Jake Plummer Jason Steven " Jake " Plummer ( born on December 19 , 1974 ) is a former football quarterback who played ten seasons in the National Football League ( NFL ) . After playing college football at Arizona State University , Plummer was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft , and spent his first six seasons with the Cardinals and the last four with the Denver Broncos . His nickname , " Jake the Snake , " was given to him as a tribute to professional wrestler , . Coincidentally , Roberts adopted " that " nickname as a tribute to his favorite NFL player , former Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler , who was nicknamed " the Snake " . Early years . Born and raised in Boise , Idaho , Plummer attended to Pierce Park Elementary , Hillside Junior High , and graduated from Capital High School in 1993 . He was a three - sport star in high school , playing baseball and basketball in addition to football . Plummer was selected all - state as both a quarterback and punter and passed for 6 , 097 yards and 68 touchdowns in his junior and senior years . In 1993 , he accepted a football scholarship to Arizona State . During Plummer ' s senior season , he led ASU to an undefeated regular season , a Pac - 10 championship , and the 1997 Rose Bowl where the team lost to Ohio State 20 - 17 . That March , he was selected in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals , the 42nd overall pick . For his college career he threw for 8 , 626 yards with 65 TD against only 34 INT . Professional career . Arizona Cardinals ( 1997 - 2002 ) . Plummer split time with both Kent Graham and Stoney Case during his rookie season , playing in 10 games and going 3 - 6 as a starter , as the Cardinals went 4 - 12 to finish 4th in the NFC West . In 1998 , Plummer started all 16 games and led the Cardinals to a 9 – 7 regular season record and an upset victory against the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs - the Cardinals their first postseason victory since 1947 . However , Plummer had a disappointing season in 1999 as he went 3 - 8 as a starter , only threw 9 touchdowns as opposed to 24 interceptions , and the Cardinals finished 6 - 10 . Regarding Plummer ' s season , the Football Outsiders commented : " At the start of the 1999 season , Jake Plummer was being celebrated as one of the NFL ' s best young quarterbacks , the man who would make the Cardinals respectable again . By the end of the 1999 season , Plummer ranked as the league ' s worst quarterback . " In 2000 Plummer threw for 2 , 946 yards , 21 interceptions , and had a 66 . 0 quarterback rating . Although he reached 10 , 000 career passing yards ( in 47 starts ) , Plummer compiled a 3 - 11 record and the Cardinals finished 3 - 13 , in last place in the NFC West . Plummer bounced back in 2001 with his best statistical season with the Cardinals . He was one of only two NFL quarterbacks to take every snap for his team ( Kerry Collins was the other ) , and he passed for 3 , 653 yards , 18 touchdowns , and 14 interceptions . During the season , he had a stretch of 142 consecutive pass attempt s without throwing an interception . Plummer also led the NFL in fourth - quarter passing yards ( 1 , 227 ) and the Cardinals to a 7 - 9 record , and a 4th place in the NFC West . Plummer ' s last season with the Cardinals was 2002 and again his statistics were below league average ( 65 . 7 passer rating , 2 , 972 yards , 18 touchdowns and 20 interceptions ) . On September 22 , he eclipsed 15 , 000 career passing yards against the San Diego Chargers . Denver Broncos ( 2003 - 2006 ) . Plummer signed as a free agent with the Denver Broncos in 2003 , replacing Brian Griese . With guidance from Broncos head coach , Mike Shanahan , Plummer finished with a career high 91 . 2 quarterback rating . On September 22 , he had the longest run by a Broncos QB on Monday Night Football , a 40 yard scramble in a 31 - 10 win over the Oakland Raiders . He led the Broncos to a wild card playoff berth , where the Broncos were beaten by the Indianapolis Colts 41 – 10 at the RCA Dome . In 2004 he matched or surpassed several of Broncos Hall of Fame QB John Elway ' s passing records ( including passing yardage and passing touchdowns in a single season ) . However , continuing a career - long shortcoming , he also led the league with 20 interceptions ( as he finished his career with both 161 touchdowns and 161 interceptions ) . He led the Broncos to a second straight wild card playoff berth , but the Broncos were again beaten by the Colts , 49 – 24 . In 2005 Plummer experienced arguably his best season as a professional . Most notable was his streak of 229 passes without an interception , the longest such streak of his career . Along the way , Plummer helped the Broncos compile a 13 – 3 record and a # 2 seed and a first round bye in the AFC playoffs ( behind the Colts ) . The Broncos ' first game was against the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Game at Invesco