taken to the hospital, and it showed he had a ruptured spleen. Reports say if Simms waited just 45 more minutes to get treatment, and he could have died.

Obviously, teams were worried about signing Simms after the injury. He left the Bucs and signed with the Tennessee Titans, who took a chance on him as Vince Young’s backup. He would go between Tennessee and Denver before eventually calling it a career. It would have been interesting to see how far Simms could have taken his skills without the spleen injury, but it wasn’t meant to be and now he’s a very good NBC analyst.