page_title: Rex Grossman
section_title: Chicago Bears
hierarchical_section_title: Rex Grossman / Professional career / Chicago Bears
caption_attribution_description: English: Rex Grossman addresses the press following a 40-7 victory over the Buffalo Bills on 10/8/2006.
context_page_description: Rex Daniel Grossman III is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for eleven seasons. Grossman played college football for the University of Florida and was selected by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He also played professionally for the Houston Texans and Washington Redskins.
  As a college quarterback, Grossman led the Florida Gators to the 2000 Southeastern Conference championship, the 2001 Sugar Bowl, the 2002 Orange Bowl, and the 2003 Outback Bowl. He was a consensus first-team All-American and was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 2001.
  Grossman spent most of his first three NFL seasons with the Chicago Bears sidelined with injuries. He completed his first full NFL season in 2006, leading the Bears to a National Football Conference Championship and a Super Bowl berth. He lost his starting job three weeks into the 2007 season, and primarily served as the team's backup quarterback afterward. He spent a year as a back-up quarterback for the Houston Texans in 2009, before becoming the Washington Redskins' starting quarterback in the final three games of 2010; and throughout most of the 2011 season.
context_section_description: The Chicago Bears selected Grossman during the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft, and he played for the Bears from 2003 to 2008.  Under the leadership of coach Dick Jauron, Grossman was sidelined as a rookie in favor of veteran quarterbacks Chris Chandler and Kordell Stewart. Grossman only saw playing time during the later portion of the season after the Bears had been eliminated from playoff contention. His season ended when he was forced to leave the final game with a broken finger. Prior to the start of the 2004 NFL season, the Bears fired Jauron and hired Lovie Smith, who declared Grossman the team's starting quarterback. Grossman was criticized when he threw a game-ending interception against the Detroit Lions on opening day. Criticism of his durability intensified when he damaged his knee ligaments while scrambling for a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings. The injury forced Grossman to spend the remainder of the season recuperating.
  Grossman missed most of the 2005 season after breaking his ankle in a preseason game. On December 18, 2005, Grossman returned to the field, leading the Bears to a 16–3 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. In the following game against the Green Bay Packers, he completed eleven of sixteen passes for 166 yards for a touchdown and one interception in a 24–17 victory. Grossman’s victory enabled the Bears to clinch a playoff berth and the National Football Conference's second playoff seed. In his first playoff game, Grossman struggled to anchor the Bears’ offense, completing 17 of 41 passes for 192 yards for one touchdown and an interception in a 29–21 loss against the Carolina Panthers.
  During the 2006 Chicago Bears season, Grossman became the first Bears quarterback to start all sixteen games since Erik Kramer in 1995.  In a season dubbed as a "roller coaster ride" by Grossman himself, the fourth-year quarterback had several productive performances, which were seemingly diluted by a handful of turnover-ridden games, especially in Week 6 against the Arizona Cardinals, where Grossman fumbled twice and threw four interceptions. While earning a passer rating of at least 100 in seven games, he earned a sub 50 rating in five games during the latter portion of the season. Grossman, who was recognized as the NFC Offensive Player of the Month in September, concluded the season's final month with a 64.4 passer rating, including a zero rating during the season’s finale game against the Packers.  Grossman's work ethic drew criticism, when he admitted that he was not adequately prepared to play, and later claimed the game to be "meaningless." After noticing that his words had been misinterpreted, he rationalized his statement days later. His inconsistent performance drew criticism, and calls for Smith to bench Grossman in favor of the veteran Brian Griese.
  Nevertheless, Smith, who supported Grossman throughout the season, declared that Grossman would remain the Bears’ starting quarterback throughout the playoffs, causing much skepticism within the Chicago area. He temporarily silenced his critics by leading the Bears to a 27–24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, completing 21 of 38 passes for 282 yards and one interception, fumble, and touchdown.  The following week, he led the Bears to a 39–14 victory over the New Orleans Saints, which allowed the Bears to claim the NFC Championship and advance to Super Bowl XLI.  In the Super Bowl, Grossman completed 20 of 28 passes, including a one-yard touchdown pass. However, in this game he threw two interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown, and fumbled twice due to miscues between him and center Olin Kreutz. Despite additional criticism from his detractors, Grossman received the Ed Block Courage Award after the season ended. The award is given to one player from every team who exemplifies commitments to the principles of sportsmanship and courage, and is believed to be positive role models to their community.
  Before the 2007 season, Grossman vowed that he would improve his performance by simply "protecting the ball." Smith named him as th
caption: Grossman in a post-game interview in 2006
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