Matt Moore ( American football ) Matthew Moore ( born August 9 , 1984 ) is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football at Oregon State University , but played at UCLA prior . He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2007 . He was also a member of the Carolina Panthers . Early years . After playing youth football for six years with Palmdale Youth Football ( California ) , Moore attended William S . Hart High School in Newhall , California . As a junior , Moore lettered in football while playing as a safety , earning All - CIF acclaim with 80 tackles and 10 interceptions on the season . Moore lettered again during his senior year playing as Hart High School ' s starting quarterback . Moore led his team to a 13 – 0 record , culminating in a 42 – 13 win over Valencia in the CIF - Southern Section Division III title game . In the sectional , division title game , Moore completed 14 of 18 passes for 277 yards and four touchdowns and ran 15 times for 95 yards and one score . On the year , he completed 234 of 353 ( 66 . 3 % ) passes for 3 , 334 yards and 33 touchdowns and ran for 415 yards and seven scores . Moore was named the CIF - SS Division III Offensive Player of the Year . He was named First - team All - State and First - team All - CIF SS . He was selected to play in the 2002 North - South Shrine All - Star game . Moore ended his senior season as one of the top - rated quarterbacks in the nation . He was ranked No . 8 by Scout . com and No . 11 by Rivals . com . SuperPrep rated him as the No . 8 quarterback in the nation and named him the FarWest Offensive Player of the Year . Max Emfinger named him to his All - America team and ranked him as a four - star prospect and the No . 17 quarterback prospect . PacWest Football rated Moore a four - star rating and rated him the No . 6 quarterback in the West and No . 9 in the nation . PrepStar named Moore to the All - American team and rated him the No . 5 quarterback in the West . He was named member of the Tacoma News Tribune Western 100 , the Las Vegas Sun Super 11 second team , the Los Angeles Times All - Star Team , and the First - team L . A . Times All - San Fernando Valley , which selected him as the region Player of the Year . Moore lettered twice in baseball playing shortstop and third base for coach Jim Ozella . College career . 2002 . Moore began his college football career at UCLA . He was slated to redshirt , but was pressed into duty due to injuries to Cory Paus and Drew Olson against Cal . He appeared in six games as a true freshman , becoming the first Bruin true - freshman quarterback to start since Cade McNown . The Bruins defeated Stanford in Moore ’ s debut , making him the first true - freshman QB in his first game to lead UCLA to victory . He led the team to seven scoring drives against the Cardinal . He saw action against Arizona , USC , Washington State , and New Mexico in the Las Vegas Bowl as a reserve . Moore was 7 for 11 for 64 yards and one touchdown in the annual rivalry game vs . USC . For the season he completed 33 of 62 passes for 412 yards , two touchdowns and no interceptions . 2003 . Moore started four of the eight games he appeared in at UCLA . He threw for 555 yards , two touchdowns , and six interceptions as a sophomore , completing 52 of 103 passes . He started the season opener against Colorado , but suffered a leg injury that sidelined him for the next three games . Had difficulty regaining the starting job with just eight pass attempts over the next three games . He moved back in front of Olson on the depth chart for the Oct . 26 game at the Rose Bowl against Arizona State , passing for 190 yards and a touchdown in UCLA ’ s 20 – 13 win . He also started the team ’ s next two games against Stanford and Washington State . Moore transferred out of UCLA in 2003 ( LA Times , Dec . 5 , 2003 ) . 2004 . Moore did not play in 2004 while attending the College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita , California . Although he had not played baseball since high school , he was selected in the 22nd round of the 2004 MLB draft by the Los Angeles Angels after scouts saw him play in a Southern California semi - pro baseball league and invited him to private workouts with the team . 2005 . Although he also strongly considered Colorado State , Moore enrolled at Oregon State in January 2005 and participated in spring training with the team . Head coach Mike Riley announced him as the leader on the depth chart entering the 2005 season . He finished the season with 2 , 711 yards passing , the ninth - highest total for a single season at OSU . His . 