Nathan Peterman

At 30 years old, Nathan Peterman has this physical status:

Nathan Michael Peterman (born May 4, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the Oakland Brownings of the National Football League (NFL).

He played college football at Tennessee before transferring to Pittsburgh and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Despite his prolific college career, Peterman struggled with the Bills, gaining notoriety for his poor play; after throwing five interceptions in the first half of his first NFL appearance, he eventually set the league record for the most interceptions attempted with less than 100 attempts.

He was signed by the Bills less than two years after being drafted and had 12 interceptions against just three touchdowns.

Soon after being released, Peterman signed with the Raiders.

Early years

Peterman attended Bartram Trail High School in St. Johns, Florida. He played for the Bears football team at Bartram Trail. He passed for 2,392 yards and 36 touchdowns as a senior. Peterman was rated as a four-star recruit and pledged to the University of Tennessee to play college football under head coach Derek Dooley.

Personal life

Peterman, the younger brother of a pastor, cites his Christian faith in assisting him in avoiding adversity. He is married to Morgan Peterman (née Shull), his college girlfriend from Tennessee.

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College career

In 2012, Peterman redshirted in his first year at Tennessee. Dooley was fired as head coach after the Vanderbilt game of the season.

Butch Jones, Peterman's head coach, went back to redshirt freshman year. As Justin Worley earned the starting job in the offseason, Peterman was one of the three backup quarterbacks. Peterman made his collegiate debut in a home game against Austin Peay over the weekend in relief of Worley, who won by 45–0. Against the Governors, he was 4-of-8 passing for 28 yards. Worley was suspended in favor of Peterman after Tennessee's game against #2 Oregon at Autzen Stadium, where Tennessee was defeated by a score of 59–14. At Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida, Peterman made his first appearance in his career against #19 Florida. He was injured in the game and was eventually suspended for Worley after producing 4-of-11 passes for only five yards and two interceptions. The injury was determined to be a broken hand. Peterman played in four games this season, finishing with 10-of-23 passes for 45 yards and two interceptions.

He stayed second on the depth chart as a sophomore in 2014. He appeared in seven games and made one start, against #4 Alabama at Neyland Stadium, after Worley was hurt in the 34-3 loss to #3 Ole Miss. Despite getting off to a good start, Joshua Dobbs took over Peterman from the game. Dobbs played against South Carolina in the first game and kept the job for the remainder of the season. Peterman made one last appearance in the Volunteers against Kentucky. Peterman finished the game in relief of Dobbs' victory in the 50–16 win. On the 2014 season, he had completed 10-of-20 passes for 49 yards.

In 2015, Peterman became a graduate transfer to the University of Pittsburgh. Peterman started the season as the backup to Chad Voytik, but was replaced as the starter after two games under new head coach Pat Narduzzi. In a 27-23 loss to Iowa, he completed 20-of-29 passes for 219 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in his first appearance. As the Panthers finished with an 8-five record, he continued his playing schedule for the remainder of the year, throwing 193-of-314 passes for 2,287 yards, 20 touchdowns, and eight interceptions.

Peterman returned as a starter in Pittsburgh his senior year. On November 12, Peterman had a career against the eventual National Champion Clemson Tigers. In the 43–42 victory, he threw for 308 yards and five touchdowns. Pittsburgh's win over Clemson was the only loss of the season so far. As the Panthers finished with an 8–5 record, he threw for 2,855 yards with 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Professional career

Peterman accepted an invitation to participate in the 2017 Senior Bowl on November 16, 2016. Peterman's imposing arm, accuracy, mobility, and strength all captivated Scouts and journalists in attendance during Senior Bowl practices. During the week, he spoke with New Orleans Saints executives and was lauded by NFL analysts Daniel Jeremiah and Charles Davis. During the South's defeat to the South on January 28, 2017, Peterman played in the Senior Bowl and completed 16 of 23 pass attempts for 153 yards and a touchdown. During the game, Peterman played for Chicago Bears head coach John Fox's North team. Peterman was one of 15 college quarterbacks to be invited to compete in the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. He completed the majority of combine drills but decided against the bench press. In the three-cone drill, Peterman came in sixth place, and tied for sixth in the vertical jump and short shuttle.

In the fifth round (171st overall pick) of the 2017 NFL Draft, the Buffalo Bills selected Peterman as the eighth quarterback.

