Jake Delhomme Jake Christopher Delhomme ( ; born January 10 , 1975 ) is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent in the National Football League . Delhomme played college football at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette before being signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent after the 1997 NFL Draft . Delhomme began his professional career as a practice squad player with the Saints in 1997 and 1998 and played in the NFL Europe for two years in between NFL seasons . Returning to the Saints , Delhomme played his first NFL games in 1999 . Delhomme played as the Carolina Panthers starting quarterback from 2003 to 2009 . Delhomme holds most of Carolina ' s quarterback record and led the team to Super Bowl XXXVIII in his first season with Carolina . Since his departure from Carolina , Delhomme has also played for the Cleveland Browns in 2010 and Houston Texans in 2011 . Early years . Delhomme was born to Jerry and Marcia Delhomme , both Cajun s ; the last name Delhomme translates into " of the man " . Jake ' s grandfather bred horses , and Jake ' s father was a jockey who began racing at eight years old . Jake has called horses his " first love " , and today he , his father , and his brother own and train thoroughbreds . Delhomme played both quarterback and defensive back for Teurlings Catholic ; he made the all - state team in high school not as quarterback , but on defense . College career . Delhomme played college football for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette , then named the University of Southwestern Louisiana , his mother ' s alma mater . The only true freshman quarterback to start for a Division I school in 1993 , his passer efficiency rating ranked second among NCAA freshmen quarterbacks . Playing on a team with future NFL wide receiver Brandon Stokley and offensive lineman Anthony Clement the Ragin ' Cajuns won the Big West Conference twice , and finished with three winning seasons . During his senior year , he led the Ragin ' Cajuns to an improbable win over highly favored Texas A & M 29 – 22 . Delhomme finished his career as the school ' s all - time passing leader in yards and touchdowns . He started the last 43 games of his career , which was the longest among active quarterbacks at the time . Upon graduating , he was ranked 22nd in NCAA history for passing yards and 28th in total offense . He was inducted into the school ' s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006 . Professional career . New Orleans Saints and NFL Europe . Delhomme went undrafted in the 1997 NFL Draft , but was later signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent . After spending the first season on the practice squad , he was assigned to the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe as a backup quarterback to future NFL and Super Bowl MVP , Kurt Warner . After another stint on the Saints ' practice squad , he was sent back to NFL Europe , this time as a member of the Frankfurt Galaxy . The Galaxy operated under a rare two - quarterback strategy , utilizing both Delhomme and Pat Barnes ; the pair was known as the " Double - Headed Quarterback Monster " . The unorthodox strategy worked , as the Galaxy won World Bowl ' 99 over the Barcelona Dragons . Delhomme would later say about his time in Europe : Following his success in Europe , he was brought back to New Orleans as the full - time third - string quarterback . In his first NFL start against the Dallas Cowboys , he threw two touchdowns en route to a Saints victory , the team ' s third . Delhomme continued to see limited playing time the following three seasons , as he was the backup to Aaron Brooks and Jeff Blake . He managed to lead all NFC quarterbacks in overall passer rating during the 2001 and 2002 preseasons . His success , coupled with the team ' s struggles , led fans to chant " We Want Jake , We Want Jake " . Carolina Panthers . With Aaron Brooks cemented as the starter in New Orleans , Delhomme was interested in fighting for a starting spot in the NFL . In the 2003 offseason , he met with representatives from both the Carolina Panthers and the Dallas Cowboys . He eventually signed with Carolina as a free agent . It was his performance against Dallas in 1999 that made new Panthers coach John Fox take notice . The Panthers had been struggling , and were just one season removed from a dismal 1 - 15 season , during which they set a then - NFL record for consecutive losses in a single season . Although Rodney Peete was the Panthers ' starter , Delhomme was looked at to be the future of the franchise . It did not take long for him to take over . 