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 Frerotte with the Minnesota Vikings in 2008 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 12, 11 | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | (1971-07-31)July 31, 1971 (age 53) Kittanning, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 233 lb (106 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Ford City(Ford City, Pennsylvania) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Tulsa (1989–1993) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1994: 7th round, 197th pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Gustave Joseph Frerotte (/fəˈrɒt/; born July 31, 1971) is an American former professionalfootball player who was aquarterback in theNational Football League (NFL). He was selected by theWashington Redskins in the seventh round of the1994 NFL draft.[1] He playedcollege football atTulsa.[2]
Frerotte, who was selected to the1997 Pro Bowl while with the Redskins.[3] He also played for theDetroit Lions,Denver Broncos,Cincinnati Bengals,Miami Dolphins,Minnesota Vikings, andSt. Louis Rams.[4]
Frerotte attendedFord City High School inFord City, Pennsylvania, a suburb ofPittsburgh.[5] In high school, he was aletterman infootball,basketball, andbaseball. Frerotte graduated in 1989.
He played withDenny Harriger on the school's baseball team in 1987 and helped lead the team to aPennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state championship in 1987. He was later named to the Ford City Hall of Fame.[6]
Frerotte is the cousin ofMitch Frerotte, anoffensive lineman who played for theBuffalo Bills during the 1990s.
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At theUniversity of Tulsa, he started eight games as aredshirt freshman in 1990 after quarterbackT. J. Rubley was injured, starting his first career game atOklahoma. He finished hiscollege career as the school's second-ranked all-time passer at the time, behind Rubley.[7] During his collegiate career, he threw for 5,480 yards and 32 touchdowns on 432-of-860 passing.[8] His 2,871 passing yards as a senior were the most by a Tulsa quarterback in 28 years. As a sophomore, Frerotte also handledpunting duties for the team and averaged 35.5 yards per punt.
As anundergraduate, he joined thePi Kappa AlphaFraternity.
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| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 221 lb (100 kg) | 30+7⁄8 in (0.78 m) | 9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | 5.04 s | 1.74 s | 2.88 s | 4.79 s | 26.0 in (0.66 m) | ||||
| All values from NFL Combine[9] | ||||||||||||
Frerotte was selected in the seventh round of the1994 NFL draft with the 197th overall pick by theWashington Redskins; earlier in the same draft, the Redskins had selectedHeath Shuler with their first-round pick (third overall).[10] Frerotte was not even the backup quarterback in the first game of the 1994 season, which sawJohn Friesz have most of the snaps besides Shuler. In the eighth week of the season, due to Shuler's sprained ankle injury, Frerotte became the starter for the game versus theIndianapolis Colts as decided by head coachNorv Turner. He went 17-of-32 for 226 yards with two touchdowns as Washington won 41–27. He started the next three games (each losses) before being inactive the rest of the year.[11] Shuler was nabbed as the starter for the 1995 season but Frerotte would take over not long after, starting 11 games.
During his Pro Bowl season in 1996, Frerotte passed for 3,453 yards (6th best in NFL and his career high), also ranking 9th in pass completions, finishing the year completing 270 of 470 passes. Frerotte also ranked 3rd in the league in average yards per pass completion (12.3). Frerotte had led the league in that category the season before (13.8 yards per completion), his first as a steady starter (16 games, 11 starts), finishing that year with 199 completions in 396 attempts for 2,751 yards with 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
In November 1997, Frerotte sprained his neck by ramming his head into a padded cement wall during a touchdown celebration in a 7–7 tie against theNew York Giants onESPN Sunday Night Football. Frerotte's season would end after breaking his hip against St. Louis in the Week 13 game on November 30, 1997.[12] Turner stated a need for "consistency [and] accuracy" after the 1997 season that was not helped by a slow start in training camp the following year. Frerotte started the opening game of the 1998 season and went 8-of-12 for 93 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions while suffering a sore shoulder before being benched by Turner forTrent Green. He didn't play for the next four games before being put in against Philadelphia for over a dozen passes. He then started against the Vikings and went 10-of-26 for 117 yards with an interception before being benched again for Green. He never saw the field for Washington again.[13][14]
In1999, he played for theDetroit Lions, where he backed upCharlie Batch. Frerotte wound up starting for the Lions inthe playoffs while Batch was out with injuries; the Lions lost in the Wild Card round to the Redskins, Frerotte's former team, 27–13.
The 1999 season statistically was one of Frerotte's best, posting a career-high 60.2% completion percentage (4th best in NFL) and an 83.6 passer rating (9th best in NFL and best of Frerotte's career when starting six or more games). He also finished in the NFL Top 10 for Highest Average Yards per Pass Attempt at 6.88 (9th in NFL) and Passing Yards per Game at 235.2 (8th in NFL). Frerotte's best game of the season came vs Chicago (November 25, 1999), completing a career best (up to this point) 29 completions for 309 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, a key role in a narrow 21–17 win. The following week Frerotte again played well, this time facing his former team, helping Detroit beat Washington 33–17 completing 21 of 32 passes for 280 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Frerotte established a then career high 375 yards, completing 24 of 39 passes again with two touchdowns and no interceptions in a losing effort vs Arizona on November 14, 1999.
