Joey Harrington John Joseph " Joey " Harrington , Jr . ( born October 21 , 1978 ) is a former American football quarterback . He was drafted by the Detroit Lions third overall in the 2002 NFL Draft , where he played for most of his professional career . He played college football at Oregon . Harrington also played briefly for the Miami Dolphins , Atlanta Falcons , and New Orleans Saints . Early years . Harrington was born and raised in Portland , Oregon , where he has resided his entire life . He graduated from Central Catholic High School in Portland , and finished his high school career with more than 4 , 200 yards and 50 TDs rushing and passing . His grandfather and father played quarterback for the Universities of Portland and Oregon , respectively , and upon hearing of Joey ' s birth , legendary Oregon Ducks ' coach Len Casanova jokingly sent his parents a letter - of - intent . College career . Harrington is a graduate of the University of Oregon , and was a three year starter on the Oregon Ducks football team . In his senior season at Oregon , he threw for 2 , 415 yards and 23 touchdowns , and he finished his college career with a 25 - 3 record ( including bowl wins against 12th - ranked Texas and 3rd - ranked Colorado ) , 512 completions in 928 attempts ( 55 . 2 % ) , 6911 passing yards , 59 touchdowns , 23 interceptions , and 210 rushing yards and 18 scores on 145 carries . A Business Administration major with a 3 . 23 GPA ( twice earning honors with a 3 . 34 GPA ) , Harrington ' s 7 , 121 yards of total offense rank third in University of Oregon history . Harrington ' s worst collegiate game came during the 2000 Civil War game against the Oregon State Beavers , Oregon ' s arch rival . Harrington threw 5 interceptions ( and fumbled once ) , earning the Ducks a 23 - 13 defeat , giving Harrington the nickname " Joey Fivepicks " and costing them a trip to the Rose Bowl . Harrington finished fourth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy in 2001 , following a campaign for the award that included a billboard in Times Square promoting him as " Joey Heisman . " He earned numerous honors , including first - team All - American , Pac - 10 Offensive Player of the Year , and second - team honors from The Sporting News . He was one of five finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award in 2001 . EA Sports selected him for the cover of the 2003 edition of their NCAA Football video game series . Harrington ' s best collegiate game was arguably the 2002 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe , Arizona when he threw for 350 yards and 4 touchdowns and led the Ducks to a 38 - 16 victory over the Colorado Buffaloes . Harrington was named offensive player of the game . Professional career . Detroit Lions . Harrington was selected by the Detroit Lions with the third pick overall in the 2002 NFL Draft . Harrington took over for incumbent Mike McMahon late in the Lions ' week 1 loss against the Miami Dolphins and became the Lions ' starting quarterback shortly thereafter , finishing that year with a 50 . 1 completion percentage , a ratio of 12 touchdown s to 16 interception s , and a 59 . 9 quarterback rating ; the Lions finished the season with a 3 - 13 record . Harrington ' s career in Detroit was largely unsuccessful . Front office mismanagement , woeful offensive line protection , lack of talent at other skill positions , and an erratic philosophical change in the team ' s identity to a conservative West Coast Offense ( WCO ) oriented attack under Head Coach Steve Mariucci may have played a factor in Harrington not realizing his potential professionally . Harrington ' s best season as a Lion came in 2004 where he threw for 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions . The Lions started the season with a 4 - 2 record , but Harrington would lead the team to only two more wins the rest of the season . They finished 6 - 10 and missed the playoffs for the fifth season in a row . On October 23 , 2005 , Mariucci chose to bench Harrington in favor of Jeff Garcia for the team ' s game against the Cleveland Browns to try and provide a spark to the team ' s 2 - 3 start . The Lions won 13 - 10 , and Garcia rushed for Detroit ' s only touchdown . After yet another dismal offensive performance , Mariucci declared that Garcia would remain the starter . This marked the first time since the 2002 season that Harrington did not appear in a Lions ' game , breaking a string of 37 consecutive appearances . Harrington regained the starting role the week after Garcia threw a game ending interception returned for a touchdown in overtime against Chicago . Harrington started again for Detroit on November 13 , 2005 , against the Arizona Cardinals , throwing for three touchdowns without an interception in the Lions ' 29 - 21 win . Harrington was voted by Lions fans as their Offensive Player of the Year , according to the Lions ' official website . Despite his difficult times in Detroit , he remained unwaveringly optimistic and was thus dubbed " Joey Blue - Skies " and " Joey Sunshine " by sarcastic Lions ' fans and beat writers who grew tired of his predictable post - game commentary as the losses continued to mount . Trade . After the 2005 season , Detroit signed free agents Jon Kitna and Josh McCown , and traded Harrington to the Miami Dolphins on May 12 , 2006 , for a 5th or 6th round draft pick , depending on performance stipulations in Miami . Harrington started the 2006 season as a backup behind new Dolphins quarterback Daunte Culpepper . During his tenure with the Lions , Harrington started 55 games and had a record of 18 wins and 37 losses . Without Harrington , the Lions compiled a record of 1 win and 8 losses during those years . Miami Dolphins . In 2006 , Harrington did not play in the Dolphins ' first four games , backing up Culpepper . Culpepper injured his shoulder prior to Miami ' s fifth game against the New England Patriots , forcing Harrington into the starting role . Harrington lost his first three starts , before leading Miami to a 31 - 13 win over the previously unbeaten ( 7 - 0 at the time ) Chicago Bears . Harrington followed that game with four consecutive victories . In perhaps his most memorable game professionally , Harrington capped off this winning streak in front of a national television audience on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit with a 27 - 10 victory at Ford Field against his former team . Harrington passed for 3 touchdowns and 213 yards against Detroit , compiling a passer rating of 107 . 