Quincy Carter Lavonya Quintelle " Quincy " Carter ( born October 13 , 1977 ) is a retired American football quarterback . He was drafted in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys . He played college football at the University of Georgia . Carter has also been a member of the New York Jets , Montreal Alouettes , Bossier - Shreveport Battle Wings , Kansas City Brigade and Abilene Ruff Riders . Early years . Carter attended Southwest DeKalb High School where he played quarterback . He led the Panthers to the 1995 AAAA State Championship under Coach William Godfrey . Personal life . In 2004 , Quincy Carter was diagnosed with bipolar disorder . Baseball career . Carter originally signed a football letter of intent with Georgia Tech in 1996 , but opted instead to play minor league baseball after being drafted by the Chicago Cubs as an outfielder 52nd overall in the 1996 MLB Draft . With the Gulf Coast Cubs of the rookie league in 1997 , Carter played in 55 games and hit . 215 The following year , he was promoted to the Rockford Cubbies of Single - A and hit . 211 in 105 games . He appeared in 28 games for Rockford in 1998 , hitting . 248 in 27 games . His final year in 1999 , he went 0 - for - 3 in one game for the Daytona Cubs of Advanced A ball . College career . Struggling with his baseball career , Carter went to the University of Georgia in 1998 , where he won the job of starting quarterback in a highly contested battle ( over future Oklahoma starter , Nate Hybl , among others ) and after a good freshman season was recognized as one of the top young quarterbacks in the nation . He had a decent sophomore season but was mediocre as a junior due to injuries and inconsistency . Carter was 23 - 8 as a starting quarterback for the Georgia Bulldogs . He was a dual threat quarterback as Carter demonstrated this in Georgia ' s 28 - 26 win over the Kentucky Wildcats on October 24 , 1998 . The 6 - 3 , 225 - pound freshman ran 14 times for 114 yards and completed 10 - of - 14 passes for 147 yards and two touchdown passes in the contest . Carter also had a 49 yard touchdown run in the game . Professional career . Dallas Cowboys . Carter declared himself eligible for the NFL Draft after his junior season and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round ( 53rd overall ) of the 2001 NFL Draft . Carter became the starting quarterback for the Cowboys team as a rookie , being part of a succession of short - tenured quarterback s following the retirement of Troy Aikman . However , two separate injuries sustained by Carter during the season , forced the team to start four different quarterback s . Carter ended up starting eight games , both Anthony Wright and former San Diego Chargers second - overall pick Ryan Leaf started three , while former Arkansas Razorback Clint Stoerner started two . The highlight of his rookie season was a 27 - 21 win against the San Francisco 49ers ( finished 12 - 4 ) in Week 16 . Carter showed promise with 241 yards passing and two touchdown s , to become just the second Cowboys rookie to win NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors . He also had an important 20 - 13 victory over the New York Giants in which Carter threw for nearly 200 yards , scrambled for a first down late in the game , and threw the game - winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Antonio Bryant . Dallas would sign another young quarterback and former baseball player , Chad Hutchinson , following Carter ' s rookie season . He lost the starting job during his second season to Hutchinson after a loss to the Arizona Cardinals in which he engaged in a heated sideline " discussion " with Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones . The highlight of the 2002 season was Carter leading Dallas to a dramatic come from behind win for the second time in three weeks ( the other one was against the Saint Louis Rams ) , on his 25th birthday he turned a 13 - 0 deficit to the Carolina Panthers , into a 14 - 13 victory by throwing an 80 - yard touchdown pass to Joey Galloway with 3 : 55 left , then a 24 - yarder to Antonio Bryant with 56 seconds to go . This would end up being Carter ' s greatest moment with the Cowboys . However , in his third season , under newly - hired head coach Bill Parcells , Carter retook the starting role and led the Cowboys to a 10 - 6 record and a playoff appearance . During the offseason , coming off a successful season , Carter was shockingly released on August 4 , 2004 under unclear circumstances . The group of quarterback s for the Cowboys that offseason had expanded with the trade for yet another former baseball player , Drew Henson , and the acquisition of Vinny Testaverde off waivers . Before Carter ' s release , it had been projected that he had a slight edge over Testaverde for the starting role and that former third - string quarterback , Tony Romo , would be released . Many believe Carter was released because of a failed drug test , and Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said that for reasons including but not limited to his drug problems , Carter could not be trusted with the leadership of the team . The official Cowboys statement regarding his release was a failed drug test , a poor attitude over the signing of Testaverde , and an average performance during the first week of training camp . Carter played for the Cowboys as jersey number 17 . New York Jets . After being released by the Cowboys , Carter was signed a one - year contract with the New York Jets where he served as a backup to Chad Pennington and started three games ( winning two ) after Pennington injured his rotator cuff . He suffered a drug relapse during the 2004 playoffs and has since received treatment for drug addiction and bipolar disorder in Houston . The Jets released him during the 2005 offseason . Montreal Alouettes . On April 4 , 2006 , Carter was signed by the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League to a one - year contract with an option for 2007 only to be released by the team the following month . On the subject of being released , Carter remarked , " " This is a joke . . . an insult . " " One CFL club official told the " Montreal Gazette " that Carter has " a serious marijuana problem . " On December 15 , 2006 Carter was arrested in Irving , Texas on possession of marijuana charges . He was released in lieu of a $ 500 bond paid by Dallas - Fort Worth area sports talk - show host and journalist , Randy Galloway . Bossier - Shreveport Battle Wings . In February 2007 , Carter signed with the Bossier - Shreveport Battle Wings , of af2 . Through the first three games of the 2007 season , he was the third rated passer , with a rating of 124 . 3 , throwing 18 touchdown passes , but he was suspended indefinitely from the team in late May for missing team meetings . Battle Wings coach Jon Norris named Carter the starting quarterback for their June 16 game against the Corpus Christi Sharks . He passed for a franchise - record eight touchdowns in the Battle Wings ' 81 - 35 win . Carter was arrested on possession charges by Shreveport police on October 12 , 2007 . Because the incident marked the second time he was arrested for the same crime , the charge was a felony . He was released on his 30th birthday , on a bond of $ 5 , 224 , according to an official in the records department at the Caddo Correctional Facility . Kansas City Brigade . On June 2 , Carter signed with the Arena Football League ' s Kansas City Brigade . The Brigade , who had one victory at the time of the signing , were hoping Carter ' s strong arm could resurrect their season . Herman Edwards , the former Kansas City Chiefs head coach who coached Carter while with the Jets , commented on Carter ' s personality calling him of " good character . " Carter wore # 3 with Kansas City . Carter started the last three games of the season for Kansas City and was signed to a two - year contract extension . On July 31 , 2008 Carter had a workout with the Miami Dolphins . However , he was not signed . On October 20 , 2008 he was released by the Brigade . Abilene Ruff Riders . Carter signed a one - year contract with the Abilene Ruff Riders of the Indoor Football League in March 2009 . On May 10 , 2009 , he was arrested by Abilene police for an outstanding warrant , related to a DWI arrest in south Texas and subsequent probation violation . Carter was arrested again on June 18 , 2009 , for failing to pay his bondsman after his May 10 arrest . Returning from injury , Carter no - showed for the July 4 game and was subsequently cut from the team . Post - football career . Carter has become an independent youth football coach in Georgia specializing in training for the quarterback position .