Gus Frerotte Gustave Joseph " Gus " Frerotte ( ; born July 31 , 1971 ) is a former American football quarterback . He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the seventh round of the 1994 NFL Draft . He played college football at Tulsa . Frerotte , who was selected to the 1997 Pro Bowl while with the Redskins , also played for the Detroit Lions , Denver Broncos , Cincinnati Bengals , Miami Dolphins , Minnesota Vikings , and St . Louis Rams . Early years . Frerotte attended Ford City High School in Ford City , Pennsylvania , a suburb of Pittsburgh . In high school , he was a letterman in football , basketball , and baseball . Frerotte graduated in 1989 . Frerotte is the cousin of Mitch Frerotte , an offensive lineman who played for the Buffalo Bills during the 1990s . College career . At the University of Tulsa , he started eight games as a redshirt freshman in 1990 after quarterback T . J . Rubley was injured , starting his first career game at Oklahoma . He finished his college career as the school ' s second - ranked all - time passer , behind Rubley . During his career , he threw for 5 , 480 yards and 32 touchdowns on 432 - of - 860 passing . His 2 , 871 passing yards as a senior were the most by a Tulsa quarterback in 28 years . As a sophomore , Frerotte also handled punting duties for the team and averaged 35 . 5 yards per punt . As an undergraduate , he joined the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity . Professional career . Washington Redskins . Frerotte was picked in the seventh round of the draft by the Washington Redskins ; earlier in the same draft , the Redskins had selected Heath Shuler with their first - round pick ( third overall ) . However , by the next season Frerotte was the starting quarterback due to Shuler ' s injuries and struggles adjusting to the professional game . Frerotte would retain the starting job until 1998 . Frerotte was selected to the 1997 Pro Bowl , but may be better remembered for spraining his neck by ramming his head into a padded cement wall during a touchdown celebration in a 7 – 7 tie against the New York Giants on ESPN Sunday Night Football . Detroit Lions . In 1999 , he played for the Detroit Lions , where he backed up Charlie Batch . Frerotte wound up starting for the Lions in the playoffs while Batch was out with injuries ; the Lions lost in the Wild Card round to the Redskins , Frerotte ' s former team , 27 - 13 . Denver Broncos . In 2000 , he started for the Denver Broncos after Brian Griese was injured and led the Broncos to the playoffs , though the team fell in the opening round to eventual Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens . He remained the Broncos ' backup until the end of the 2001 NFL season . Cincinnati Bengals . He joined the Cincinnati Bengals in 2002 , winning the starting job before losing the position after three games to Jon Kitna under the soon - to - be - fired Dick LeBeau . His most notable play with the Bengals came against the Cleveland Browns on September 15 : Frerotte , attempting to avoid a sack by Orpheus Roye , threw the ball with his left hand ( Frerrotte is right - handed ) and was intercepted by Browns defensive lineman Kenard Lang , who returned the ball 71 yards to the Bengals 8 - yard line . 2003 - 2007 : Vikings , Dolphins , and Rams . In 2003 and 2004 , Frerotte backed up Daunte Culpepper for the Minnesota Vikings . He won both games as a temporary starter for the team in 2003 . Frerotte earned the Miami Dolphins starting job in 2005 . He started 15 games , guiding the Dolphins to a 9 – 6 record , throwing for 18 touchdowns and 13 interceptions , completing 52 % of his passes and finished the season with a 71 . 9 quarterback rating . After , he joined the St . Louis Rams as back - up to Marc Bulger . St . Louis cut Frerotte after two seasons on February 28 , 2008 . Second stint with Vikings . On April 1 , 2008 he returned to the Vikings , signing a two - year , 3 . 75 million dollar deal . He was Tarvaris Jackson ' s backup for the first two games of the year . On September 17 , 2008 , he was named the starter for the rest of the 2008 season by head coach Brad Childress . Frerotte led the Vikings to an 8 - 3 record before suffering a back injury , which reinstated Jackson as the starter . On November 30 , 2008 , Frerotte tied the NFL record for the longest pass from scrimmage by throwing a 99 - yard touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian against the Chicago Bears . Frerotte had expressed interest in being the starting quarterback for the Vikings for the 2009 NFL season , but was released on February 27 , 2009 , after the team traded for quarterback Sage Rosenfels . The Vikings , however , would end up signing Brett Favre to be their eventual starter . After Retirement . As of December 2010 , Frerotte works for GAIMPlan Consulting which helps high school athletes pick a college . On January 19 , 2011 , Frerotte announced he would be taking over as head coach at John Burroughs School in the St . Louis area . His teams were runners up in the state championship game in 2011 and 2012 . = Personal life = Gus Frerotte is married to Ann , with whom he has a daughter , Abigaile , and two sons , Gunnar and Gabriel .