Matt Schaub

At 42 years old, Matt Schaub has this physical status:

Matthew Schaub (born June 25, 1981) is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL).

He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers, and was drafted by the Falcons in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft.

He has also played for the Houston Texans, Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens.

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High school career

Schaub attended West Chester East High School in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where he lettered in football, basketball, and baseball.

College career

Schaub began his career as a member of the Virginia Cavaliers football team in the fall of 1999. He redshirted his true freshman year. Starting Dan Ellis in 2000 was forced to miss some time due to a fractured ankle, but Bryson Spinner, a freshman from the redshirt, saw the majority of his playing time in relief. After the 2000 season, coach George Welsh resigned and Al Groh took over. Schaub was the starter for the first game of the 2001 season at the Wisconsin Badgers. Schaub and Spinner split quarterbackships almost equally across the 2001 season. In some games, the two alternated, while in others Schaub or Spinner received almost all the snaps. Both the quarterback and receiver Billy McMullen, the team's top offensive threat, played admirably, with both effectively passing the ball to receiver Billy McMullen. Schaub had 1,524 passing yards, ten touchdowns, and eight interceptions on the season.

Spinner stayed at the University of Richmond for the 2002 season, clearly making Schaub the unquestioned starter. Schaub was briefly suspended by redshirt freshman Marques Hagans in the first game of the 2002 season against the Colorado State Rams. Hagans was drafted to start the next game against the Florida State Seminoles, but Schaub was forced to start a new one against the Florida State Seminoles. He had 2,976 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, and seven interceptions on the season. Schaub was the 2002 ACC Offensive Player of the Year, 2002 ACC Offensive Player of the Year, and a first-team All-State Virginia Sports Information Directors Association (VaSID) Senior. Schaub sustained a shoulder injury in the first game of the season and did not return for many games in his senior season, and his total numbers decreased in his senior season. He had 2,952 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions during the season. He was the Most Valuable Player of the 2003 Continental Tire Bowl and was twice selected to the All-ACC Academic Football Team. The John Acquite Memorial Trophy, which was given to the football player with the most exemplary leadership and unselfish service, was among his University of Virginia honors, as well as the Ben Wilson Award for the team's Most Outstanding offensive player.

Schaub completed his college career with at least 22 school records. He appeared in a record 40 games at the quarterback position and ended his career as one of the most accurate passers in the Atlantic Coast Conference history (.670 career completion percentage). The Virginia professor's statistics included school records for yards passing (7,502), touchdown passes (56), completions (716), completions (716), completion percentage (.670), 300-yard games (19), and 200-yard games (20).

Professional career

Schaub was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft as the 90th overall pick. He was the fifth of seventeen quarterbacks to be drafted in a quarterback-rich class, including Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, and Ben Roethlisberger.

Schaub played in six games for the Atlanta Falcons in 2004, including starting the Week 16 game against the New Orleans Saints after missing injured Michael Vick.

Schaub was named Most Valuable Player in an American Bowl preseason game in Tokyo, Japan, in 2005. In a 27–21 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in front of 45,203 fans at the Tokyo Dome, Schaub completed 11 of 13 passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns. He appeared in five games during the regular season, starting one. In Week 5, Schaub threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns, marking his lone start; in the 31–28 loss, he got off to a shaky start against the New England Patriots. Schaub was the holder of extra points and field goals.

Schaub was the top scorer and field goal holder in 2006, as the holder of extra points and field goals had been boosted. He had 208 passing yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions on the season.

In 2007, and 2008, the Houston Texans purchased Schaub from the Falcons for second-round picks. In 2007, the Falcons' 10th pick was traded with the Texans' 8th pick as part of the pact, as part of the package. Schaub was introduced to his new squad at a press conference on March 22, 2007, and the Texans fired David Carr the same day, opening the door for Schaub to become their long-term starter.

Schaub threw for over 220 yards, a 71% completion percentage, and had a quarterback rating of over 100 in both games of the 2007 season; both games were wins for the Texans, defeating the Kansas City Chiefs and 34-21 over the Carolina Panthers. The second victory was the first in franchise history to win by a margin of 2–0. In Week 4, he took on his former team, the Atlanta Falcons, in which he kicked 28 of 40 attempts for 317 yards and one touchdown.

