Trent Dilfer Trent Farris Dilfer ( born March 13 , 1972 ) is a former football quarterback in the National Football League . He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sixth overall in the 1994 NFL Draft and went on to play for the Baltimore Ravens , Seattle Seahawks , Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers . He played college football at Fresno State University . Dilfer was a Pro Bowl selection with the Buccaneers in 1997 and earned a Super Bowl ring with the Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV . He currently serves as an NFL analyst for ESPN . Early years . Dilfer attended Aptos High School in California . College career . Dilfer attended Fresno State , starting at quarterback for seasons . Dilfer helped Fresno State win or share the conference title for three straight seasons and started in two bowl games . In his junior season , Dilfer led the nation in pass efficiency en route to being named the WAC Offensive Player of the Year . He also set the NCAA record for consecutive pass attempts without an interception ( 271 ) that stood until 2007 , when Kentucky quarterback Andre ' Woodson broke it . He then declared himself eligible for the 1994 NFL Draft , forgoing his senior season . Professional career . Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Dilfer ' s professional football career began when he was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with their 1st pick in the 1994 NFL Draft ( 6th overall ) after his junior season at Fresno State . When the Indianapolis Colts passed on Dilfer in the draft , ESPN Draft expert Mel Kiper , Jr . heavily criticized their decision . This led to Colts GM Bill Tobin responding on television by asking " Who in the hell is Mel Kiper " and challenged Kiper ' s credentials to evaluate the draft . This exchange is often shown as one of the classic moments of ESPN draft coverage . Enlisted as the starter in his second year , after seeing spot duty in his rookie year , Dilfer struggled during what was still a dark period for the Buccaneers as a whole , when in 1995 he threw only 4 TD passes but 18 interceptions . The following year , he showed moderate improvement by upping his TD production , but failed to improve his turnover numbers ( recording a career - high 19 ) . The following season , a year that Tampa ' s offense was aided by the arrival of rookie Warrick Dunn and the emergence of Mike Alstott , Dilfer was the first Tampa Bay quarterback to ever go to the Pro Bowl , which some say was a reward for a highly efficient season in the Buccaneers ' limited offense . In the first 12 games of that year Dilfer passed for 2213 yards , 19 touchdown s and five interception s . However , Dilfer ' s performance was perceived to decline in his last four games . In the playoffs the Buccaneers defeated their NFC Central rivals , the Detroit Lions , before losing to their long - time division rivals , and defending Super Bowl champions , the Green Bay Packers . While with the Bucs , he won more games than any quarterback in franchise history and took the team to their first playoff game in 15 years . Dilfer threw for 21 touchdowns with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in both the 1997 and the 1998 NFL seasons . In the 1996 - 1999 NFL seasons , with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , Dilfer averaged 2 , 729 yards a season and had a total of 58 touchdowns . His inconsistent play continued and in Week 10 of 1999 he was injured severely , missing the rest of the season . Baltimore Ravens . Dilfer signed with the Ravens on March 8 , 2000 and became the backup for Tony Banks . After two straight losses and four straight weeks without an offensive touchdown , the Ravens replaced Banks with Dilfer . The Ravens would lose their third straight game and fail to score a touchdown for the fifth straight week . It would be the last time the Ravens would lose a game that season , or go without a touchdown . The Ravens finished the season winning seven straight to earn a wild card berth at 12 - 4 . The 7 - 1 run also gave Dilfer a 45 - 39 record as a starter at that point . In the playoffs , Dilfer went 3 - 0 , and the Ravens advanced to Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa , Florida to meet the New York Giants . Halfway through the first quarter he connected with Brandon Stokley on a deep post for a 38 - yard touchdown , badly beating Jason Sehorn . A third down 44 - yard pass to Qadry Ismail would set up a field goal before halftime , to give Baltimore a 10 - 0 lead . The Ravens eventually won 34 - 7 . Dilfer ' s game stats were 12 completions for 153 yards and 1 TD . Dilfer was described as a game manager quarterback for the Ravens that season : He " wasn ' t elite , but he didn ' t make costly mistakes , and was supported by a dominant defense . " Seattle Seahawks . On August 3 , 2001 , the Seattle Seahawks signed Dilfer as a back - up quarterback to starter Matt Hasselbeck . Dilfer saw his first action when Hasselbeck injured his groin in week three against the Oakland Raiders . Dilfer started and won the next two games , before being replaced by a healthy Hasselbeck . Dilfer came on in a relief role against the Washington Redskins , when Hasselbeck struggled . He continued as the starter when Hasselbeck suffered a separated left shoulder . Dilfer started the final two games of the season , and with Seattle in the playoff hunt , won them both . He ended the season by throwing five touchdowns and two interceptions in two three - point victories . The Seahawks ' AFC ( they were still in the AFC in 2001 ) wild - card hopes ended when the Ravens beat the Minnesota Vikings 19 - 3 on Monday Night Football . At the end of the season , Dilfer ' s passer rating was 92 . 