2003 season and Super Bowl XXXVIII . At halftime of the 2003 season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars , the Panthers were down 17 – 0 . Delhomme took over for Peete and threw three touchdowns , the last coming in a fourth - down situation with just 16 seconds left in the game , to lead the Panthers to a comeback victory . He started the following week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , and proceeded to start every game during the 2003 season . Including the playoffs , Delhomme led the Panthers on eight game - winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime in the 2003 season , the most game - winning drives any QB has ever had in a single season . Delhomme led the Panthers on a Cinderella run through the playoffs , including a double - overtime victory against the St . Louis Rams . The Panthers made it through to Super Bowl XXXVIII to face the New England Patriots . Despite his personal success in the game ( 16 - of - 33 for 323 yards , 3 passing touchdowns , no interceptions , and a 113 . 6 passer rating ) , as well as setting a record for longest offensive play from scrimmage in Super Bowl history ( an 85 - yard pass to Muhsin Muhammad ) , the Panthers fell on a last - minute field goal by Adam Vinatieri . Delhomme was seen standing on the field during the Patriots ' post - game celebration ; he later commented : 2004 season . The 2004 season proved bittersweet for Delhomme , as he posted career highs in pass attempts , completions , overall yardage , and touchdowns . Unfortunately , the team was stricken with injuries , fielding five different combinations in their offensive line alone . Starting the season 1 – 7 after the early losses of running backs Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster , as well as Steve Smith , their leading wide receiver , the Panthers rallied for a fantastic second half of the season . Delhomme finished the final eight games of the season with a passer rating of 102 . 8 , fourth best in the league during that period . He also threw 17 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions en route to winning six of their last eight games . They ultimately positioned themselves for a playoff berth , but lost that chance with a final game loss to Delhomme ' s former team , the New Orleans Saints . 2005 season . 2005 saw Delhomme return the Panthers to the playoffs . In addition to the team ' s success , Delhomme had one of his most productive seasons as a quarterback . His 11 victories as a starting quarterback set a team record , and he set career highs in completion percentage ( 60 . 2 ) and passer rating ( 88 . 1 ) . In addition , his success led to Steve Smith leading the league in receptions , receiving yards , and receiving touchdowns , becoming only the third wide receiver to accomplish the " triple crown " in league history . Once again , he led the Panthers through the playoffs , including a shutout of the New York Giants , although the team ultimately fell to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game . 2006 season . Delhomme started the 2006 season as the Panthers ' quarterback , the first time in franchise history that the same quarterback was the starter for three straight seasons . He set records during the season by making 150 consecutive pass attempts without an interception , bettering Steve Beuerlein ' s previous team record . The following week against the Washington Redskins , he continued his assault on the team record books by breaking Beuerlein ' s records for completions and passing yards . Unfortunately , he injured his thumb in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles , and missed three games . During his time off , Chris Weinke started for the first time since the 2002 season , and in his first game shattered the team record for passing yards in a single game with 423 yards , but his three interceptions cost the Panthers the game against the New York Giants . Weinke could only manage a single victory in Delhomme ' s absence ( against the rival Atlanta Falcons , only his second victory as an NFL starter ) , and Delhomme returned for the season finale against the New Orleans Saints . 2007 season and injury . The 2007 season season started with a win against the St . Louis Rams and a loss to the Houston Texans . However , in the third game of the season ( against division rival Atlanta Falcons ) , Delhomme suffered an elbow injury that would set off a series of changes for the Panthers at the quarterback position . David Carr , who signed with Carolina in the off - season , took over as the Panthers ' starting quarterback . After Carr injured his back in a defeat of the New Orleans Saints , the Panthers signed Vinny Testaverde , who started the next game against the Arizona Cardinals just four days later , and in the process became the oldest starting quarterback to win a game in the NFL . However , an injury to Testaverde coupled with Carr ' s spinal cord injury led to rookie Matt Moore starting in week 15 against the Seattle Seahawks , a game he won . Meanwhile Delhomme opted for season ending Tommy John surgery on the elbow after two weeks of testing his arm . 2008 season and return . Delhomme returned to the starting position for the 2008 season . In the first game of the 2008 season , Delhomme restarted his career by coming back on the San Diego Chargers with a touchdown pass on fourth down as time expired to win the game . This is similar to his debut game in 2003 . After finishing the regular season 12 - 4 ( Tying the Panthers best record in franchise history and the only team to go undefeated at home for the season ) , the Panthers were eliminated from the playoffs when January 10 , 2009 , on his 34th birthday , Delhomme threw for a career worst five interceptions ( and lost one fumble ) against the Arizona Cardinals in the , ending the season with an overall record of 12 - 5 including the loss in the playoffs . 