Tyler Thigpen Tyler Beckham Thigpen ( born April 14 , 1984 ) is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League ( NFL ) . Thigpen was drafted out of Coastal Carolina University in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft ( 217th overall ) by the Minnesota Vikings . Tyler Thigpen was the first quarterback to play for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football team . He led the Chanticleers program to a 30 – 8 record as starting quarterback . Thigpen holds the single - season and career passing records in every major statistical category at Coastal Carolina . After seeing little playing time in 2007 , Thigpen entered the 2008 Kansas City Chiefs season as the third - string quarterback , but emerged as the starting quarterback following season - ending injuries to Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard . The Chiefs subsequently altered their offensive gameplan to a spread offense to help Thigpen and the rest of the young Chiefs team to play to the best of their abilities . Thigpen recorded 22 touchdowns ( 18 passing , 3 rushing and 1 receiving ) against 12 interceptions in 11 starts , though he led the Chiefs to a 1 – 10 record . During the 2009 season , the Chiefs acquired quarterback Matt Cassel and Thigpen was later traded to the Miami Dolphins . . On April 2 , 2013 it was reported on Twitter by ProFootball Central that Thigpen had agreed to join the Seattle Seahawks . Early years . Thigpen was born in Winnsboro , South Carolina , and he attended Fairfield Central High School in Winnsboro . He became an All - South Carolina selection as a senior running back . Thigpen also played wide receiver and punter in high school while earning the nickname " Dirty Pigpen " . College career . In February 2002 , he elected to go to Coastal Carolina University in Conway , South Carolina , and majored in sports management . Thigpen was the first quarterback in Coastal Carolina history , and wore the jersey number 16 . The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football program began in 2003 . The team competes in the Big South Conference of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision . Thigpen and the rest of the Chanticleers ' first recruiting class redshirted their freshman year ( 2002 ) . In 2003 he started nine of ten games for the team and was third on the team ' s roster in rushing . After the Chanticleers ' inaugural season in which the team finished with a 6 – 5 record , Thigpen led the team to a 10 – 1 record in 2004 . In 2004 , Thigpen started the opening 8 games before suffering a season - ending shoulder injury against Gardner - Webb . In 2005 , Thigpen started all 11 games for the Chanticleers and earned the Big South Conference Offensive Player of the Week Award after rushing for 111 yards and 3 touchdowns and throwing for 157 yards in a victory over the Virginia Military Institute . In 2006 , Thigpen became the first Chanticleer to be chosen a consensus All - American . He registered a career - high 119 rushing yards at Gardner - Webb , including a 76 - yard bootleg . He was named Big South Conference Player of the Year in 2006 , when he completed 217 - of - 339 passes for 3 , 296 yards and 29 touchdowns , and carried 113 times for 656 yards and five touchdowns . Thigpen had a 30 – 8 record in four seasons ( 41 games and 39 starts ) . From 2003 to 2006 , the Chanticleers had a 34 – 11 record in Thigpen ' s four seasons with the team , winning three Big South Conference championships . He played alongside wide receiver Jerome Simpson and running back Mike Tolbert , both current NFL players , to help lead the young Chanticleers program to major victories against No . 1 James Madison in 2005 , and No . 3 Furman in 2006 . He led the Chanticleers to the NCAA Division I - AA playoffs and a Big South Conference championship . Thigpen holds the single - season and career passing records in every major statistical category at Coastal Carolina . Statistics . " Statistics as of the end of Thigpen ' s collegiate career ( 2006 ) . " Professional career . Pre - draft . Thigpen was not invited to the NFL Scouting Combine , but impressed NFL scouts at his pro day ( held on March 8 , 2007 on the campus of Coastal Carolina ) and attended a workout at Clemson University to help raise his draft stock . Minnesota Vikings . Thigpen was selected 217th overall in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings , becoming the first player in Coastal Carolina and Big South Conference