Despite Schaub's injuries wracked the 2007 season, the Texans and backup quarterback Sage Rosenfels both improved on the team's 2006 record of 6-10, bringing the Texans to their first.500 season in franchise history with an 8–8 record in the team's brief history.

Schaub made his return to action as the starter for the 2008 season. He didn't do well in the first two games, losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans, but the Jacksonville Jaguars won a great game against the Jacksonville Jaguars despite another loss. He was forced to miss the Indianapolis Colts' Week 5 loss. Schaub dominated passing yards with 379 in Week 6 for the Texans, who saw Schaub score the winning touchdown on a quarterback draw with 3 seconds remaining. Schaub, a teammate of Andre Johnson, led the league in both receptions and receiving yards through Week 8 of the season, with 56 catches for 772 yards. During the Week 8 match against the Cincinnati Bengals, Schaub threw for 280 yards, finishing over 85% of his passes (24 of 28), with ten of the touchdowns going to Johnson for 143 yards. Schaub's season was marred by a knee injury against the Minnesota Vikings, which was expected to keep him out for about four weeks, making Sage Rosenfels the new starter.

Schaub led the Texans down the field to set up a Kris Brown game-winning field goal against the Green Bay Packers in Week 14. For his game against the Packers, he was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Despite starting 0–4 on the field, he made a good showing down the stretch, and the team finished 8-8 for the second straight season.

Schaub had 357 passing yards and four touchdowns in a 34-31 victory over the Tennessee Titans in Week 2. For his game against the Titans, he was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. In the 28–17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, he had 392 passing yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. He led the Texans to a 9-7 record in 2009, the first winning record in team history. He led the league in passing yards (4,770), completions (396), and passing attempts (583), while finishing fifth in touchdowns (29), accumulating a quarterback rating of 98.6. He had nine games in which at least 300 passing yards had been recorded. He was selected to his first Pro Bowl as an injury replacement for Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, earning MVP honors.

With the league's passing yards leader returning to the league for the 2010 season, the Texans had high hopes, but Schaub had 107 yards for a touchdown and an intercept in a Week 1 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. In an overtime victory over the Washington Redskins on September 19, 2010, Schaub threw for 497 yards to get off to a good start to the season. Schaub was named As AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his heroic game against the Kansas City Chiefs in a 35-31 victory. Schaub finished the season with 4,370 passing yards, good for fourth in the league, but the team lost the playoffs after losing 6–10.

Schaub led the Texans to their most successful season to date in 2011, leading his team to their first-ever playoff appearance and winning their first division title in Texans franchise history. Schaub played in all 10 of the first regular season games, and although not on time for one of his best seasons, his team still got off to a 7-3 record, the highest start in franchise history. Schaub was rated on IR after a Week 10 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a Lisfranc fracture to his right foot following a quarterback sneak. Schaub was first introduced by Matt Leinart, who would go on to be knocked out for the season as well as a rookie T. J. Yates, who would be drafted out for the season. Without Schaub as the starting quarterback, the team went 4–4 (including playoff games).

Schaub joined the Texans in 2007 in the last year of his deal.

Schaub signed a four-year, $62 million contract with the Texans after winning by 30 points against the Miami Dolphins in the season's opener, keeping him under control until 2016.

Schaub was unlawfully struck by Broncos defender Joe Mays during the game against the Denver Broncos on the play, but the injury sustained only a laceration.

Schaub threw for a career-high 527 yards and a career-high five touchdown passes in a 43-37 overtime victory over the Texans in Week 11. Schaub's 527 yards is tied for the second most passing yards in a single game in NFL history, only behind Norm Van Brocklin's 554 yards passing against the now defunct Boston Yanks in 1951. For his game against the Jaguars, he was named As the Week's Most Valuable Player of the Week.

Schaub was kicked in the groin by Ndamukong Suh in Week 12, during the Thanksgiving game against the Detroit Lions. Schaub converted the Texans from a 10-point deficit to triumph in overtime, 34–31. Schaub said after the game that he did not want Suh on his team and that he did not want him to be "not Houston Texan-worthy." Schaub finished the 2012 season with 4,008 passing yards, 22 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.

Schaub was invited to the 2013 Pro Bowl. For the most participants permitted, the Texans were tied with the San Francisco 49ers.

