Quarterback is a very tricky position to play in the NFL. Some QB’s find success early and flame out. Others peak late in their careers. Some find success after playing in a different scheme. The timeline of an NFL quarterback’s career sometimes produces multiple deaths and resurrections. This week’s America Loves Countdowns® series takes a look at ten quarterbacks who were left for dead but managed to find new life when everyone else thought they were finished.

Chris Chandler
Few players have defined “journeyman quarterback” quite like Chandler. He started for eight different teams over his 17 season in the NFL. He played for the Colts, Bucs, Cardinals, L.A. Rams, Oilers, Falcons, Bears, and Rams again – this time after they had moved to St. Louis. His best seasons came in the late 1990′s when he played for Atlanta. He made two Pro Bowls and took the lowly Falcons all the way to the Super Bowl. Even after he gave way to Michael Vick in Atlanta, he still managed to play several more seasons before finally retiring after the 2004 season. Chandler, who almost always had the misfortune of playing for bad teams, managed to hang around for a very long time.

Doug Flutie
“Flutie flushed…. Throws it down…. CAUGHT BY BOSTON COLLEGE! I don’t believe it! It’s a touchdown! The Eagles win it!!” That hail mary pass against Miami in 1984 was going to be Flutie’s legacy. Deemed too small to play in the NFL, he spent time with Chicago and New England in the 1980′s but never had much success. He finally gave up on the NFL and headed north instead, where he once again found fame and glory playing in the CFL. After a full decade of Canadian football and being named the league’s Most Outstanding Player a record six times, it seemed like Flutie would be ready to call it a career. Instead he signed with the 1998 Buffalo Bills, made the Pro Bowl, and led that team to back-to-back playoff appearances. He was the talk of the league, but the Bills soon decided that they no longer needed his services (which worked out well seeing as how they haven’t been back to the playoffs since then). He spent a few seasons in San Diego where he became the oldest player to score two rushing touchdowns in a game, and in his last NFL game in 2005 (this time back with New England), he became the first player since 1941 to successfully attempt a drop-kick.

Randall Cunningham
In the late 1980′s, no quarterback was more electrifying to watch than Cunningham. He took the Eagles to the playoffs multiple times and made amazing plays. He was a revolutionary player in a pre-Internet sports culture that was just starting to recognize highlight-reel type of players (i.e. Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson, etc). Cunningham eventually faded away, never able to fully recover from a torn ACL in 1991 (although he did win the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award in 1992). He actually retired in 1995, and most people did not even realize he had quietly come back to the NFL when he took over for an injured Brad Johnson on the 1998 Vikings squad. Cunningham proceeded to lead Minnesota to what was then the most prolific offensive season in NFL history, proving that he wasn’t done just yet.

Craig Morton
A first round draft pick for Dallas in 1965, Morton quickly established himself as a guy who could beat teams with the deep pass. In 1970, he led the Cowboys to the Super Bowl, where they barely lost on a last-second field goal. The following season, Morton was supplanted in Dallas by Roger Staubach, and his career seemed to be just about done. He signed on with Denver in 1977 and amazingly led that team to the Super Bowl as well (where ironically he lost to Staubach and the Cowboys). He became only one of two NFL QB’s to lead two different teams to the Super Bowl. Even after that, Morton still had life left in him. In 1981 – his 17th season in pro football – he threw for over 3000 yards.

Vinny Testaverde
Vinny was every Steelers fan’s dream QB because of the glorious way he blew games whenever he played against us! But Testaverde did have a lot of success in the NFL too. After winning the Heisman Trophy at Miami, he started his career in Tampa, where at the time, careers went to die. When Cleveland acquired him in the mid-1990′s, the Browns made the playoffs. He then became the first QB of the new Baltimore Ravens (where he made the Pro Bowl), then led the Jets all the way to the AFC Championship Game in 1998. That was already his 12th year, but he still had juice left for a third decade in pro football. He was the starting QB for the Jets, Cowboys, and Panthers before finally retiring after the 2007 season – one in which he completed a 65 yard touchdown pass. When it was all said and done, Vinny had thrown a TD pass in 21 different seasons, a feat that may never be matched.

Earl Morrall
The start to Morrall’s career was perhaps the most dubious of any NFL player. He was drafted by the 49ers in 1956, traded to the Steelers in 1957 so that the 49ers could obtain a linebacker and more draft picks, then traded to the Lions in 1958 so that the Steelers could obtain Bobby Layne! And that was despite the fact that he made the Pro Bowl in Pittsburgh! After playing for the Lions and Giants in the 1960′s, Morrall was again traded – this time to the Baltimore Colts. Pushed into starting action after Johnny Unitas was injured, Morrall dominated. He took the Colts to the Super Bowl and was named the league MVP. Two seasons later, he won the Super Bowl. Then at age 38, he led Miami to the only perfect season in modern league history (yes, he actually started the majority of the games that year for the Dolphins). He was also named Comeback Player of the Year. Morrall lasted 21 seasons with six different teams and is the proud owner of three Super Bowl rings.

