Byron Leftwich

At 44 years old, Byron Leftwich has this physical status:

Playing career

Leftwich appeared at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. He was the MVP of the 2000 Motor City Bowl. Leftwich gained a reputation after defeating East Carolina 64–61 in the 2001 GMAC Bowl, in which he met future teammate David Garrard. He is also remembered for being carried by linemen Steve Sciullo and Steve Perretta after breaking his shin, specifically the left tibia, and returning to the field on multiple occasions as he fueled his squad's comeback against Akron in November 2002. Marshall lost 34–20.

Because ESPN began broadcasting Mid-American Conference (MAC) games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, days before other football on television—in 2000, leftwich's teams were on televisions throughout the United States. Leftwich, along with fellow Marshall graduates Chad Pennington, Randy Moss, and Doug Chapman, has been credited with helping the MAC gain more national attention; Marshall has since joined Conference USA. Leftwich, a Marshall graduate, had 939 of 1,442 passes (65.1 percent) for 9,903 yards, 89 touchdowns, and 28 interceptions. On 1,632 plays, he has accumulated 12,090 yards of total offense, finishing second on the school's all-time list behind Pennington.

The obscure Leftwich received a top-ten draft pick thanks to a media connection from MACtion games. The Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens have agreed to a trade in order to move the Ravens into position to draft him with Minnesota's seventh overall pick in 2003. However, one of the teams had second thoughts at the last minute, and the Vikings had to wait for their pick at the allotted time. As a result, the Vikings had defaulted on their pick and then regressed to the ninth pick. The Jaguars, who had been expected to be drafted eighth overall, were selected seventh on their seventh pick, and they took Leftwich.

After Mark Brunell was hurt in last week's matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, leftwich took over as the Jaguars starting quarterback in game four of his rookie year.

Leftwich was preparing to be the quarterback the Jaguars predicted he would be when they selected him in the first 11 games of the 2005 regular season. He had a passer rating of 89.3, the ninth best in the NFL, and a 3:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio (15:5).

Leftwich sustained a broken ankle after being kicked by Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson on the first play of the season. Leftwich also missed the remaining five games of the regular season. In the AFC Wild Card round of the playoffs, he played for the New England Patriots. The Patriots defeated the Browns 28–3.

Leftwich played for the Jaguars in his fourth NFL season, but there was no replacement wide receiver Jimmy Smith, who eventually retired in May 2006. In weeks against the favored Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers, Leftwich led the Jaguars to victories on national television in consecutive weeks. In a week 4 loss to the Washington Redskins, Leftwich sustained an ankle injury. Leftwich underwent surgery to fix the ankle, effectively ending his season.

David Garrard was recalled Leftwich for the remainder of the season. Garrard, Leftwich's replacement, led the Jaguars to five victories and two losses in their first seven games, as the Jaguars' eighth in 13 games. Garrard's and the team's success in Leftwich's absence fueled rumors that the Jaguars might attempt to replace Leftwich permanently with Garrard. However, the Jaguars lost the three remaining games of the season, effectively ending the team from making the playoffs, and Garrard struggled in every game. Garrard's ineffectiveness prompted Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio to trade him with backup Quinn Gray.

Del Rio reiterated his dedication to Leftwich, formally naming him as the team's starter over Garrard and Gray in February 2007.

Del Rio called Garrard the team's starter and announced that Leftwich and Garrard's performances during the 2007 regular season games will be either cut or traded. Leftwich was slashed by the Jaguars on September 1, 2007.

Leftwich was flown out to Atlanta on September 17, 2007, citing a potential move with the team. Leftwich signed a two-year contract with the Falcons with incentives attached, potentially worth the transaction up to $7 million.

Leftwich started the season as a back-up to starter Joey Harrington. Leftwich got off to a good start in Week 7 and played well before having to leave the game with an ankle injury. After recovering from his injury, he got off to a good start in Week 11. Harrington recovered his starting position, but Leftwich did not play again. He was released by the Falcons on February 15, 2008. In July, he was voted out for the Tennessee Titans.