Field . Although not outstanding , Plummer ' s performance ( 15 - 26 for 197 yards , 1 touchdown , 1 interception ) helped the Broncos to become the first team to defeat the Patriots in the 11 postseason games . However , Plummer accounted for four turnovers in the AFC Championship game and the Broncos were defeated 34 – 17 by the eventual Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers . On November 27 , 2006 , after a lackluster performance in the first eleven games , and following back to back losses to the San Diego Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs , head coach Mike Shanahan announced that Plummer would be replaced at starting quarterback by rookie Jay Cutler . The decision to hand a 7 - 4 team over to a rookie quarterback was met by fans and media with mixed reactions . Those who viewed Plummer as inconsistent heralded the change as one that would revive the Broncos struggling offense ; others claimed such a move was ill - advised , especially given that Plummer had guided the Broncos to the AFC Championship game the year before . Tampa Bay Buccaneers ( 2007 ) . On March 3 , 2007 , Plummer was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a 2008 conditional draft pick . However , rumors began to surface that Plummer was going to choose retirement over competition with the Buccaneers four other quarterbacks on the roster ( Bruce Gradkowski , Tim Rattay , Jeff Garcia , and Luke McCown ) . On March 9 , Plummer ended the speculation by announcing his decision to retire . Plummer also confirmed his retirement through the Jake Plummer Foundation ' s website . Since he was still under contract to the Buccaneers and had already been given his contract signing bonus , Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden met with Plummer in July to try to convince him to reconsider and report for training camp . However , the attempt was unsuccessful and the team sued for recovery of the bonus . A settlement was finally reached on June 10 , 2008 in which Plummer was required to pay back $ 3 . 5 million to the Buccaneers . Handball . Since his retirement from the NFL , Plummer has been an avid player of four - wall handball . He attended his first professional handball tournament in 2007 when he entered the Simple Green US Open of Handball ( with brother Eric ) in the pro doubles division where the pair lost to future Hall of Fame members John Bike and Danny Bell . In 2008 , Plummer hosted his own pro invitational and lost in the finals of the pro consolation bracket to # 37 ranked , Jeff Kastner . Also in 2008 , Plummer lost in the semifinals of the 2008 ' s Idaho State Singles Championships to his brother ( the eventual champion ) . Personal . On March 23 , 1997 , Plummer was accused of fondling three women at the Tempe , Arizona night club , Club Rio . The women stated to police that Plummer reached under their skirts and down their pants while dancing with them and consuming alcohol . When one of the women objected , he allegedly kicked her in the leg . Plummer was formally charged on May 28 , 1997 , with felony sexual abuse . He later struck a plea bargain , received two years probation , was also fined $ 1 , 020 , and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service . Plummer married former Broncos cheerleader Kollette Klassen on August 26 , 2007 . The two met in 2005 and now reside in Sandpoint , Idaho . In September 2007 , Plummer was inducted into the Arizona State Hall of Fame . Later that year , he made a brief appearance in the 2007 Holiday Bowl , when he introduced the ASU players prior to the team playing game . On October 29 , 2010 , Plummer was honored , along with all Sun Devil Quarterbacks , at a Legends Luncheon hosted by the Arizona State University Alumni Association and Sun Devil Club . Other honorees included Danny White , Andrew Walter , John F . Goodman , and Jeff van Raaphorst . In June 2010 , Kollette gave birth to the couple ' s first child . Plummer has been an assistant football coach at Sandpoint High School since 2009 . Relationship with Pat Tillman . Plummer was a teammate with safety Pat Tillman , at both Arizona State and the Arizona Cardinals , and the two became close friends . After the 2001 season , while Plummer was still with the Cardinals , Tillman joined the U . S . Army Rangers in response to 9 / 11 . Following Tillman ' s death in Afghanistan on April 22 , 2004 , all NFL players wore a memorial decal on their helmets on September 24 in honor of Tillman and the Cardinals continued to wear this decal throughout the 2004 season . Plummer , who by this point was with the Broncos , also requested to wear the decal for the entire season , but the NFL turned him down because his helmet would not be uniform with the rest of his team . For the 2005 season Plummer grew an untrimmed , full beard , and wore his hair long in honor of Tillman , who had such a style in the NFL before cutting his hair and shaving off his beard to fit military uniform guidelines .