Vinny Testaverde Vincent Frank Testaverde ( ; born November 13 , 1963 ) is a former American college and professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League ( NFL ) for 21 seasons during the 1980s , 1990s and 2000s . Testaverde played college football for the University of Miami , where he was an All - American and won the Heisman Trophy in 1986 . Testaverde was the first overall pick in the 1987 NFL Draft , and played professionally for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , Cleveland Browns , Baltimore Ravens , New York Jets , Dallas Cowboys , New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers of the NFL . His professional career was principally characterized by its longevity , lasting a remarkable 21 seasons , playing with a total of seven different teams . However , despite being in the top 10 for most career passing statistics ( 8th in career passing yardage , 10th in career touchdown passes , 9th in career completions ) , Testaverde was not a notably successful quarterback in terms of wins and losses . His 123 losses as a starting quarterback is an NFL record , and his career regular season winning percentage of . 423 is the lowest of any quarterback with at least 70 wins . He played in just five post - season games in his NFL career with a record of 2 - 3 . His career NFL passer rating is 75 . 0 , tied for 98th all time with Sid Luckman . Early years . Testaverde was born in Brooklyn , New York . While living in Elmont , New York , on Long Island , Testaverde went to school at Sewanhaka High School in Floral Park , and graduated in 1981 . He then went to Fork Union Military Academy in Fork Union , Virginia for a post - graduate year of college preparatory work . College career . He accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Miami , where he played for the Miami Hurricanes football team from 1983 to 1986 . As a senior in 1986 , he was a consensus first - team All - American and won the Heisman Trophy , on his way to becoming the Hurricanes ' all - time leader in career touchdown passes with 48 . He played in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl against Penn State for the 1986 national championship , a game in which the Miami Hurricanes were heavily favored , but went on to lose 14 – 10 after Testaverde threw five interceptions . Testaverde played an important part in the University of Miami ' s history as one of the top collegiate football programs of the 1980s and 1990s . Along with Jim Kelly and Bernie Kosar , Testaverde is considered part of the University of Miami ' s quarterback dynasty . He was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1998 . On May 7 , 2013 , Testaverde was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame . Professional career . Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Testaverde was the first overall draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1987 NFL draft . That same year , Testaverde became the Bucs ' starting quarterback , with a 47 . 6 % completion rate for 3 , 240 yards and 13 touchdowns , and 35 interception s . During his tenure in Tampa , Testaverde received taunts from fans and radio personalities about his color blindness . In 1988 a radio station in Tampa rented a billboard that had Testaverde standing in front of a blue background . The billboard read : " Vinny thinks this is orange ! " The high number of errors caused his intelligence to be called into question . National Football League Players Association president Gene Upshaw , unaware that his comments could be heard by anyone viewing through a direct satellite uplink , once commented during an NFL Live ! commercial break that Testaverde was so dumb that he would drag the electric cord through his swimming pool while trimming the hedges , and claimed himself to be a better quarterback ( Upshaw was a retired offensive guard ) than Testaverde . His numbers continued to improve , and in the 1992 season , his last with Tampa Bay , he threw for a 57 . 5 % completion rate for 2 , 554 yards , 14 touchdowns , and 16 interceptions . Cleveland Browns / Baltimore Ravens . Testaverde signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Cleveland Browns in 1992 . After spending half a season as a backup to his former Hurricanes teammate Bernie Kosar , he became the starter after Kosar ' s release by then Browns coach Bill Belichick . Testaverde spent three seasons in Cleveland , and in 1994 led the team into the playoffs where they won the AFC wildcard game against New England before being defeated by Pittsburgh . After 1995 , he moved with ( most of ) the rest of the Browns roster , coaches and staff to Baltimore and played two seasons with the newly formed Baltimore Ravens . Testaverde made his first Pro Bowl appearance in 1996 with the Ravens . Said football statistics site " Football Outsiders " of Testaverde ' s unlikely 1996 season , " The real reason the Ravens ranked first in rushing [ efficiency ] was , believe it or not , Vinny Testaverde , who was out of his gourd as a scrambler that season . Ignore the official stats and take out the kneels , and Testaverde had 197 yards on just 23 carries , 8 . 