Leftwich, Pittsburgh's backup Charlie Batchet, was hospitalized in a preseason game on August 10, 2008. The deal was worth $645,000, and it came with a $40,000 signing bonus. Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback Mark Leftwich's backup, started the 2008 season as the backup to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Before the 2008 season's first game, he said, "I'm the guy sitting in the bullpen." "If something were to happen, I'd have to go out there." Leftwich played well throughout the season when called on to play in five games. He completed 21 of 36 attempts for 303 yards and two touchdowns on a 104.3 passer rating in comparison to running for just one touchdown. Leftwich was rewarded with a Super Bowl ring as the Steelers' backup after beating the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.

On April 12, 2009, Leftwich reached an agreement with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a two-year deal.

Leftwich was the team's starter for the 2009 regular season, according to Buccaneers head coach Raheem Morris on August 29.

After a humiliating loss to the New York Giants and a 0–3 start to the season, the Buccaneers benched Leftwich on September 28. Josh Johnson was named the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' starting QB, while Leftwich went down to third string behind Josh Freeman. Leftwich was pushed to the injured reserve on November 24 after missing several games due to an elbow injury, effectively ending his 2009 season.

On April 20, 2010, Leftwich was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a 2010 seventh-round draft pick. Ben Roethlisberger served his four-game suspension but he sustained a knee injury against the Carolina Panthers in the preseason finale. Leftwich was fired from the Steelers on September 18, 2010, in a temporary change to make room for defensive lineman Steve McLendon, who was suspended due to a casey Hampton injury. However, Dennis Dixon was hospitalized in a victory over the Tennessee Titans on September 19 while Leftwich was re-signed on the morning of September 20. Leftwich made one appearance during the regular season finale, in lieu of Roethlisberger, if the game was out of reach for the opposing Cleveland. The final score was 41–9 and he completed 5 passes out of 7 attempts for a total of 42 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. For the Steelers' playoff run and their Super Bowl XLV loss to the Green Bay Packers, Leftwich was the Steelers' backup quarterback.

Leftwich broke his left arm while running with the ball on week three of the 2011 preseason against Atlanta. On September 2, he was placed on the Injured Reserve list, causing him to miss the entire season. In April 2012, he rejoined the team for the second time.

Ben Roethlisberger was forced to miss the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Heinz Field on Week 10 of the 2012 season, straining his SC joint and rib on the only game suspended of the season. Leftwich came into the game and scored seven of 14 passes for 73 yards, leading the team to a game that would eventually be tied before the Steelers eventually triumphed in overtime. Leftwich will be the starter against the Baltimore Ravens at home two days after winning over the Chiefs. In the loss to the Ravens, he had a 31-yard rush for a touchdown in the first drive. However, he fractured his rib and was sidelined after the game, which would be the last one of his career.

Coaching career

Leftwich was hired by the Arizona Cardinals as a coaching intern during training camp on May 9, 2016. He was given the opportunity to help train the Cardinals' quarterbacks. Leftwich, the Cardinals' quarterback, was hired by the Cardinals as their quarterbacks coach under head coach Bruce Arians, who had been his offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers, on January 27, 2017. Bruce Arians had resigned as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, and Steve Wilks took over. Leftwich, the Cardinals' offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, was expected to take over as interim offensive coordinator on October 19, 2018. Leftwich was fired by the Cardinals on December 31, 2018, as well as head coach Steve Wilks, and the team's record since 2000.

Leftwich was fired as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offensive coordinator on January 8, 2019, reuniting with new head coach Bruce Arians. In an interview with ESPN, Arians, who was returning from retirement, said he "wouldn't have taken the job if it wasn't for general manager Jason Licht," and most likely would not have taken the job if Byron Leftwich wasn't available."

Arians said he had delegated the offense to Leftwich after the 2020 regular season, and expressed indignation that the coordinator was not selected by other NFL teams for a head coaching job. The Buccaneers won Super Bowl LV, their second with Arians and Leftwich, at the end of the season. Leftwich has held multiple head coaching interviews since then, but never for the position.

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