Aaron Brooks ( American football ) Aaron Lafette Brooks ( born March 24 , 1976 ) is a retired American football quarterback of the NFL . He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft . He played college football at Virginia . Brooks played for the New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders . Brooks retired in 2007 as the Saints ' franchise leader in season and career touchdown passes , though both records have since been broken by Drew Brees . Early years . Brooks lived in a public housing project in the East End area of Newport News . Mentored by Coach Tommy Reamon , Brooks played high school football and graduated from Homer L . Ferguson High School in Newport News . He was awarded a scholarship to attend the University of Virginia ( UVA ) , from which he graduated in 1999 . College career . Brooks enrolled at the University of Virginia in the fall of 1994 and was a redshirt as a true freshman . He was a back - up to Mike Groh in 1995 . He competed with fifth year senior Tim Sherman , whose father Tom was wide receivers coach , for the starting quarterback job in 1996 . The Cavaliers were returning defensive players such as Jamie Sharper , James Farrior , and Ronde Barber . The offense was led by running back Tiki Barber . The coaching staff made Sherman , who had played well against Michigan and Virginia Tech in 1995 after starter Mike Groh went down to injury , the primary quarterback instead of the inexperienced Brooks . Nonetheless , Brooks received playing time in nearly all games and was the primary quarterback in a few . Inconsistent quarterback play by both Brooks and Sherman led to an underachieving season , and Virginia fans to this day still debate the quarterback play of the 1996 season . Brooks was the starter in 1997 . Both Brooks and the team struggled in the early part of the season but surged late to finish 7 - 4 . The Cavaliers , however , were not invited to a bowl game . In 1998 , the team got off to a strong start and was briefly in the top ten . The highlight of the year , and Brooks ' career , was the season finale at Virginia Tech . The Cavaliers were down 29 - 7 at halftime , but Brooks led the biggest comeback in school history in the 36 - 32 victory . The final regular season record was 9 - 2 . The Cavaliers lost 35 - 33 to Georgia at the Peach Bowl . Professional career . Green Bay Packers . In 1999 , Brooks began his career as a third - string backup to Brett Favre behind second - string quarterback Matt Hasselbeck , taking no snaps during the regular season . New Orleans Saints . For Brooks , the high point in his career with the Saints came very early . In the 2000 season , his first with the franchise , Brooks took over as starting quarterback after Jeff Blake was knocked out with a broken foot in the team ' s 11th game . In his first NFL start , Brooks led the Saints to a 31 - 24 victory over the defending Super Bowl champion St . Louis Rams on the road , becoming the first QB in NFL history to accomplish that feat ( defeating the previous year ' s Super Bowl winner on the road in first career NFL start ) . Brooks led the team to a 3 - 2 record in his 5 starts , and an overall 10 - 6 record ( improving on their 3 - 13 record of 1999 ) , winning the NFC West championship . Brooks threw nine touchdowns and six interceptions in eight games and five starts in the regular season for an 85 . 7 quarterback rating . In the playoffs , the Saints defeated the defending Super Bowl champion St . Louis Rams , 31 - 28 . The Saints were without their star running back ( Ricky Williams ) and lost their best receiver ( Joe Horn ) early in the game , but Brooks threw four touchdown passes to lead the Saints to their first playoff win in franchise history , becoming the first QB in NFL history to eliminate the defending Super Bowl champions in his first career postseason start . The Saints then went on to lose to the Minnesota Vikings , 34 - 16 , to end their season with an overall 11 - 7 record . In 2001 , the Saints only went 7 - 9 , ending with a four game losing streak . In these last four games of the season with Brooks at the helm , the Saints would be outscored by more than 100 points , 160 - 52 . Although Brooks did manage to throw a then franchise record tying 26 touchdowns and an overall career best 3 , 832 passing yards in his first full season as a starting quarterback , his consistency came into question as he also threw for a still standing franchise record 22 interceptions until recently matched by Drew Brees in the 2010 season . In 2002 , Brooks helped lead the Saints to a 6 - 2 record and guided an offense that averaged 32 points a game through the first half of the season before the team imploded in the second half . The Saints proceeded to go to a pedestrian 3 - 5 to finish the season . During that stretch , at 9 - 4 , their last three games were against the Minnesota Vikings , Cincinnati Bengals , and Carolina Panthers , all long since eliminated from playoff contention . With only one victory out of those three games required to reach the postseason , the Saints gave up a touchdown and two point conversion to lose at home to Minnesota , were unable to stop the 1 - 13 Bengals ' running game led by fullback Nick Luchey , and lost against Carolina , by only scoring two field goals in the Louisiana Super Dome in a 6 - 10 loss . In the 6 - 10 loss to the Carolina Panthers , Brooks was berated by the sellout crowd in the Louisiana Superdome as the home fans chanted , " We Want Jake " ( in reference to backup QB Jake Delhomme ) and they also booed him during pre - game introductions as the Saints fans became the 12th man of the Panthers ' defense . During the season , Brooks would become injured during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Louisiana Superdome . Delhomme had come at the end of the fourth quarter to secure the win by throwing a 3rd down completion to Saint wide receiver Joe Horn to run out the clock with kneel downs and end the game . The win completed a sweep of the to be Super Bowl champions and gained the Saints seemingly full control of the NFC South . Both Brooks and the coaching staff were reluctant to replace Brooks afterwards , who was obviously hurting . His passing soon became erratic and sluggish after the game . On fourth down during the last play of the Cincinnati loss , Brooks threw an errant pass out of bounds to avoid an interception . To the dismay of fans , the team announced during the off - season that Brooks would indeed need shoulder surgery . To add salt to the wound , Delhomme signed with the Panthers in the off - season and led the team to the Super Bowl the following year , coming up just short to the New England Patriots . Not all was terrible for Brooks , as he himself threw for a then franchise record 27 touchdowns , superseding his previous career high of 26 just the year before . 