0 and he had won 15 straight starts . Partially because the Seattle Seahawks ' starting quarterback , Hasselbeck , was coming off a season where he went 5 - 7 as a starter and threw eight interceptions and seven touchdowns , Dilfer was re - signed by the team to a four - year deal on March 1 , and was slated as the starter heading into training camp . However , in an exhibition game against Indianapolis , Dilfer sprained his medial collateral ligament in his right knee . With the injury , Dilfer lost the starting job to Hasselbeck . Dilfer returned to the starting position against the Arizona Cardinals with a 13 - 24 loss . On October 28 , 2002 , in week 8 , he suffered a season - ending torn achilles tendon against the Dallas Cowboys on the synthetic turf at Texas Stadium . At that point in the season , the Seahawks were 2 - 5 . In 2003 , Dilfer played sparingly in a relief role , and was primarily used to mentor Hasselbeck . In 2004 , Dilfer started in only two games , and won them both : November 28 versus the Miami Dolphins , 24 - 17 , and December 26 versus the Arizona Cardinals , 24 - 21 . Hasselbeck and Dilfer remain close friends since their time together in Seattle . Cleveland Browns . In March 2005 Dilfer was traded to the Cleveland Browns where it was hoped he would mentor rookie quarterback Charlie Frye . Naming Dilfer the starting quarterback for the 2005 NFL season , the idea was to work Frye into the lineup under the veteran ' s tutelage , but a behind - the - scenes dispute with then - offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon resulted in Dilfer ' s wanting out of Cleveland almost immediately . In his lone season for the Browns , Dilfer passed for 2 , 321 yards and 11 touchdowns , throwing 12 interceptions and fumbling 9 times ( losing 7 of those ) . His passer rating was 76 . 9 . He did however have the highest completion percentage of his career at 59 . 8 percent . The Browns would fall to 6 - 10 . San Francisco 49ers . In May 2006 , Dilfer was traded to the San Francisco 49ers , this time to serve as a mentor to the 2005 first round draft pick Alex Smith . In return , the 49ers gave the Browns Ken Dorsey and a 7th round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft . A close friend of former 49ers quarterback John Brodie , Dilfer received permission from Brodie and the 49ers to wear his retired number 12 in support of Brodie eventually going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame . On September 30 , 2007 , Dilfer took over from Alex Smith following Smith ' s grade three shoulder separation . He would go on to start for the 49ers in games against the Seahawks , Ravens and Giants before conceding the starting spot back to Smith . However with Smith ' s effectiveness in question coming back from injury , coach Mike Nolan announced on November 14 , 2007 that Dilfer would be the starting quarterback . Dilfer would go on to start in games against the Rams , in victory over the Cardinals in overtime , and against the Panthers . On December 9 in a home game against the Vikings , Dilfer suffered a head injury resulting in a concussion while diving for a 1st down on 4th and 2 that took him out of the game and subsequently the season . He was succeeded by third string backup Shaun Hill . Retirement . Dilfer officially announced his retirement on July 9 , 2008 . Though he had suffered an Achilles ' tendon injury playing basketball earlier in the offseason with his wife , Dilfer stated that he was planning to retire anyway . Broadcasting . Dilfer joined the NFL Network as a guest analyst in 2006 . On September 15 , 2007 he appeared on the NFL Network ' s pregame show . He was the NFL Network ' s color analyst for the 2008 Senior Bowl as well as a studio analyst during the 2008 NFL playoffs . On July 14 , 2008 Dilfer signed on as an NFL analyst for ESPN . In 2010 it was announced that he would join Brad Nessler to call the second game of the network ' s " Monday Night Football " doubleheader on September 13 of that year . Dilfer has also coined the phrase " turned a stinky sandwich into an ice cream cone , " which means that a player has turned a potentially negative play into a positive one . Personal . Dilfer resides with his family in the Saratoga , California . He is married to Cassandra Dilfer , a former Fresno State swimmer , and they have three daughters ( Madeleine , Victoria , and Delaney ) and a son , now deceased ( Trevin ) ; on April 27 , 2003 , Trevin lost his 40 - day battle with heart disease at the age of 5 . On June 2 , 2003 Trent made his first public comments regarding his family ' s loss and , still grieving , openly wept . Aptos High School , Dilfer ' s alma mater , named their football field Trevin Dilfer Field . On a broadcast of the Cardinals and Titans preseason game in 2012 , Dilfer admitted he was 265 lbs and drinking himself to sleep during his tenure with the Seahawks . This was in regard to losing his son and how Hasselbeck helped him recover .