Rex Grossman
Rex Daniel Grossman III is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League for 11 seasons, most notably with the Chicago Bears. Grossman played college football for the Florida Gators, where he was named AP College Football Player of the Year and won the 2002 Orange Bowl as a sophomore. He was selected by the Bears in the first round of the 2003 NFL draft.
Grossman's most successful season was in 2006 when he helped lead the Bears to an NFC conference title and an appearance in Super Bowl XLI. Due to inconsistent play, Grossman lost his starting position the following season. He spent the remainder of his career mostly as a backup, last playing as a starter with the Washington Redskins in 2011.
Early life
Grossman was born in Bloomington, Indiana in 1980, the son of Rex Daniel Grossman II and Maureen Grossman. Under the motivation and guidance of his father, he began playing football at an early age in grade school. He originally started his football career as a running back, and played for a team that was coached by his father. His mother convinced his father to convert him to a quarterback while he was in the sixth grade.Grossman attended Bloomington High School South, where he played high school football for the Bloomington South Panthers. In three seasons as the Panthers' quarterback, he threw for 7,518 yards and 97 touchdowns. He threw for 3,080 yards and forty-four touchdowns as a senior in 1998, including a game where he threw six touchdowns. His senior season culminated when he led the Panthers to a 35–14 victory over the Homestead High School Spartans in the Indiana Class 5A state championship game. Grossman completed seventeen of twenty-six pass attempts for 216 yards and five touchdowns, setting an Indiana record for the most touchdowns thrown in a championship game.
Grossman was recognized as the 1998 Indiana Player of the Year by USA Today, was ranked among the top fifteen players in the nation by the National Recruiting Advisor, and Parade magazine named him to its high school All-America team. He received statewide honors when he was named Indiana's Mr. Football later that year. Bloomington High School South retired his jersey in the summer of 2007 to commemorate his success during the Chicago Bears' 2006 season.
College career
Grossman accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier and coach Ron Zook's Florida Gators from 1999 to 2002.2000
After redshirting his freshman year in 1999, Grossman competed for playing time with returning starter Jesse Palmer and the top high school recruit in the country Brock Berlin, in 2000. Grossman started his first game as a Florida Gator on October 7, 2000, against LSU. Grossman had gotten the opportunity to start after completing 13 of 16 pass attempts for 232 yards and two touchdowns against Mississippi State the week before in the Gators' only SEC conference loss of the season. Grossman solidified his position as Florida's starting quarterback during the next two games by throwing for over 500 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions in lopsided wins over LSU and Auburn. He led the Gators to the SEC championship and was named Most Valuable Player of the SEC Championship Game. For the season, Grossman completed 61.8 percent of his passes for 1,866 yards, 21 touchdowns, and only seven interceptions. His passer efficiency rating of 161.8 was the third best in NCAA Division I football.2001
Grossman passed for over 300 yards in nine consecutive games during his sophomore season in 2001. He led the nation in passing efficiency and yards per attempt. Grossman was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, was voted the Associated Press Player of the Year, and came in second in the balloting for the 2001 Heisman Trophy in one of the closest Heisman votes in the history of the award. At the time, his 55 touchdown passes through his sophomore season were the most in NCAA history. On October 6, 2001, Grossman passed for 464 yards and five touchdowns as No. 2 Florida defeated the No. 18 LSU Tigers 44–15. In a 2006 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Grossman cited the victory as his most memorable game as a Gator. He finished second to Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch in one of the closest votes in Heisman Trophy history, losing by only 62 votes. He earned accolades as a consensus first-team All-American, the AP National Player-of-the-Year, and finalist for other awards, including the Walter Camp National Player-of-the-Year Award, the Maxwell College Player-of-the-Year Award, and the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback-of-the-Year Award. He ended his sophomore season with a 56–23 victory over the Maryland Terrapins in the 2002 Orange Bowl.2002
As a junior team captain in 2002, Grossman led the Gators in the famed "Slingin' in the Rain" game against the Tennessee Volunteers, in which he threw three touchdowns and 22 completions in 32 attempts en route to a 30–13 victory over the Vols. Grossman led the Gators to the 2003 Outback Bowl, where they lost to the Michigan Wolverines 38–30 despite his completing 21 of 41 passes for 323 yards and two touchdowns. After the season was over, Grossman decided to forgo his final year of college eligibility and declared for the NFL draft.In his three-season college career, Grossman threw for 9,164 yards and seventy-seven touchdowns. He earned a 146.77 passer rating, becoming the third most efficient passer in the Southeastern Conference's history. He was twice chosen by his teammates as the Gators' most valuable player, in 2000 and 2001. In one of a series of articles about the top 100 Gators from the first century of Florida football, The Gainesville Sun recognized Grossman as the No. 10 all-time Gator in 2006. He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2013. Grossman was also inducted into the SEC Football Legends in 2024.