2003 was statistically Brooks ' most efficient year as a passer , as he compiled an 88 . 8 Quarterback Rating , a 3 : 1 touchdown to interception ratio ( 24 touchdowns to eight interceptions ) , and a 59 . 1 percent completion percentage , all career bests . 2003 was also the year that Brooks threw the famous " cell phone " touchdown to Joe Horn in which Horn put a cell phone under a goal post . Horn earned a $ 30 , 000 fine for his antics . However , things only got worse for Brooks and the Saints the following week after a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars . A close game came down to the Saints executing a five lateral play started by a Brooks pass , dubbed the " River City Relay . " The joy was short lived however , as kicker John Carney missed the subsequent extra point that would have sent the game into overtime . ( However , the wild card team that had to lose for the Saints to win and get into the playoffs won , so it was moot regardless ) , and another Saints season had ended without a playoff appearance . In 2004 , after a 4 - 8 start , Brooks led the Saints on a four game winning streak to finish the season , reaching the brink of the playoffs , but tiebreakers involving the St . Louis Rams and the Minnesota Vikings did the Saints in . Brooks , though , was key to two of their victories in the four game winning streak , converting a key 4th and 12 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers through a scramble to keep the game winning touchdown drive alive , and also by posting a 102 . 1 Quarterback Rating and no interceptions against the Carolina Panthers at the end of the season . Overall as a passer , Brooks regressed , as he threw for twice as many interceptions as the year before with 16 . This would also be the final year Brooks would throw for more than , at 3 , 810 . On December 13 , 2005 , after a loss on national television to the Falcons , the Saints benched Brooks and announced Todd Bouman as the team ' s starter for the last three games of the season . It was truly an abysmal year for the quarterback as he threw for more interceptions , 17 , as he did touchdowns , 13 , for the first time in his career . This year ended Brooks ' career as a starter for the Saints . In New Orleans , Brooks became one of the NFL ' s leaders in game - winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime with 16 ( behind only Tom Brady ) , including five in 2004 . Brooks took over as the starter in 2000 in relief of the injured Jeff Blake in Week 11 ( vs . Oakland ) , he started the following week and took every starting snap until the last month of the 2005 season , when he was benched . Brooks played in 72 regular - season games with the Saints , including starting the last 69 contests . His 441 passing yards vs . Denver was the highest single - game total in franchise history until Drew Brees surpassed it while throwing for 510 yds on November 19 , 2006 . Brooks also has the distinction of being the only Saints quarterback to rush for over 100 yds in a contest ( 108 vs . San Francisco ) . In 2004 , Brooks set club marks for attempts ( 60 ) and completions ( 34 ) in a contest . Oakland Raiders . After being released by the Saints , Brooks was signed by the Oakland Raiders on March 22 , 2006 . He was the starter going into training camp . In his first regular season game as a Raider , he was sacked 9 times by the San Diego Chargers in a 27 - 0 loss . Brooks dislocated his shoulder in his second game against the Baltimore Ravens and missed the next several weeks . Second - year quarterback Andrew Walter started the next seven games for Oakland . After a 2 - 5 record over that span , a healthy Brooks was placed back into the starter ' s role . Despite slightly improved play , Brooks was unable to lead the defensive Raiders to very much success finishing with a league worst 2 - 14 record . Brooks also went on to have a career low 61 . 7 quarterback rating , and again threw more interceptions , eight , than touchdowns , three . On February 22 , 2007 Brooks was released by the Raiders , when they did not pick up his option . Post - playing career . Following his retirement from pro football in 2007 , Brooks announced plans to be a land developer . In the summer of 2008 , work began on his first project to be underway , Burlington Woods , an upscale subdivision located on in James City County , Virginia . Burlington Woods will consist of 26 lots that will be to . The four to five bedroom homes are expected to be from to in size . Brooks said he will oversee the project through its completion , but Ryan Homes will take over the construction phase once the individual lots are prepped . Earlier in 2008 , he announced plans to invest in Southeast Commerce Center , a redevelopment project in his hometown of Newport News . In a July 2008 interview , Brooks described plans to redevelop part of downtown Newport News , a city that shares many of the same social problems as New Orleans . The multimillion - dollar investment would be a mixed - use development between Jefferson and Terminal avenues and 33rd and 29th streets in the economically depressed East End area . , including 190 town houses , a grocery store and retail offerings . Vice Mayor Charles Allen , who has represented the district for 16 years on the Newport News City Council , said that it was " significant that one of our own has taken his resources and other resources to show us that we can do it . It ' s a good day . It ' s a good day for our community . " Brooks commented , " It ' s a great opportunity to give back to the community and at the same time let retailers know we don ' t just have the stigma of being ' bad news , ' . . . a lot of hard - working , middle - class people that live in the area . I ' m just trying to make the area better for them . " As of August 2010 , the project had not commenced , but was reported to be back on track after negotiations between Brooks and the city council . Personal . He is the second cousin of Michael and Marcus Vick .