John Beck ( American football ) John Dalton Beck ( born August 21 , 1981 ) is an American football quarterback , who is a free agent in the National Football League ( NFL ) . He was drafted in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins . Beck played college football at Brigham Young University . He also played for the Baltimore Ravens , Washington Redskins , and Houston Texans . Early years . John Dalton Beck was born August 21 , 1981 in Hayward , California to Wendell Beck , a former track and field athlete at BYU , and Julie Beck . He first started playing football as a child at eight years old . Beck attended Mountain View High School in Mesa , Arizona . He was recruited by Brigham Young University , Arizona State , and Miami . He received Outstanding Male Scholar Athlete honors at Mountain View High School , a three - year letterman , and led Mountain View High School to a state championship as a senior . His overall record was 25 - 2 during his junior and senior seasons . Beck earned first - team all - region , first - team all - state , " USA Today " All - American honorable mention and Dairyman first - team All - America honors . He was named the region Offensive Player of the Year and garnered first - team Super All - State and Super All - State Player - of - the - Year honors . Beck was further recognized as the Arizona High School Football Player of the Year and earned both the Ed Dougherty and Fred Enke Awards ( Arizona Quarterback of the Year ) . During his senior year , he was named the MVP during the state championship game and selected as the Arizona All - Star game Most Valuable Player . Fox Sports recognized Beck as the Arizona 5A Player of the Year . Beck also currently holds the Arizona high school record with 42 touchdown completions in a single season with only 4 interceptions . Beyond football , Beck also lettered twice in baseball as a pitcher and an infielder . Beck is also an Eagle Scout . College career . Beck served a Mormon mission prior to his collegiate career , and in 2003 , as a 22 - year old true freshman , he earned Academic All - Mountain West Conference ( MWC ) honors and competed in eight games , including four starts , becoming only the second true freshman to start at quarterback in Brigham Young history ( vs . Stanford ) , completing 22 - of - 45 attempts for a season - high 279 yards against the Cardinal , including a season - long 56 - yard bomb to Rodney Wilkerson . His first career victory occurred on October 4 , leading the Cougars to a 44 - 36 win at San Diego State . He later saw action at fourth - ranked USC , completing one pass for 12 yards and carrying the ball four times for 29 yards . While a sophomore , in 2004 , Beck earned second - team All - Mountain West honors and started at quarterback in 10 of the Cougars ' 11 games during the season . He broke the Mountain West Conference and Brigham Young single - game record with 67 pass attempts against UNLV on October 8 and currently holds the MWC single - game sophomore record with 34 completions against UNLV . Beck averaged a MWC - best 261 . 0 yards per game against league opponents and averaged 233 . 0 yards per game against all opponents . He was named the MWC Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Cougars to a 41 - 24 win over Air Force . Against San Diego State , Beck posted Brigham Young ' s highest quarterback rating since early in the 2001 season at 204 . 8 . He also passed the 3 , 000 - yard mark as a sophomore , ranking as the Cougars ' third most prolific sophomore quarterback , while passing for at least one 50 + yard completion in six of eleven games . As a junior , in 2005 , Beck was an All - Mountain West Conference first - team selection , named Academic All - MWC and named team offensive MVP . He threw for a league - best 3 , 709 yards , marking the most yards by a Brigham Young quarterback since Brandon Doman threw for over 3 , 500 yards in 2001 . Beck was ranked fifth nationally with a league - best 309 . 1 yards - per - game average , including a league - high 517 yards in a loss to TCU on Sept . 24 . Beck was twice named the MWC Offensive Player or the Week . He also set MWC single - game records with ( i ) 41 completions ( vs . Boston College on September 3 ) and ( ii ) 517 yards passing ( vs . TCU on September 24 ) . He tied a MWC single - game record with five TD ' s ( vs . TCU on September 24 ) and was ranked second all - time in the Mountain West with 7 , 136 career passing yards and first in the Mountain West with 3 , 709 yards in 2005 . Beck was a 2005 Davey O ' Brien Award candidate and rated as the top passing quarterback in the MWC by Street & Smith ' s . " College Football News " listed Beck as one of the top - 30 players in the Mountain West Conference , while Phil Steele ' s " College Football Preview " ranked him as one of the top - 40 quarterbacks in the country . As a senior , in 2006 , Beck was ranked as the 2nd best quarterback in the country by ESPN as measured in quarterback efficiency ratings ( 173 . 