College statistics
Professional career
Chicago Bears
2003 season
The Chicago Bears selected Grossman with the 22nd pick of the first round in the 2003 NFL draft. Head coach Dick Jauron kept Grossman sidelined as a rookie in favor of veteran quarterbacks Chris Chandler and Kordell Stewart. Grossman only saw playing time during the later portion of the 2003 season after the Bears had been eliminated from playoff contention. His season ended when he was forced to leave the final game with a broken finger.2004 season
Prior to the start of the 2004 season, the Bears fired Jauron and hired Lovie Smith, who declared Grossman the team's starting quarterback. Grossman was criticized when he threw a game-ending interception against the Detroit Lions on opening day. Criticism of his durability intensified when Grossman suffered a season-ending ACL injury during a Week 3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.2005 season
Grossman missed most of the 2005 season after breaking his ankle in a preseason game. On December 18, 2005, he returned to action in relief of Kyle Orton, leading the Bears to a 16–3 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. He completed 11 of 16 passes for 166 yards for a touchdown and interception in a 24–17 victory against the Green Bay Packers during the following week on Christmas Day. The victory enabled the Bears to clinch a playoff berth and the NFC's second playoff seed. Grossman struggled to anchor the Bears' offense in his first career playoff start, completing 17 of 41 passes for 192 yards for one touchdown and an interception in a 29–21 loss against the Carolina Panthers.2006 season: Super Bowl run
During the 2006 season, Grossman became the first Bears quarterback to start all sixteen games since Erik Kramer in 1995. In a season dubbed as a "roller coaster ride" by Grossman himself, the fourth-year quarterback had several productive performances, which were seemingly diluted by a handful of turnover-ridden games, especially in Week 6 against the Arizona Cardinals, where Grossman fumbled twice and threw four interceptions. While earning a passer rating of at least 100 in seven games, he earned a sub 50 rating in five games during the latter portion of the season. Grossman, who was recognized as the NFC Offensive Player of the Month in September, concluded the season's final month with a 64.4 passer rating, including a zero rating during the season's finale game against the Green Bay Packers. Grossman's work ethic drew criticism when he admitted that he was not adequately prepared to play and later claimed the game to be "meaningless." He later clarified his statement days later and claimed his quote was taken out of context. His inconsistent performance drew criticism, and calls for Smith to bench Grossman in favor of the veteran Brian Griese.Nevertheless, Smith, who supported Grossman throughout the season, declared that Grossman would remain the Bears' starting quarterback throughout the playoffs, causing much skepticism within the Chicago area. He temporarily silenced his critics by leading the Bears to a 27–24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, completing 21 of 38 passes for 282 yards and one interception, fumble, and touchdown. The following week, he led the Bears to a 39–14 victory over the New Orleans Saints, which allowed the Bears to claim the NFC Championship Game and advance to Super Bowl XLI. In the Super Bowl, Grossman completed 20 of 28 passes, including a one-yard touchdown pass. However, he also threw two interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown, and fumbled twice due to miscues between him and center Olin Kreutz. The Bears went on to lose to the Indianapolis Colts 29–17. Grossman received the Ed Block Courage Award after the season ended, which is given to one player from every team who exemplifies commitments to the principles of sportsmanship and courage, and is believed to be positive role models to their community.