The rollercoaster career of a first-round draft pick and Super Bowl starter
In short: In 2001, Rex Grossman was the most efficient passer in college football. By 2006, he was leading the Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl. Yet, his career was defined by a volatile mix of historic brilliance and costly, high-profile mistakes.
Rex Grossman's ascent began with record-breaking performances at the University of Florida. During his second year in 2001, he topped the country in yards per attempt and passing efficiency, securing AP Player of the Year awards. His dominance was so pronounced that he finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting, losing to Nebraska's Eric Crouch by a narrow margin of just 62 votes.
Drafted 22nd overall by the Chicago Bears in 2003, Grossman's professional career was a study in extremes. The 2006 season served as his professional peak, as he led the Bears to the NFC Championship and an appearance in Super Bowl XLI. Yet, that year also revealed instability; despite posting a passer rating of 100 or higher across seven matches, he struggled with frequent turnovers, notably against the Arizona Cardinals when he lost two fumbles and threw four interceptions.
The Super Bowl itself mirrored this inconsistency. Against the Indianapolis Colts, Grossman completed 20 of 28 passes and threw a touchdown, but also threw an interception returned for a touchdown and fumbled twice due to errors with center Olin Kreutz. This pattern of high-stakes errors, alongside significant injuries like an ACL tear in 2004 and an ankle break in 2005, eventually led to him losing his starting role in Chicago and spending much of his later career, including stints with the Houston Texans and Washington Redskins, as a backup.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Rex Grossman
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