In 2000, Gus was a backup for theDenver Broncos. AfterBrian Griese was injured, he led the Broncos to theplayoffs. The team lost in the opening round to the eventualSuper Bowl championBaltimore Ravens. He remained the Broncos' backup until the2001 NFL season was over.
Playing in 10 games (6 starts) subbing for the injured Griese, Frerotte led Denver to four wins in his six starts, finishing the season with a 59.8% completion percentage (2nd best of career in a season with 6 or more starts), passing for 1,776 yards with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions. Frerotte finished 4th in the league in Average Yards Per Pass Completion (12.9) and 10th in Average Yards Per Pass Attempt (6.88).
Among his more notable performances, Frerotte quarterbacked a wild 38–37 win over division rival San Diego on November 19, overcoming 4 interceptions and a lost fumble by passing for a career-high 462 yards and 5 touchdowns. He was far more efficient in wins over New Orleans on December 3, 2000 (11 completions in 16 attempts for 201 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions) and in the regular season finale vs San Francisco on December 23, 2000 (18 completions in 29 attempts for 205 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions). At one stretch Denver scored at least 38 points in three consecutive games with Frerotte starting at quarterback (November 19, 2000 vs San Diego, November 25, 2000, vs Seattle, December 3, 2000, vs New Orleans).[citation needed]
He joined the Cincinnati Bengals in2002, winning the starting job before losing the position after three games toJon Kitna under the soon-to-be-fired coachDick LeBeau.
In 2003 and 2004, Frerotte backed upDaunte Culpepper for theMinnesota Vikings, and served as the team'sholder on field goals.[15] He won both games as a temporary starter for the team in2003.
Frerotte earned theMiami Dolphins starting job in 2005. He started 15 games, guiding the Dolphins to a 9–6 record, throwing for 18 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, completing 52% of his passes and finished the season with a 71.9 quarterback rating.[16] He then joined theSt. Louis Rams as back-up toMarc Bulger. St. Louis cut Frerotte after two seasons with the team on February 28, 2008.[17]
On April 1, 2008, he returned to the Vikings, signing a two-year, $3.75 million deal. He wasTarvaris Jackson’s backup for the first two games of the year. On September 17, 2008, he was named the starter for the rest of the 2008 season by head coachBrad Childress. Frerotte led the Vikings to an 8–3 record before suffering a back injury, which reinstated Jackson as the starter.
On November 30, 2008, Frerotte tied the NFL record for the longest pass from scrimmage by throwing a 99-yard touchdown pass toBernard Berrian against theChicago Bears.[18]
Frerotte had expressed interest in being the starting quarterback for the Vikings for the2009 NFL season, but was released on February 27, 2009, after the team traded for quarterbackSage Rosenfels. The Vikings ultimately signedBrett Favre to be their starter.
By December 2010, Frerotte was working for GAIMPlan Consulting which helps high school athletes select a college.[19] On January 19, 2011, Frerotte announced he would be taking over as head coach atJohn Burroughs School in theSt. Louis,Missouri, area. His teams were runners up in thestate championship game in 2011 and 2012.[20] In 2017, Frerotte joinedCoraopolis, Pennsylvania-based startup RC21X as the Vice President of Brain Health Initiatives. The company developed acloud-based tool to monitor brain performance. Frerotte also serves as a brand ambassador for the firm.[citation needed]
| Year | Team | GP | Passing | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | |||
| 1994 | WAS | 4 | 46 | 100 | 46.0 | 600 | 6.0 | 5 | 5 | 61.3 |
| 1995 | WAS | 16 | 199 | 396 | 50.3 | 2,751 | 6.9 | 13 | 13 | 70.2 |
| 1996 | WAS | 16 | 270 | 470 | 57.4 | 3,453 | 7.3 | 12 | 11 | 79.3 |
| 1997 | WAS | 13 | 204 | 402 | 50.7 | 2,682 | 6.7 | 17 | 12 | 73.8 |
| 1998 | WAS | 3 | 25 | 54 | 46.3 | 283 | 5.2 | 1 | 3 | 45.5 |
| 1999 | DET | 9 | 175 | 288 | 60.8 | 2,117 | 7.3 | 9 | 7 | 83.6 |
| 2000 | DEN | 10 | 138 | 232 | 59.5 | 1,776 | 7.7 | 9 | 8 | 82.1 |
| 2001 | DEN | 4 | 30 | 48 | 62.5 | 308 | 6.4 | 3 | 0 | 101.7 |
| 2002 | CIN | 4 | 44 | 85 | 51.8 | 437 | 5.1 | 1 | 5 | 46.1 |
| 2003 | MIN | 16 | 38 | 65 | 58.5 | 690 | 10.6 | 7 | 2 | 118.1 |
| 2004 | MIN | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 |
| 2005 | MIA | 16 | 257 | 494 | 52.0 | 2,996 | 6.1 | 18 | 13 | 71.9 |
| 2006 | STL | 1 | 1 | 3 | 33.3 | 27 | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 67.4 |
| 2007 | STL | 8 | 94 | 167 | 56.3 | 1,014 | 6.1 | 7 | 12 | 58.3 |
| 2008 | MIN | 11 | 178 | 301 | 59.1 | 2,157 | 7.2 | 12 | 15 | 73.7 |
| Career | 147 | 1,699 | 3,106 | 54.7 | 21,291 | 6.9 | 114 | 106 | 74.2 | |
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