Brett Favre Backups: Through the Years
A lot of times, when a great player plays quarterback for a franchise for a long time, it’s interesting to see who played backup for him. Who became a proper starting quarterback? Who had started elsewhere but was finishing his career here? Here we take a look at Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre’s endorsements over the years.
1992: Brett arrives at the Green Bay Packers
Endorsement: Don Majkowski (University of Virginia)
Majkowski had started for the Packers early in his career and would later start games for the Indianapolis Colts, also appearing in a few games for the Detroit Lions.
1993: Brett’s sophomore year
Substitute: Ty Detmer (Brigham Young University)
Detmer won the Heisman Trophy playing QB for the BYU Cougars and after backing up Green Bay in 1993 and 1995, he would start games for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1996 and 1997. He would also see playing time with San Francisco, Cleveland, and Detroit.
1994: Brett’s third year
Endorsement: Mark Brunell (University of Washington)
Probably the quarterback who played behind Favre and had the most success (so far), Mark Brunell would later start games for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Washington Redskins. Brunell made numerous Pro Bowl appearances and in 1996 led the league in total passing yards. Brunell also currently ranks in the top 25 all-time in the following categories: pass attempts, completions, and passing yards.
1995: Brett’s fourth year
Endorsement: Ty Detmer – See above
Substitute: Jim McMahon (Brigham Young University)
McMahon had already been a starting quarterback for most of his career, having won a Super Bowl with the 1985 Chicago Bears. He would also start at some point with San Diego, Philadelphia and Minnesota. He also spent time with the Arizona Cardinals briefly before spending his last two years in the league backing up Green Bay.
Endorsement: TJ Rubley (University of Tulsa)
Rubley had starting experience with the Los Angeles Rams in 1993, but his time with the 1995 Packers would be his last in the NFL.
1996: Brett and the Packers win the Super Bowl
Endorsement: Jim McMahon – See above
Backup: Doug Pederson (NE Louisiana)
Pederson went on to see time as the starting quarterback with Philadelphia and Cleveland in 1999 and 2000 respectively before returning to Green Bay’s backup again for the 2001 to 2004 seasons.
1997: A Super Bowl loss
Endorsement: Doug Pederson – See above
Substitute: Steve Bono (UCLA)
Bono had previous experience as a starting quarterback for both San Francisco and Kansas City. Earlier in his career, he had experience as a backup with both Minnesota and Pittsburgh, and after this season in Green Bay, he would spend two more years in the league (backup to the Rams and Carolina Panthers) before retiring.
1998: Brett’s seventh year and Mike Holmgren’s final year as Packers head coach.
Endorsement: Doug Pederson – See above
1999: Brett’s eighth year and only season Ray Rhodes was head coach.
Substitute: Matt Hasselbeck (Boston College)
Hasselbeck would go on to play for Holmgren in Seattle and lead the Seahawks to the Super Bowl, only to lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
2000: Brett’s ninth year and Mike Sherman’s first year as head coach.
Endorsement: Matt Hasselbeck – See above
2001: Brett’s tenth year
Endorsement: Doug Pederson – See above
2002: Brett’s 11th year
Endorsement: Doug Pederson – See above
2003: Brett’s 12th year
Endorsement: Doug Pederson – See above
2004: Brett’s 13th year
Endorsement: Doug Pederson – See above
Substitute: Craig Nall (North West State)
Nall would throw for four touchdowns in his only NFL action this season. He would continue as Favre’s backup in 2005 before spending a final year as a backup in Buffalo.
Endorsement: JT O’Sullivan (University of California-Davis)
O’Sullivan saw no action for Green Bay aside from two late-game takedowns, he did not see any game action in 2005 or 2006, but did take the field for the Detroit Lions during the 2007 season.
2005: Brett’s 14th year
Endorsement: Craig Nall – See above
Substitute: Aaron Rodgers (University of California)
Rodgers is the current backup to Brett Favre and has been tagged as the heir apparent to take over after he retires since the Packers drafted him.
2006: Brett’s 15th year and Mike McCarthy’s first season as Packers head coach.
Endorsement: Aaron Rodgers – See above
Substitute: Ingle Martin
Martin came to the game for the final game of the year and turned the ball over once and took a knee twice.
2007: Brett’s 16th year
Endorsement: Aaron Rodgers – See above
There you have it, Brett Favre backups through the years. This is by no means definitive and focuses primarily on quarterbacks who were not only on the roster, but made it into the game at some point during the season.
Some observations:
Twice Favre had endorsements from small colleges in Louisiana (Favre’s home state), with Doug Pederson from northeast Louisiana and Craig Nall from the northwestern state.
The Packers have had two different ex-BYU Brett backup quarterbacks (Jim McMahon and Ty Detmer). The quarterback who spent the most years as a backup to Brett Favre was Doug Pederson and he did so in two separate stints with the team (1996-1998 and 2001-2004).
Brett Favre himself was drafted by the Falcons, only to play sparingly and then traded to the Packers in 1992. In 1993, the Packers drafted Mark Brunell, who played sparingly for them and then traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars, where it happened to be the star. many years. He’s one of the most durable quarterbacks the league will ever see, and these were the guys who backed him up.