Peterman was brought on to play for the Bills' backup quarterback position, as well as T. J. Yates and Cardale Jones. After Jones was traded to the Los Angeles Chargers, Peterman did well enough to win the backup quarterback position. Peterman was the Bills' only healthy quarterback after their third preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens, as starter Tyrod Taylor and Yates both suffered concussions in the game. This left open the possibility that Peterman would start for the team in Week 1, but Taylor recovered in time to face the New York Jets in their season opener. Had Peterman started the game, he would have been the second-lowest-drafted rookie quarterback to start a season opener since the AFL-NFL merger. Peterman made his NFL debut against the New Orleans Saints in Week ten with less than five minutes remaining. With the Bills trailing 47–3, he led a scoring drive, clocking 7 of 10 passes for 79 yards and one touchdown. The Bills lost by a margin of 47–10. Nick O'Leary's first touchdown pass was a 7-yard pass to tight end Nick O'Leary.

Due to Taylor's struggles, Peterman was named as the Bills' starting quarterback for the team's Week 11 game against the Los Angeles Chargers on November 15, 2017. Peterman threw five interceptions in the first half and Taylor was dismissed by Taylor at the start of the second half. His five interceptions tied for the most tackled in a player's first appearance in a player's first career appearance. Peterman started the Week 14 game against the Indianapolis Colts due to Taylor's knee injury in Week 13. He completed 5 of ten passes for 57 yards and a touchdown during the game, which was played in a snowstorm, before leaving the game in the third quarter due to a concussion. The Bills won overtime by a score of 13–7.

After Taylor sustained a concussion, Peterman appeared in the Bills' Wild Card Round game against the Jacksonville Jaguars with 1:43 left in the 4th quarter on January 7, 2018. He converted two first downs for the Buffalo offense, including a four-yard scramble to move the chains on fourth down, before tossing Jacksonville's cornerback Jalen Ramsey for the 10th time and ending the Bills' season.

Taylor was traded by the Bills to the Cleveland Browns in the 2018 offseason. Peterman was battling for the starting quarterback position with rookie draft pick Josh Allen and free agent signing A. J. McCarron. After trading McCarron to the Oakland Raiders, the Bills named Peterman as their opening day starter over Allen on September 3, 2018.

Peterman went for 5-18 yards against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1, throwing two interceptions and not leading the team to a first downing until the third quarter. Since receiving a 0.0 passer rating, Josh Allen was suspended in favour of Josh Allen.

Allen was recalled to the bench by the Bills on September 12, 2018, relegating Peterman to the bench. Derek Anderson was hired by the Bills to act as Allen's backup four weeks later.

After Allen was unable to play against the Houston Texans and Anderson was out, Peterman entered the game and threw a touchdown to Zay Jones to put Buffalo in the lead. However, Peterman threw two interceptions that cost the Bills the game, including a pick-six to cornerback Johnathan Joseph, Houston's winning score. Anderson will start Week 7 against the Indianapolis Colts with Allen out on October 17, 2018. However, Peterman played against the Chicago Bears on November 4 after Anderson was hospitalized on Monday Night Football against the New England Patriots. In what was Peterman's last game as a Bill, he rushed for a touchdown, snapping the team's streak of 11 straight quarters and 39 straight possessions without a touchdown, but he also dropped three interceptions, including a pick six, as the Bills lost by a score of 41-19.

For the Week 10 matchup against the New York Jets, Peterman was dropped in favour of another mid-season signing, Matt Barkley. Barkley led the Bills to a 41–10 victory over the Jets. The Bills drafted Peterman on the evening of November 12. Allen is expected to play by next week and Allen is expected to be able to play by the time of their next game. He had four total touchdowns (three passing, one rushing), 12 interceptions, and a passer rating of 32.

Peterman was signed by the Oakland Browns as part of the Oakland youth team's practice squad on December 19, 2018, as head coach Jon Gruden had previously raved about Peterman's college play. On January 1, 2019, Peterman signed a reserve/future deal with the Raiders.

Peterman had a good preseason but was forced to return to hospital after suffering an elbow injury on September 2, 2019.

The Raiders re-signed Peterman, a suspended free agent, to an original-round tender on April 16, 2020. By the NFL on October 5, 2020, he was fined US$15,000 for attending a maskless charity function hosted by teammate Darren Waller during the COVID-19 pandemic in breach of the NFL's COVID-19 codes.

In Week 12 against the Atlanta Falcons, Peterman made his first appearance for the Raiders in substitute of starter Derek Carr. In the 43–6 blowout road loss, Peterman completed three of 5 passes for 25 yards and rushed once for nine yards.

Peterman signed a one-year deal extension with the Raiders on February 4, 2021. Derek Carr was briefly relieved in the fourth quarter after Carr suffered a fractured leg during Week 5 209 loss to the Chicago Bears. Peterman was released on November 2, 2021, and he was recalled to the practice squad. His deal came to an end on January 15, 2022, when the team's season ended.

Peterman signed with the Chicago Bears on May 11, 2022. He was released on August 30, 2022, and the next day, he was added to the practice squad.

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