2009 season . On April 23 , 2009 , the Panthers signed Delhomme to a 5 - year extension worth $ 42 . 5 million , with a $ 20 million guarantee , putting him under contract through 2014 . In the season opener loss against the Philadelphia Eagles , Delhomme went 7 of 17 for 73 yards with four interceptions and a lost fumble , before getting benched for journeyman Josh McCown . Delhomme threw game - ending interceptions the next 2 games , and despite throwing for 2 touchdowns and 7 interceptions with a 54 . 3 rating through the first 3 games , coach John Fox kept Delhomme as the Panthers ' starting quarterback . Steve Smith jokingly told Delhomme after their loss against the Eagles " I never liked you as a quarterback . " After the team ' s bye week , Delhomme still struggled . His next three games gave him 2 more touchdowns to 6 more interceptions . In the next four games however , Delhomme would only throw 1 interception . In spite of this improved performance , the team went 2 - 2 in those 4 games . Delhomme ' s most recent performance mimicked the early season problems , with a 0 TD , 4 INT game against the New York Jets . During the loss to the Jets , Delhomme broke a finger on his throwing hand and was replaced by backup Matt Moore for the next two games , a 16 - 6 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a 20 - 10 loss to the New England Patriots . After those games , Moore started to heat up . He beat the Minnesota Vikings 26 - 7 , then beat the Giants in their final game at Giants Stadium with a 41 - 9 win , and went on to beat the New Orleans Saints 23 - 10 . Delhomme was placed on season - ending injured reserve on December 24 , 2009 , and was released by the Panthers on March 5 , 2010 . Cleveland Browns . 2010 Season . On March 13 , 2010 , Delhomme signed a two - year deal with the Cleveland Browns . Delhomme won the starting quarterback job over Seneca Wallace after competing with him during training camp . However , he suffered a high ankle sprain during the second quarter of the Browns ' first game of the season , a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Delhomme would see action again midway through the team ' s Week 5 game after Seneca Wallace also injured his ankle . However , he was noticeably not 100 % while playing and ultimately reinjured his ankle . Jake Delhomme started against his former team the Carolina Panthers , after Colt McCoy suffered a high ankle sprain . It was Delhomme ' s first start since Week 1 . For the season , he threw 2 TD and 7 INT while going 2 - 3 as a starter . On July 28 , 2011 , he was released by Cleveland . Houston Texans . 2011 Season . Delhomme signed with the Houston Texans on November 29 , 2011 after quarterbacks Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart went down with season - ending injuries . Despite his experience , Delhomme was signed to backup rookie fifth - round draft pick T . J . Yates , as Yates had been with the team the entire season . Delhomme entered the Texans ' season finale against the Titans after TJ Yates suffered a bruised throwing shoulder . He would go on to lead his team on a potential game winning drive , completing 18 of 28 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown . But the Texans would lose 23 - 22 after a botched snap on a two point attempt play . Personal life . Delhomme married the former Keri Melancon in 2000 ; the two were childhood sweethearts , and were " Junior Sweethearts " at Teurlings Catholic . They have two daughters : Lauren Elizabeth , who was born on December 17 , 2001 , and Lindsey Marie , who was born on February 25 , 2007 . Delhomme wears # 17 because it is the date of his first daughter ' s birthday , and she was born after 17 hours of labor . He and his family are Panthers fans . Delhomme has garnered popularity as a pitch - man for the Cajun fast food restaurant , Bojangles ' , where he is often depicted as a single - minded fried - chicken addict who audibles Bojangles ' " fixin ' s " at the line of scrimmage . One commercial parodies the film " Jerry Maguire " and the line " Show me the money ! " ; former teammate with the Panthers Steve Smith is featured in a cameo . Another commercial with Smith portrays the duo as the Dukes of Hazzard , driving The General Lee with a large chicken head on the roof . Delhomme has also done SunCom Wireless limited edition cell phone commercials that feature a Panthers logo and his signature , and he has appeared in public service announcement s for Civitan International . Delhomme is noted for licking his fingers before every play , and sticking his tongue out as part of his focus . ESPN ' s Chris Berman calls him " Jake ' daylight come and you gotta ' Delhomme " , a play on words of the Banana Boat Song by Harry Belafonte . The official Panthers website featured a regular discussion with Delhomme during the regular season , known as " Cajun Up with Jake " .