27 ) and 5th best season leader in passing by CBS . He led Brigham Young to a record of 10 - 2 , with a 8 - 0 record in the Mountain West Conference . He was a finalist for the Davey O ' Brien and Unitas Golden Arm Awards , and created buzz on the Heisman watch lists . One site that tracks college football had him # 4 on the Heisman watch list . He was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation National Offensive Player of the week following the come - from - behind victory over Utah on the last game of the 2006 season . On November 25 , 2006 , Beck led the Cougars to his first victory over in - state rival Utah Utes , and Brigham Young ' s first in five years , by completing a TD pass to TE Jonny Harline as time expired . With three seconds left on the clock , Beck dropped back , shuffled left , was pressured by a late blitzing linebacker , and then scrambled right ( nearly 11 seconds in all ) before throwing back across the field to Harline , who was standing alone in the end zone . Beck finished the game with 375 passing yards and 4 TD ' s . Beck led the Cougars to their first bowl win since 1996 , a 38 - 8 romp over the Oregon Ducks in the Las Vegas Bowl , at the end of the 2006 season . The win was made in large part because of Beck and tight end Jonny Harline . Beck totaled 375 yards and two scores and also had 26 yards and a touchdown on the ground . Harline , Beck ' s main target , was named the MVP after a 181 yard and 1 touchdown performance . Professional career . Miami Dolphins . The Miami Dolphins drafted Beck 40th overall in the 2nd round of the 2007 NFL Draft ; he was the fourth quarterback drafted , behind JaMarcus Russell , Brady Quinn , and Kevin Kolb . The Dolphins then signed Beck to a four - year contract with nearly $ 3 . 25 million in guaranteed money and incentives making it worth up to $ 4 . 5 million and $ 6 . 5 million total over four years . Beck was the team ' s third - string quarterback during his first training camp and held the role to begin the 2007 season . Despite being the third - string quarterback , he was seen as a potential successor to incumbent starter Trent Green . With an injury to Green and inconsistent play from backup quarterback Cleo Lemon , the Dolphins struggled to an 0 - 8 start to the season . With the team on a bye week in Week 9 , head coach Cam Cameron announced that Beck would begin splitting reps with the first - team offense with Lemon in preparation for their Week 10 contest against the Buffalo Bills . On November 14 , it was announced that Beck would assume the starting job , beginning with the team ' s Week 11 game at the Philadelphia Eagles on November 18 . Beck and the Dolphins lost to the Eagles 17 - 7 , failing to score on offense . In the game , Beck went just 9 - for - 22 ( 40 . 9 % ) for 109 yards , however he was not sacked and committed no turnovers . Overall throughout the season , Beck started just five games and lost all of them while the Dolphins finished the season with a 1 - 15 record . With Lemon and Green leaving the team at the conclusion of the 2007 season , Beck was poised to assume a starting role for the 2008 season . However , the team opted to draft Chad Henne and sign Chad Pennington , which pushed Beck back to third on the depth chart . After not playing the entire 2008 season , the Dolphins released Beck on April 27 , 2009 . Baltimore Ravens . Beck was signed by the Baltimore Ravens on May 2 , 2009 . He re - signed with the team for the 2010 season . The move reunited him with Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron , who was his head coach in Miami two years earlier . However , Beck again did not play a snap all year . Washington Redskins . On August 2 , 2010 , Beck was traded to the Washington Redskins for Doug Dutch . On September 1 , Beck signed a contract extension worth $ 2 . 25 million over two years , keeping him under contract with the Redskins through the 2012 - 2013 season . Coach Mike Shanahan then announced that Beck , who had not started a game since his rookie season in 2007 , would battle the incumbent Rex Grossman for the starting quarterback role in the 2011 season through training camp and preseason . Grossman was officially named the opening day starter just six days before the start of the season , leaving Beck as the backup for the fourth straight season in his career . John Beck made his first appearance for the Redskins on October 16 , 2011 against the Eagles . On October 19 , 2011 Redskins coach Mike Shanahan announced that Beck would start the upcoming week 7 game against the Panthers . On November 13 , Redskins coach Mike Shanahan announced that Rex Grossman will be the starting quarterback for the Redskins , replacing John Beck . On April 28 , 2012 , Beck was cut from the Redskins after the team drafted quarterbacks Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins . Houston Texans . On May 9 , 2012 , John Beck agreed to a deal with the Houston Texans . He was released on October 3 to make room for safety Troy Nolan on the roster . Personal . Beck married Barbara Ann Burke of Ferron , Utah in May 2004 . The couple have three sons , Ty , Preston , and Grady . He is an Eagle Scout . He is a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter - day Saints ; he served on a mission to Lisbon , Portugal , from 2000 through 2002 and speaks fluent Portuguese .