history to be drafted in the NFL . In the 2007 preseason , the Vikings hosted the St . Louis Rams , losing the game by a score of 13 – 10 . Kansas City Chiefs scout and vice president of player personnel Bill Kuharich attended the game at the Hubert H . Humphrey Metrodome . Thigpen played in the fourth quarter and in two possessions with the Vikings offense and completed 3 - of - 6 passes for 29 yards and picked up 18 yards on two scrambles . Kuharich filed a scouting report following the game and told the rest of the Chiefs personnel to keep an eye on Thigpen if he were to be released after the preseason . On May 18 , 2007 , Thigpen became the first of eight Vikings drafted in 2007 to sign a contract , agreeing to a four - year deal . Thigpen then competed with Brooks Bollinger , Tarvaris Jackson , and Drew Henson for a quarterback roster spot for the 2007 NFL season . The Vikings released Thigpen on September 1 , 2007 along with several other players . The Vikings planned on signing Thigpen to their practice squad after passing waivers . Kansas City Chiefs . 2007 season . Several NFL teams had just two quarterbacks on their active roster heading into the season , including the Kansas City Chiefs , who had just recently released quarterbacks Casey Printers and Jeff Terrell . Concerning the roster move , Thigpen said , " I definitely felt this was coming . . . I wasn ' t surprised by it at all . It was still a great opportunity for me and the Vikings are still trying to keep me around . " Thigpen was signed by the Chiefs the following day . Vikings head coach Brad Childress was reportedly upset when the Chiefs claimed Thigpen on waivers . Thigpen was seen as showing a lot of potential following a strong preseason , whereas the Vikings were otherwise thin on talent at the quarterback position . Going into the 2007 NFL Draft , the Chiefs had Thigpen on their list of players that they had considering selecting in the later rounds , possibly with their seventh round selection ( # 231 ) . As the draft played out , the Vikings chose Thigpen with the 217th choice . With the Chiefs , Thigpen made his regular season debut replacing an injured Damon Huard versus the San Diego Chargers on December 12 , 2007 in the game ' s final minutes . The Chiefs lost the game by a score of 24 – 10 . Thigpen finished the game 2 - of - 6 for 41 yards and an interception . Later in the week at practice , he tore his medial collateral ligament ( MCL ) and was placed on injured reserve , ending his season . 2008 season . Prior to the 2008 season , Thigpen impressed Chiefs coaches enough to make the team think he could challenge for , and even win , the team ' s starting job against the incumbent Brodie Croyle . Thigpen was listed as the third - string quarterback on the Chiefs ' depth chart at the beginning of the 2008 NFL season and made his season debut on September 14 against the Oakland Raiders , when Damon Huard left with " mild head trauma . " Thigpen connected on 14 - of - 33 passes for 151 yards . Thigpen made his first NFL start on September 21 , 2008 against the Atlanta Falcons . Thigpen struggled in the game , finishing 14 - of - 36 and passing for 128 yards with 3 interceptions in the 14 – 38 loss . The Chiefs trailed the Falcons 24 – 0 until Thigpen threw a touchdown pass to Dwayne Bowe just before halftime . Thigpen ' s third interception was returned for a touchdown with just over a minute remaining in the game . In the week prior to the game , Chiefs coach Herman Edwards insisted he would substitute Damon Huard into the game if Thigpen struggled . Edwards contemplated it during the game , but decided against it reasoning that Thigpen " put some points on the board . " Following the game , asked if Thigpen would keep the starting job , Edwards said , " We ' ll see . " The following week , Huard was retained as the Chiefs ' starting quarterback . However , Thigpen was again awarded the starting position after Croyle and Huard were placed on injured reserve , ending both of their seasons . With the absence of running back Larry Johnson , the central part of the Chiefs ' offense in years past , offensive coordinator Chan Gailey adjusted the offense to mimic the spread formation run by Thigpen at Coastal Carolina . Herman Edwards and Chan Gailey chose to implement the spread offense in order to prepare Thigpen for his second career start . By changing the gameplan , the Chiefs ' offense began to find an identity after swapping their power running game for spread - type formations that best suited Thigpen . By implementing the spread offense , the Chiefs made a huge gamble , as most in the NFL believe that a spread offense cannot work in professional football . Upon Larry Johnson ' s return , Chan Gailey and Edwards implemented the pistol offense to keep Thigpen in the spread while allowing Johnson to run downhill . However efficient the Chiefs became in running the spread offense , it became limited in the red zone , and the Chiefs struggled to finish out winning games . In Thigpen ' s second career start , he passed for 280 yards with a 69 . 