594 completion percentage was third among the 20 - best single season yardage performances in school history . Moore injured his right knee in the second quarter of the 10th game of the season against Stanford and missed the remainder of the year . His 271 . 1 yards passing per game was second in the Pac - 10 , trailing only USC ' s Matt Leinart ( 293 . 5 ) . Making yet another record - breaking debut , he threw for 367 yards in the season opener against Portland State , the most ever by a Beaver quarterback in his first start . Moore threw for a career - high 436 yards against Arizona , had 317 yards at Louisville , and 311 against Arizona State . He hit Mike Hass on a 63 - yard touchdown strike against Washington State that gave OSU the lead 37 – 33 after the team trailed 30 – 13 late in the second quarter . He also had two 58 - yard passes — one to Anthony Wheat - Brown in the team ’ s upset of No . 18 California in Berkeley and the other one week later ( again to Hass ) in his return to the Rose Bowl . 2006 . Moore started all 14 games for the Beavers and was an All - Pac - 10 honorable mention leading the Beavers to a 10 - win season capped off by a Sun Bowl victory against Mizzou . After a 2 – 3 start , Moore and coach Mike Riley received a great deal of criticism from fans . Both found redemption after winning the next 8 of 9 games . This streak included a win over # 3 ranked USC and a Civil War win at home . On the season , Moore completed 229 of 378 passes for 3 , 022 yards and 18 touchdowns with seven interceptions . He set an Oregon State record for the most consecutive pass attempts without an interception with 183 before having that streak end in the Sun Bowl . He was named MVP of the Sun Bowl after throwing for 356 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for one touchdown . The 4 passing TDs were a Sun Bowl record . In the second - highest scoring game in the Sun Bowl ' s 73 - year history . He was 5 - for - 7 for 55 yards on the winning drive , setting up a 2 - point conversion to put the Beavers up 39 – 38 with 22 seconds left to play . Professional career . Dallas Cowboys ( 2007 ) . Moore was not selected in the 2007 NFL Draft , but was later signed as a free agent by the Dallas Cowboys . Despite completing 21 of 29 passes for 182 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions to generate a 100 . 1 quarterback rating during the preseason for the Cowboys , Moore was waived on September 1 , with the Cowboys intending to sign him to their practice squad had he passed through waivers . He was claimed off waivers by the Carolina Panthers the following day . Carolina Panthers ( 2007 – 2010 ) . 2007 season . Moore saw his first regular season action October 7 , 2007 against the New Orleans Saints in the 5th game of the season . Quarterback David Carr ( who was playing in place of injured starter Jake Delhomme ) left the game with a back injury after being sacked near the end of the first quarter . His first NFL completion was a 43 - yard pass to Keary Colbert , but his playing time was brief as Carr returned to the field near the end of the first half . After a string of ineffective performances from Carr and Vinny Testaverde , Moore started his first NFL game on December 16 , 2007 against the Seattle Seahawks . He led the Panthers to victory against the Seahawks while completing 19 of 27 passes for 208 yards without a turnover . After a tough loss against Dallas the following week , where he completed 15 of 28 passes for 182 yards , a touchdown and an interception , he went 15 of 24 for 174 yards , two touchdowns and an interception in a road win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Moore was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month for December after these performances . 2008 season . In the last game of the 2008 preseason , Matt Moore was injured and his left fibula was broken . He was put on injured reserve , and didn ' t play a single game during the entire 2008 season 2009 season . Moore saw his first action of the 2009 Season when backup quarterback Josh McCown was injured during the Panthers Week 1 loss to the Eagles . Moore finished with 6 of 11 passes for 63 yards , 1 touchdown and 1 interception . Moore also played briefly against the Arizona Cardinals , attempting one pass which was incomplete . After starter Jake Delhomme broke his finger in a week 12 loss to the New York Jets , Moore started against Tampa Bay on December 6 , 2009 , the following week . He completed 14 of 20 passes for 161 yards and an interception , en route to a 16 – 6 Panthers victory . The following week he completed 15 of 30 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown in a 20 – 10 loss to the New England Patriots . On December 20 ( in his 6th start ) Moore had the best game of his career when he led the Panthers to a 26 – 7 upset victory over the Minnesota Vikings . In the victory he completed 21 of 33 passes for 299 yards , 3 touchdowns , and 0 interceptions , and improved to a career 4 – 2 as a starter . He drew praise from head coach John Fox and top receiver Steve Smith , who caught 9 passes from Moore for 157 yards and a score . On December 27 Moore completed 15 passes on 20 attempts for 171 yards , and for the second week in a row , three touchdowns and no interceptions , as Carolina beat the New York Giants 41 – 9 . Moore had a career - high 139 . 