 Quinn with theDallas Cowboys in 1999 | |||||||||
| No. 11, 12 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1974-04-15)April 15, 1974 (age 51) Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Robert E. Lee (Houston, Texas) | ||||||||
| College | Stephen F. Austin | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1997: undrafted | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Career CFL statistics | |||||||||
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Michael Patrick Quinn (born April 15, 1974) is an American former professionalfootballquarterback in theNational Football League (NFL) for thePittsburgh Steelers,Indianapolis Colts,Dallas Cowboys,Miami Dolphins,Houston Texans, andDenver Broncos. He also was a member of theRhein Fire ofNFL Europe, and theMontreal Alouettes andWinnipeg Blue Bombers of theCanadian Football League (CFL). He playedcollege football atStephen F. Austin State University.
Quinn attendedRobert E. Lee High School inHouston, Texas, where he played quarterback. As a senior, he received All-state and All-Greater Houston honors.[1]
Hewalked-on at Division I-AAStephen F. Austin State University. He was a backup quarterback behindJames Ritchey during his first three seasons. As a junior in 1995, during a game againstSouthwest Texas State on November 12, Quinn came into the game in place of Ritchey and threw threetouchdown passes.[2]
As a senior in 1996, he became the starting quarterback after Ritchey graduated, throwing for 136 completions for 2,049 yards, 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. In the game againstSamford on October 27, Quinn led Stephen F. Austin to a 43–14 win after throwing a touchdown pass towide receiver Chris Jefferson at the end of the first half. SFA held the lead for the rest of the game.[3] AgainstMcNeese State on November 3, Quinn led a come from behind win for SFA by throwing two touchdowns toMikhael Ricks in the fourth quarter.[4] The next week, Quinn threw for 283 yards and threw four touchdown passes to lead Stephen F. Austin to another win making them 7–2.[5] AgainstDelta State University, he had 19 out of 33 completions for 362 yards and 3 touchdowns, receiving Southland Offensive Player of the Week honors. He finished his college career after playing in 28 games and passing for 2,641 yards and 23 touchdowns.
Quinn began his career by signing with the Fountain Tadpoles of the Eastern North Carolina Football League, but when the league folded after just one season, Quinn decided to go to the NFL. Quinn signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as anundrafted free agent following the1997 NFL draft.[6] Quinn entered training camp behindKordell Stewart,Mike Tomczak andJim Miller on the depth chart, but after training camp Quinn had beaten out Miller and became the team's third-string quarterback.[7] He saw his only game action on November 9 against theBaltimore Ravens, throwing for 10 yards on one completion.[8]
Following the 1997 season, the Steelers allocated Quinn to play inNFL Europe;[9] he later agreed to play for theRhein Fire.[10] In his second game with the Fire on April 12, Quinn completed 13 of 21 passes for 194 yards. He also completed two touchdown passes.[11] With Quinn as the starting quarterback, the Fire played in theWorld Bowl. However, Quinn was hampered by a sprained ankle and could not play in the game.[12][13] He finished with 133 completions for 1,997 yards, 13 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He returned to the Steelers after the NFL Europe season but waswaived on August 31, after being passed on the depth chart byPete Gonzalez.[14]
After being waived by Pittsburgh, Quinn was claimed off waivers by the Indianapolis Colts on September 1. To make room for Quinn the Colts had to release Jim Miller, who had lost a roster spot on the Steelers to Quinn a year earlier.[15] However, after signingDoug Nussmeier, the Colts waived Quinn.[16]
On September 10, 1998, the Dallas Cowboys, who were unsuccessful claiming Quinn 10 days earlier,[15] claimed him after he was waived by the Colts, reuniting with head coachChan Gailey, who was his offensive coordinator with the Steelers.[17] He became the Cowboys second-string quarterback afterTroy Aikman was injured andJason Garrett became the starter.[18] He played in three games for the Cowboys in 1998, completing one pass for 10 yards.
In 1999, Quinn did not play in a game as the third-string quarterback behind Aikman and Garrett.
In 2000, Garrett signed as afree agent with theNew York Giants[19] and quarterbackPaul Justin was signed by Dallas to compete for the backup spot on April 7.[20] On May 5, 2000, he was released when the team chose to signundrafted free agentClint Stoerner to compete for a backup position.[21]
On May 23, 2000, Quinn signed with the Miami Dolphins, reuniting with Gailey who was the offensive coordinator.[22] He was named the third-string quarterback overJim Druckenmiller at the end of the preseason. On November 6, Quinn threw a touchdown pass toDeon Dyer[23] but was waived by the Dolphins on November 10,[24] only to be re-signed four days later.[25] In the 2001 preseason, Quinn sprained a joint in his shoulder and was waived/injured.[26] He was released from injured reserve with an injury settlement on September 6.[27]
The Houston Texans, the newest franchise in the NFL, signed Quinn to a reserve/future contract on December 30, 2001.[28] Following the2002 NFL draft in which the Texans drafted quarterbackDavid Carr with their first ever pick, Quinn became the backup.[29] Quinn andTony Banks ended up winning the backup jobs to Carr[30] overKent Graham andBen Sankey.[31] Banks was second–string with Quinn being the third–string quarterback.[32] The Texans waived Quinn during final cuts on August 25, 2003. He was the final member of the Texans first signings still on the team.[33] He was re-signed to the practice squad on November 17 after David Carr suffered a sprained right shoulder.[34] However, when Banks also became injured, Quinn was signed from the practice squad to back up the now healthy Carr and rookieDave Ragone.[35]
The Denver Broncos signed Quinn as anunrestricted free agent in March 2004.[36] At the end of training camp, Quinn was released by the Broncos.[37]
Quinn was re-signed by the Steelers on September 22 and assigned to their practice squad.[38] He was released from the practice squad on November 10.[39]
On August 29, 2005, Quinn was signed to the practice roster of theMontreal Alouettes in theCanadian Football League.[40]
On March 22, 2006, theWinnipeg Blue Bombers signed Quinn, joining quarterbacksTee Martin,Russ Michna andKevin Glenn on Winnipeg's roster.[41] In his CFL preseason debut against the Alouettes on June 2, Quinn threw a 24-yard touchdown pass toQuentin McCord however the Blue Bombers lost 25–24.[42] After making the team out of training camp, Quinn injured his sternum and shoulder which caused him to miss three weeks.[43] In his first week back with Winnipeg, Quinn was forced into the starting role after Glenn suffered a knee injury.[44] However, a string of poor performances which included an interception in the end zone while Winnipeg was in field goal position led to his release on August 28.[45]
Currently, Quinn and his wife, Jennifer, live in Houston, Texas. AtStephen F. Austin State University, he majored in accounting.