4 % completion rate , with two touchdowns and no interceptions against the New York Jets , nearly leading the Chiefs to win over the heavily - favored Jets . Thigpen scored his first receiving touchdown the following week versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . The 37 - yard pass was from wide receiver Mark Bradley in a Wildcat formation . Thigpen also passed for 164 yards , a touchdown , no interceptions , and a 56 . 0 % completion rate in the 30 – 27 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Thigpen became only the fifth player in Chiefs ' history ( and the first quarterback ) to throw a touchdown pass and also score touchdowns by running and receiving . In the game , the Chiefs led 24 – 3 with a little more than two minutes remaining in the second quarter and seemed headed for just their second victory of the season . The Buccaneers rallied back and won the game in overtime with 24 unanswered points . Thigpen continued his impressive play the following week in the Chiefs ' 20 – 19 loss to the San Diego Chargers , completing 27 - of - 41 passes for 266 yards , three touchdowns and no interceptions . That gave him six touchdown passes and no turnovers in his previous three games . After throwing three interceptions against the Falcons and appearing lucky to avoid throwing twice that many , Thigpen competed 124 straight passes without an interception through Week 10 . Thigpen ' s no - interception streak ended at 161 in the closing seconds of a 30 – 20 loss to the New Orleans Saints , but Thigpen still managed to complete 19 - of - 38 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns to Dwayne Bowe . Thigpen became the first Chiefs quarterback to throw a touchdown pass in four consecutive games since Trent Green in 2005 . Prior to the Chiefs implementing the spread offense , Thigpen had been playing erratically with the Chiefs , and he suddenly became poised and effective running the new offense . His passer rating has climbed from 44 . 3 to 76 . 9 in the five games following his initial start at Atlanta . The Chiefs scored more than 10 points just twice in their first six games , but scored more offensive points than that in every game after , and twice had topped 25 . Thigpen had his first bad game in five outings against the Buffalo Bills on November 23 in the Chiefs ' 54 – 31 loss . Thigpen ' s three turnovers ( two interceptions and one lost fumble ) led to 20 points by the Bills . Despite the turnovers , Thigpen also threw for 240 yards and three touchdowns . Thigpen won his first game as the Chiefs ' starter on November 30 against the Oakland Raiders , leading Kansas City to a 20 – 13 victory . Thigpen finished 15 - of - 22 for 162 yards and ran for 48 more . The victory ended a 7 - game losing streak for the Chiefs . The following week , Thigpen kept the Chiefs competitive against the Denver Broncos , holding onto a 17 – 17 tie into the fourth quarter . After the Chiefs lost the lead to Denver , Thigpen drove the Chiefs all the way to the Broncos ' 5 - yard line , where his draw on fourth - and - goal was snuffed out by Broncos cornerback Dré Bly at the 1 - yard line . The Broncos held their 24 – 17 lead and sent the Chiefs to a 2 – 11 record on the season . The following week against the Chargers , Thigpen was 19 - of - 38 for 171 yards with two touchdowns . Thigpen ' s first touchdown in the game ( to Dwayne Bowe ) gave the Chiefs a 14 – 0 lead over the Chargers , and his second touchdown ( rushed in from 3 yards out ) gave Kansas City a 21 – 3 lead in the third quarter . The Chiefs had a 21 – 10 lead with 1 : 19 remaining the game , but allowed two touchdowns and lost the Chargers 22 – 21 . Kansas City hosted the Miami Dolphins in the second - coldest game ever held at Arrowhead Stadium on December 21 with the game - time temperature at 10 °F . Thigpen threw a career best 320 yards with two touchdowns , but also threw three interceptions . Despite trailing 10 – 0 early in the game , Thigpen led the Chiefs to a 28 – 24 lead by halftime . The Chiefs failed to score a touchdown in the second half of the game and lost 38 – 31 . In the Chiefs ' final game of the 2008 season , the Chiefs lost to the Cincinnati Bengals 16 – 6 . The Chiefs ' offense managed to get only two first downs in the first half of the game . Thigpen finished the game 19 - of - 26 for 191 yards and one touchdown . Thigpen ' s final statistics for the 2008 season included 21 total touchdowns , 12 interceptions , and 2 , 994 all - purpose yards . He lost 10 of the 11 games he started at quarterback , six of which were lost by margins of seven points or less . 2009 season . Following a 2 – 14 season , Thigpen appeared to be the Chiefs ' lone quarterback who would remain in their plans for 2009 , especially after Damon Huard was released . Though Thigpen had earned the right to compete for the starting job , the Chiefs were expected to add a high - end quarterback through free agency or the 2009 NFL Draft . Despite impressing coaches in Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard ' s absence , Thigpen was not a lock for the starting job . Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez voiced his support for Thigpen to retain the position for the 2009 season . " It would be a disgrace if they don ' t ( keep Thigpen as the starting quarterback ) " , Gonzalez told ESPN . " We ' ve been playing well since he came in . . . I could see this being a playoff team next year . I could see us turning it around . " Gonzalez was later traded to the Atlanta Falcons . The " Kansas City Star " reported that Herman Edwards ' coaching staff would meet after the 2008 season to debate Thigpen ' s prospects and whether to keep the spread offense the team adjusted to in a seemingly temporary move earlier this season . Edwards was fired as head coach but Chan Gailey , who implemented the spread offense , was retained as offensive coordinator under new head coach Todd Haley . The Chiefs acquired quarterback Matt Cassel from the New England Patriots on February 28 for a second - round draft selection . Head coach Todd Haley initially said that Thigpen would compete against Cassel for the starting quarterback position , but the first depth chart in training camp listed Thigpen as the third quarterback behind Brodie Croyle . Thigpen competed with Croyle for the backup quarterback position , and the Chiefs listened to trade offers in exchange for Thigpen throughout the offseason . The Jacksonville Jaguars offering a fifth - round draft pick but Kansas City ultimately declined . Thigpen played in Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens , having one rushing attempt for two yards . He was listed as inactive for weeks two and three . Miami Dolphins . Thigpen was traded to the Miami Dolphins for an undisclosed draft pick on September 29 , 2009 . The move came just two days after Dolphins starting quarterback Chad Pennington suffered a season - ending shoulder injury . After spending the first 15 games with the Dolphins as the inactive 3rd QB , Thigpen made his first appearance for the Dolphins in week 17 against the Steelers after both Chad Henne and Pat White left the game with injuries . He scored a touchdown , but later ended up throwing an interception in the end zone during a pivotal point in the game . Thigpen was given another chance to drive the Dolphins down the field with only 40 seconds on the clock , but he overthrew the receiver which resulted in his second interception of the game . In the Dolphins initial off - season depth chart , Thigpen was listed as the number 2 quarterback , behind Chad Henne . He was listed ahead of former starter Chad Pennington and Pat White . After Chad Henne threw three interceptions in the Dolphins game against New England on October 4 , 2010 , Thigpen came in and completed 2 of 6 passes for 15 yards and an interception . He also scrambled once for 12 yards . In week 9 , Thigpen was passed over when Chad Pennington was named starter for the rest of the season . However , after both Pennington and Henne went down with injuries in a home game against the Tennessee Titans , Thigpen entered the game and threw for a touchdown pass in a Dolphins win against the Tennessee Titans . Thigpen started next game against the Chicago Bears , but was replaced by Henne the following week . Buffalo Bills . On July 26 , 2011 , he agreed to terms with the Buffalo Bills on a three - year contract .