Schaub led the Texans to a 12-4 record and a spot in the playoffs. Schaub had 262 passing yards and an interception in the 19–13 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. In the 41–28 loss to the New England Patriots, he had 343 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interceptor.

With the pick of DeAndre Hopkins in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft, the Texans upgraded Schaub's receiving arms.

Schaub started the season against the San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football. Schaub led the largest comeback in Texans' franchise history by defeating 28–7 early in the 3rd quarter. Schaub finished the game with 346 passing yards, three touchdowns, and an interception.

Schaub was forced to rally the Texans to a comeback victory over the Tennessee Titans next week. In the Texans' 30-23 overtime victory, he finished the day with 298 passing yards, three touchdowns (including the game-winner to rookie DeAndre Hopkins) and two interceptions.

Schaub had three interceptions, two interceptions returned for touchdowns, and the next two weeks. Schaub threw three interceptions, including a pick-six on his first pass attempt of the game, against the San Francisco 49ers this week. Schaub had thrown a pick-six in four straight games, an NFL record. Schaub was hospitalized during the game against the St. Louis Rams, but T. J. Yates threw another pick-6 to stretch the team's total number to five games. Schaub was suspended in Week 7 in favor of Case Keenum despite recovering from an injured ankle. Keenum stayed on the regular season until suffering a thumb injury, and Schaub took over as the starter in Weeks 16 and 17. Schaub played in ten games, ten touchdowns, and 14 interceptions in 2013 for the 2013 season.

The Oakland Cowboys traded their fourth round draft pick to the Texans in exchange for Schaub on March 21, 2014. In favor of rookie quarterback Derek Carr, he was suspended to start the season.

Schaub made his first appearance as a Raider against the Cleveland Browns on October 26, 2014. It was a botched fake field goal that resulted in an interception. Schaub was released by the team on March 16, 2015.

Schaub signed with the Baltimore Ravens on March 31, 2015, as the back-up quarterback. His deal was a one-year, $2 million guaranteed, and a $1 million signing bonus. After Joe Flacco sustained a season-ending injury by tossing his ACL and MCL during the Ravens' victory over the St. Louis Rams in Week 11, Schaub was named the Ravens' starting quarterback for the remainder of the 2015 season. Schaub played against the Cleveland Browns on November 30 in his first game since being drafted in Houston. Despite another pick-six and a second interception with 56 seconds remaining in the game, he had a decent showing, throwing for 232 yards and two touchdowns with ten yards rushing. After defensive end Brent Urban blocked Travis Coons' attempt at the game winning field goal, the Ravens won, giving Schaub his first victory in over two years. Schaub threw for 308 yards and a 41-yard touchdown the following week, but there were two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, in the 15-13 loss to Miami. Schaub was promoted by Jimmy Clausen as the starter on December 13, after fighting a chest injury. Schaub ended his Ravens career with a 1–1 record in just two games, throwing 540 yards, three touchdowns, and four interceptions.

Schaub signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons worth $2,750,000 with a $500,000 guarantee on March 8, 2016. In Atlanta's brisk season, Schaub backed up Matt Ryan. The Falcons won the NFC Championship and earned a trip to Super Bowl LI. Schaub played in four games in 2016, totaling 16 passing yards.

Schaub also signed a two-year, $9 million contract extension with the Falcons on March 8, 2017. In the 2017 season, he did not appear in any games. He remained as the Falcons' primary backup quarterback throughout the 2018 season. Matt Ryan was 5-of-7 for 20 yards in Week 5, a 41–17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Schaub made his first appearance as a Falcon since 2005 on October 27, 2019, due to Ryan's inactive due to an ankle injury. As the Falcons lost 27-20 to the Seattle Seahawks, Schaub finished the Week 8 game with 460 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Despite the loss, Schaub's 460 yards passing were the second most passing yards in a single game by a Falcon all-time, the most ever allowed by the Seahawks against an opposing quarterback, and his 39 pass completions tied a Falcons franchise record.

Schaub was fired from the league after 17 seasons, eight of whom had been with the Falcons, according to Falcons owner Arthur Blank on January 4, 2021.

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Awards and highlights

• 2× Pro Bowl selection (2009, 2012)
• Pro Bowl MVP (2009)
• NFL passing yards leader (2009)
• 4× AFC Offensive Player of the Week