6 yards per carry . He scrambled seven times on third down with 5 - 10 yards to go and converted six of those . He scrambled six times on first - and - 10 and gained a new first down five times . Testaverde had not rushed for 100 yards since 1992 . " New York Jets . In 1998 , his first season with the Jets , Testaverde flourished , completing 61 . 5 % of his passes with 29 touchdowns , seven interceptions , and a 101 . 6 quarterback rating , making the Pro Bowl for the second time . In a December game against the Seattle Seahawks , Testaverde was involved in a play that was cited as an impetus for the NFL ' s adoption of a new instant replay review system the next season . With the Jets trailing 31 - 26 and twenty seconds left in the game , Testaverde attempted to score on a quarterback sneak on fourth and goal from the Seattle five - yard line . Testaverde had been tackled and the ball was not across the goal line when this happened , but because Testaverde ' s helmet had crossed the line the game ' s head linesman , Earnie Frantz , ruled the play a touchdown . The Jets won the game 32 - 31 and the loss was said to have cost the Seahawks a playoff berth and coach Dennis Erickson his job . The game ' s referee , Phil Luckett , drew criticism for the call although he was not the one who made it . In spite of the controversy , Testaverde ' s 1998 season was arguably his best season in the NFL . With him under center the Jets won the AFC East for the first time since the merger and earned a first - round bye and a home playoff game . In the AFC Championship Game that year , they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos . The Jets had Super Bowl hopes entering the 1999 season . However , in the first game of that campaign against the New England Patriots Testaverde suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon and did not play the rest of the season . In 2000 , however , he returned to quarterback the Jets . The highlight of the season was the " Monday Night Miracle " game against the Miami Dolphins on October 23 , 2000 , selected by fans as the greatest game in Monday Night Football history . In that game , the Jets fell behind 30 - 7 going into the fourth quarter , but came back to win the game , 40 - 37 behind five touchdown passes from Testaverde , including one each to Laveranues Coles , Jermaine Wiggins , Jumbo Elliott , and two to Wayne Chrebet . In 2001 , he led the Jets back to the playoffs , where they lost in the first round to the Oakland Raiders . In 2002 , he was replaced after a 1 - 3 start by Chad Pennington . He made cameo appearances to take the last snap in both the playoff clinching game versus the Green Bay Packers and the 41 - 0 playoff win against the Indianapolis Colts . In 2003 , he was assigned to a backup role behind Pennington , although he started the first six games due to Pennington ' s left wrist injury . Dallas Cowboys . Despite his injuries , Testaverde ' s performance with the Jets endeared him to coach Bill Parcells , who retired from coaching in 1999 . One year after Parcells was lured out of retirement by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones , he brought Testaverde to his new team in 2004 . Testaverde initially was signed to be a backup and mentor to young Cowboys quarterback Quincy Carter , but after Carter was abruptly cut by the Cowboys for failing a drug test , Testaverde was given the starting quarterback job . While many questioned Testaverde ' s ability to still play in the NFL , the protection schemes and play calling allowed him to showcase his arm , although with mixed results . He was able to throw for significant yardage , but led the league in interceptions , getting picked off on 4 % of his passes . Dallas finished the 2004 season 6 - 10 , tied for third and last place in the NFC East division . Testaverde ' s one - year contract with the Cowboys expired early in 2005 . The Cowboys chose to instead sign Parcells ' s 1993 number one draft pick , Drew Bledsoe , as their top quarterback , leaving Testaverde without a contract . Parcells cites Testaverde ' s presence in Dallas as having been important to the development of current starter Tony Romo . Second stint with the New York Jets . As injuries on September 25 , 2005 knocked both Chad Pennington and backup Jay Fiedler out for the 2005 season , the New York Jets re - signed Testaverde on September 27 , 2005 . Testaverde was named the Jets ' starting quarterback in week five of the 2005 season , in a home game against the team that originally drafted him , the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . On December 26 , against the New England Patriots on the final ABC telecast of " Monday Night Football " , Testaverde set a new NFL record for most consecutive seasons with at least one touchdown pass , 19 , by throwing a 27 - yard pass to Laveranues Coles to secure the record . That pass is also notable as being the last touchdown pass thrown on " Monday Night Football " while it was still broadcast by ABC . The game was also notable because the Patriots sent in back - up quarterback Doug Flutie , making this the first game in NFL history in which two quarterbacks over the age of 40 completed a pass ( Testaverde was 42 , Flutie