Jim Plunkett
In 1971, the Patriots selected Heisman winner Plunkett first overall in the draft. After a great rookie season, his play quickly went downhill. In 1976, he was shipped off to San Francisco, where he continued to flounder. He eventually found work as the 3rd-string QB for the Oakland Raiders. In 1980, a full decade after being called “best pro quarterback prospect ever”, Plunkett finally lived up to the hype. He came off the bench to replace an injured Dan Pastorini and led the Raiders to a world championship, winning the Super Bowl MVP award in the process. Three years later, he came off the bench yet again (this time for an injured Marc Wilson) to lead the Raiders to another Super Bowl victory. To this day, Plunkett is the only quarterback to win multiple Super Bowls and not be elected to the Hall of Fame.

Chad Pennington
Pennington was drafted to replace an aging Vinny Testaverde in New York, and he lived up to the hype right from the start. He helped turn the Jets into a perennial playoff team in the early part of the 2000′s. Then he badly hurt his shoulder. It seemed to be an early end for a guy who had barely even gotten started. Somehow Pennington came back from that injury to lead the Jets to the post-season in 2006 when many had predicted them to be the worst team in the AFC, and he won the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award in the process. What did the Jets do to reward him? They signed broken down Brett “I think I want to play again now” Favre and kicked Pennington out the door. However, Pennington had the last laugh. He went to division rival Miami, led them to the division championship (again when most people had predicted them to be awful seeing as how they were 1-15 the year before he got there), and won the Comeback Player of the Year award for the second time in three years! Best of all, he beat Favre and the Jets on the last day of the season to clinch the division for the Dolphins.

Kerry Collins
There were high hopes for Collins (Penn State sucks) when he became the first ever QB for the Carolina Panthers in 1995, and he did not disappoint. In only his (and the franchise’s) second season, Collins won a division title and came within one game of going to the Super Bowl. His career quickly flamed out however. He developed an alcohol addiction and literally quit on his team, telling his coach to play someone else. Somehow he managed to survive that disgrace and re-emerge with the Giants in 2000. This time Collins made it all the way to the Super Bowl thanks to a surprising late-season run. Once again though, he only lasted a few seasons. He eventually found a backup job in Tennessee, and when Vince Young flamed out (ironically much in the same way Collins had done a decade earlier), he was handed the starting role and led the Titans to the best record in the league, making the Pro Bowl for the first time since 1996. No matter how many times everyone counts him out, Collins always manages to come back. If Joe Paterno were still alive, he would be very proud.

Kurt Warner
Warner’s path is well known to most football fans. He was in Green Bay’s training camp in the mid-1990′s but didn’t make the cut. He went to work stocking shelves in a supermarket. After a stint in the Arena league, he got a job with the St. Louis Rams. Heading into the 1999 season, the Rams were owners of the decade’s worst overall record and had just signed free agent QB Trent Green to help turn the tide. Green got hurt, Warner entered, and the rest is history. He won two league MVP awards, a Super Bowl MVP award, and became the NFL’s best passer. Like many other names on this list, his time in the spotlight with St. Louis was short-lived. He went to New York to keep the seat warm for Eli Manning, then went to Arizona to do the same for Matt Leinart. However, Warner found new life with the Cardinals (who like the Rams had a sorry recent history to speak of when Warner arrived), and in 2008 he led them to the Super Bowl, coming within 35 seconds of winning it. His numerous comebacks have made him one of the most inspirational players of this era, and the ultimate nine-life quarterback.

Honorable Mentions:

• Donovan McNabb: The other players on this list have come back with different teams, but McNabb has the distinction of being left for dead multiple times by the same franchise only to re-emerge from the ashes.
• Tommy Maddox: From the NFL to the insurance business to the XFL to Pittsburgh, where he set all kinds of passing records, Tommy proved that it’s never over until it’s over.
• Jeff Garcia: He always got dumped on and run out of town, then he would lead yet another team to the playoffs, extending his nine-lives further than most thought he could.
• Steve DeBerg: Started his career as a draft pick of the 1977 NFC Champion Dallas Cowboys and finished his career as a member of the 1998 NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons, playing for six teams and becoming the oldest person ever to start a game at QB.