4 , his highest single game rating for 2006 . Harrington struggled after the Lions ' game . Against the Buffalo Bills in Week 15 , Harrington went 5 - for - 17 for a mere 20 yards , throwing 2 interceptions . His passer rating for the game was 0 . 0 , the minimum possible under the complex NFL formula . Harrington was pulled midway through Miami ' s next game against the New York Jets , replaced in the 13 - 10 Christmas night loss by Cleo Lemon . Harrington did not appear in Miami ' s Week 17 finale against the Indianapolis Colts . Overall , Harrington played in and started eleven games , leading Miami to a 5 - 6 record ( Miami finished 6 - 10 for the season as a whole ) . Atlanta Falcons . On April 9 , 2007 , Harrington agreed to a two - year , $ 6 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons to compete with D . J . Shockley and Chris Redman to back up Michael Vick . Harrington was elevated to starting QB after the suspension of Michael Vick for the 2007 NFL season . Harrington performed well in the preseason , but after going 0 - 2 , Atlanta signed former Jacksonville starting quarterback Byron Leftwich as a possible replacement for Harrington . During Week 3 Atlanta home opener against division rivals the Carolina Panthers Harrington completed 31 / 44 passes with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions for a 110 . 1 passer rating in a 27 - 20 loss . In Week 4 Harrington improved on his numbers with a 121 . 7 passer rating where he completed 23 / 29 passes for two touchdowns with no interceptions , leading the Falcons to their first win of the 2007 season . On March 5 , 2008 , the Atlanta Falcons released Harrington in a salary cap move . He was re - signed by the team seven days later but was again released in August after the Falcons completed their preseason schedule . New Orleans Saints . Harrington signed with the New Orleans Saints on September 19 , 2008 . He was the third - string quarterback behind Drew Brees and Mark Brunell for one game against the Denver Broncos . He was released only five days later on September 24 , 2008 , due to increasing injuries on the Saints roster . After the Saints ' injury situation became more manageable , Harrington was re - signed on October 1 , but was cut again on October 6 . He was once again re - signed with the Saints on October 12 , 2008 , as an inactive third quarterback . On March 30 , 2009 , Harrington was re - signed to a one - year deal by the Saints . He was released yet again on September 5 , 2009 . Performance questions . When Lions head coach Steve Mariucci was fired by general manager Matt Millen , Lions Pro Bowl cornerback and team captain Dré Bly told Rich Eisen in an NFL Total Access interview that he blamed Harrington for the dismissal of Mariucci . Bly later apologized to the Lions , but not to Harrington , leading many to speculate whether or not Detroit ' s locker room was divided – as few players spoke publicly in Harrington ' s defense . Some fingers were also pointed at the Lions ' management and coaching for Harrington ' s woes in Detroit , which have collectively produced only one playoff victory since the team ' s last championship in 1957 . Jeff Garcia publicly questioned the Lions ' front office , saying on WXYT that " You start to question whether the organization has the people in place who can go about making the proper selections . " Howie Long , analyst for Fox Sports , said that Matt Millen made a mistake by drafting Harrington , and then again in the offseason before the 2005 season by signing Garcia instead of Brad Johnson . Personal . Harrington married Emily Hatten on March 10 , 2007 . They have known each other since high school but did not begin dating until after he had graduated from college . They have one son , John " Jack " Patrick Harrington , born in 2009 . Emily is a nurse practitioner , and Harrington spoke about them opening a medical clinic to serve the homeless in Portland , after he retired from football . One of Harrington ' s nicknames is " Piano Man , " referring to the fact that he is an accomplished jazz pianist who has occasionally performed with artists such as Jason Mraz , Blues Traveler , and Third Eye Blind . On February 1 , 2008 , Harrington appeared as a guest chef on a special Super Bowl episode of " The Rachael Ray Show " . Harrington is a distant cousin of professional golfer Pádraig Harrington and professional poker player Dan Harrington . Harrington ' s brother , Michael , played football at the University of Idaho , and was also a quarterback . Joey Harrington was the guest on the February 2 , 2008 , episode NPR ' s " Wait , Wait . . . Don ' t Tell Me ! " , as a guest during the ' Not My Job ' segment . Harrington and his family moved back to Portland after his release from the Saints in September 2009 . He is spending more time with his wife , Emily , and son , Jack , and the numerous charities in which he is involved . On July 31 , 2011 , Harrington was struck by an SUV while riding his bicycle in Portland , Oregon . Harrington suffered a broken collarbone and a punctured lung due to the accident . Broadcasting . In 2009 , Harrington worked as an NFL and college football commentator for Fox Sports Radio . In 2010 , he served as a color analyst for Oregon Ducks football games on Oregon Sports Network . Currently , Harrington is a college football analyst for Fox College Football on FX and Fox . Philanthropy . Harrington established the Harrington Family Foundation in 2003 as a nonprofit organization with the goal of supporting youth education and activities as well as other miscellaneous benefits . Harrington ' s parents , John and Valerie Harrington , run the foundation . The foundation began with a portion of Joey ’ s signing bonus with the Detroit Lions . It raises further money by selling memorabilia items and booking events . After being given the New York Times Square " Joey Heisman " billboard by the former Oregon Ducks Athletic Director Bill Moos , he proceeded to cut it up and sell the pieces for charity . All the proceeds from the sales went toward scholarships for the University of Oregon .