8 passer rating . The victory came during the final game to be played in Giants Stadium and essentially eliminated the Giants from the playoffs . The Giants ' home loss was their worst since 1998 . Moore again drew praise from analysts , including Tony Dungy who said that Moore " looked liked a pro - bowler " . Moore started the last game of the Panther ' s season on January 3 , 2010 , as the Panthers beat the New Orleans Saints 23 – 10 . The Saints , who were the No . 1 seed in the NFC , were handed their third loss of the season as they rested most of their starters . The game was the coldest home game in team history for the Panthers . Moore completed 14 passes on 23 attempts for 162 yards and a touchdown . The win improved the Panthers to . 500 with an 8 – 8 record ( 4 – 1 while starting Moore ) to finish the season . In his five games as a starter for the 2009 season , Moore threw eight touchdown passes with one interception . The strong finish by Moore and the Panthers , combined with earlier poor play by Jake Delhomme , led to speculation that Moore would challenge , if not replace , Jake Delhomme ' s role as the starting quarterback for the 2010 season despite Delhomme ' s large contract . This turned out be the case as Delhomme was cut from the Panthers on March 4 , 2010 . 2010 season . Moore was declared the starter for the 2010 Season after Delhomme ' s release . Despite this , the Carolina Panthers drafted rookie Jimmy Clausen with their second pick ( 48th overall ) of the 2010 NFL draft . Though Moore had clearly established himself as the Panther ' s number one quarterback , he faced pressure for the starting job from Clausen , possibly resulting in his poor play throughout the rest of the season . Moore suffered a concussion during the season opener at the New York Giants , and he was benched the following week in a loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following poor play . On September 20 , 2010 , Moore was removed as the Panthers starting quarterback in favor of rookie Jimmy Clausen , after throwing 4 interceptions in the first two games . After sitting out for 3 straight games , Moore was again declared the Panthers starting quarterback on October 18 , 2010 , following poor play by Clausen . In his first game back as a starter against the San Francisco 49ers , Moore completed 28 passes on 41 attempts for 308 yards , two touchdowns and one interception , setting career highs in yards and completions . In a week 9 loss to the New Orleans Saints , Moore injured his shoulder after a hit from Sedrick Ellis . He was placed on injured reserve by the Panthers , ending his season . Miami Dolphins . 2011 season . Moore was signed by the Dolphins on July 28 , 2011 to back up Chad Henne . He switched numbers , from 3 to 8 . On October 2 , 2011 Moore entered the game against the Chargers in the 1st quarter after Henne went down with a shoulder injury . He completed 17 of 26 passes for 167 yards and an interception , compiling a 67 . 3 quarterback rating . On November 6 he became the first Miami quarterback since Chad Pennington in 2008 to throw three touchdown passes in a game , in their 31 - 3 win over the Kansas City Chiefs . He repeated that feat in week 11 , blowing out the Bills 35 - 8 , and had the highest QB rating of the week . In 2012 he was announced as the Dolphin ' s 2011 - 2012 season MVP . 2012 season . During the offseason , Moore was battling for the starting QB role against newly drafted Ryan Tannehill and newly signed David Garrard . At first , Moore became the starting quarterback , but then it shifted to Tannehill . Moore was named the backup quarterback , and Garrard was later released . On November 28 , 2012 , in a Week 8 game against the New York Jets , Moore went in for Tannehill after he left the game with injuries to his left knee and thigh . Moore went 11 for 19 on his passes with a touchdown to lead a 30 - 9 victory over the Jets . 2013 season . On March 8 , 2013 , Moore re - signed with the Dolphins , agreeing on a two - year deal to remain a backup for Tannehill .