was 43 ) . New England Patriots . On November 14 , 2006 , the New England Patriots signed Testaverde as a backup to starter Tom Brady ( the only other quarterback on New England ' s roster at the time was Matt Cassel ) . Testaverde kneeled down for the final play in a victory against the Packers on November 19 , 2006 . Testaverde threw a touchdown pass to Troy Brown on December 31 , 2006 against the Tennessee Titans , giving him at least one touchdown pass for the twentieth straight season , extending his NFL record . The Patriots defeated the Jets , Testaverde ' s former team , in the first round of the playoffs , and Testaverde took the last couple of snaps to run out the clock . Testaverde wore # 14 with the Patriots , the second time the number has been re - issued since Steve Grogan ' s retirement as P . K . Sam wore it earlier in the decade . On May 29 , 2007 , Testaverde stated his interest in returning to the Patriots for the 2007 NFL season , and on July 13 , 2007 confirmed this with Sporting News Radio . He officially signed a 1 - year contract for $ 825 , 000 on August 18 , 2007 , but was released on September 1 , 2007 . Carolina Panthers . With Jake Delhomme out for the 2007 season due to an elbow injury he suffered in a Week 3 victory over the Atlanta Falcons , and David Carr out with a sore back , the Panthers signed Testaverde on October 10 , 2007 . Testaverde , wearing # 16 , started his first game with the team on October 14 , 2007 against the Arizona Cardinals . In that game he threw a 65 - yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith , extending his NFL record to 21 consecutive seasons with a touchdown pass . After leading the Panthers to a 25 - 10 victory , the 43 - year - old became the oldest starting quarterback to win a game in NFL history , and the third - oldest to start one . He has also thrown touchdown passes to 71 different players , also a record . On Sunday October 28 , coach John Fox named Testaverde the starting quarterback against the Indianapolis Colts . In that game , Testaverde led the Panthers in the longest opening drive for a touchdown in franchise history , consisting of 18 plays and lasting for an unprecedented 11 minutes and one second . Despite winning time of possession in the first half of the game , the Panthers entered the locker room under a 3 - point deficit . In the second half , Testaverde left the field with a strained Achilles tendon , and was replaced by former Houston Texans quarterback David Carr . Ultimately , the Panthers lost 31 - 7 . Reports said that Testaverde would be out for at least a week . On November 18 , 2007 , Testaverde and the Panthers played at Lambeau Field against Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers for their Week 11 matchup . With Testaverde at 44 years of age and Favre at 38 years of age , this was the oldest starting quarterback duo in any game in NFL history . The " Senior Bowl " , as it was nicknamed in the media , was won by Favre ' s Packers 31 - 17 . On December 2 , 2007 , Testaverde became the second oldest starting quarterback in NFL history at 44 years and 19 days old . He threw two touchdown passes against the San Francisco 49ers in the Panthers ' win , breaking his own record for the oldest starter to win an NFL game . During this game , Testaverde and Dante Rosario became the passer / receiver duo with the largest age gap between them ( 20 years , 346 days ) to connect for a touchdown . Testaverde announced his plans for retirement on December 29 , 2007 which would take effect after the final game of the season for Carolina on December 30 . Panthers coach John Fox sent him into the game to take the final kneel - down snap in a game which the Panthers won 31 - 23 over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , expectantly bringing to an end to the 44 - year - old ' s 21 - year NFL career at the same city he was originally drafted by . By the start of 2008 , he made it official by announcing his retirement in January . He , therefore , first became eligible for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013 . Testaverde holds several NFL records related to his longevity in the league , including the NFL record for having thrown a touchdown pass in 21 consecutive seasons , the most losses by a starting quarterback with 123 , and throwing touchdown passes to an NFL record 70 different players . Also , he holds the second highest completion percentage in a single game during the regular season ( at least 20 attempts ) at 91 . 3 % ( 21 / 23 ) , in 1993 vs . the Los Angeles Rams ( Kurt Warner is the first , with 24 / 26 for 92 . 3 % ) . Career statistics . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > The Cleveland Browns moved to Maryland and became the Baltimore Ravens following the 1995 season . The Browns and Ravens legally have separate team records as part of the settlement of the city of Cleveland ' s lawsuit against the team and NFL . < br > Personal . He and his wife , Mitzi , have two daughters , Alicia Marie and Madeleine , and a son , Vincent , Jr . He is currently the Quarterbacks Coach at Jesuit High School of Tampa , where his son Vincent , Jr . attends . They reside in Tampa , Florida .