Rodney Peete

At 58 years old, Rodney Peete has this physical status:

Rodney Peete (born March 16, 1966) is a retired American football quarterback who competed in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 years.

He played for the NCAA football team in college.

He retired from playing in 2004 and is now in broadcasting.

Early years

Peete was born in Mesa, Arizona. He attended Sahuaro High School in Tucson. He was a three-year letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. As a junior, he was named the Arizona High School Player of the Year and an Academic All-American. He has also been instrumental in his teams' winning state championships in basketball and baseball.

After his father Willie was hired as an assistant coach by the Kansas City Chiefs, he transferred to Shawnee Mission South High School in Overland Park, Kansas, for his senior year. At the end of the season, he received Prep All-American accolades at quarterback. In the 1984 Major League Baseball draft, he was drafted in the 30th round (722nd overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays but he chose to attend college instead.

He was inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame in 2012, in 2012.

Personal life

Holly Robinson Peete has been married to actor Holly Robinson Peete since 1995. They have four children, including twins, daughter Ryan Elizabeth, and son Rodney Jr. (born October 19, 1997), and son Roman (born February 25, 2005).

Rodney Jr., one of their twins, was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. In the Men's Health issue from June 2010, he addresses his friendship with Rodney, Jr.

Willie Peete's uncle, the former running backs coach of the Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Bears, is the son of Willie Peete. Skip Peete, his brother, is a football coach. He is the uncle and nephew of late golfer Calvin Peete.

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College career

Because head coach Ted Tollner had given him the opportunity to play quarterback, Peete accepted a football scholarship from the University of Southern California. He began the season as a redshirt freshman, behind Sean Salisbury. He substituted Salisbury in the fourth quarter and led the United StatesC to its only touchdown in the second half, a 30-6 victory. Salisbury's ninth game against the University of Washington, which was a 20-17 loss, was to a 4-4 record and was swapped with Peete as the starter. He was instrumental in the resulting 17-13 victory over UCLA in the next game. Peete finished the season with 566 completions (58.8%), 3 interceptions, 49 carries for 78 yards, and one rushing touchdown.

He played all 12 games as a freshman while also contributing to a 7-five record. He had a 304-of-305 attempts (52.5%) for 2,138 yards, 10 passing touchdowns, 15 interceptions, and 103 attempts for 124 yards and three touchdowns.

He played in all 12 games as a kid while still contributing to an 8-4 record. Against the University of Oregon, he set a school record of 5 touchdown passes. The team competed in the 1988 Rose Bowl, losing 20-17 to Michigan State University. He made 197-of-332 completions (59.3%) for 2,709 yards, 21 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 70 passes for 145 yards and three rushing touchdowns.

He started all 12 games and had a 10-2 record as a senior. He had 223-of-359 (622.1%) for 2,812 yards, 18 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 68 tackles, 5 running touchdowns, and 5 rushing touchdowns. His teams will face UCLA's Troy Aikman's UCLA teams in the UCLA–USC rivalry, with Peete's 31–22 victory being particularly notable because he was stricken with measles the week before the game and had been hospitalized. In the 1989 Rose Bowl against the University of Michigan, the Trojans lost by 22-14. He was the second player and the first Trojan to win the Johnny Unitas Award as the country's best senior quarterback (since being recognized by Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart). In the Heisman Trophy voting, he came in second second second to Barry Sanders and ahead of Aikman.

Peete ended his college career as the school's all-time leader in pass attempts (1,081), completions (630), total offense (8,640) and starts (40). He had 54 passing touchdowns, 42 interceptions, 290 passes for 415 yards, and 12 rushing touchdowns.

He played second base and shortstop as a rookie in baseball, but as part of a losing team, he batted around.260. He was the starter at third base, hitting.338 with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs while receiving All-Pac-10 awards. He batted.297 with 18 home runs and 84 RBIs in his three seasons of collegiate baseball. In the 1988 MLB draft (38th overall), he was drafted three times while at USC; in the 1988 MLB draft by the Oakland Athletics (359th overall); and the 1990 MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers in the 28th round (742nd overall).

He was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009, in 2009. He was named the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award in 2014.

Professional career

The Detroit Lions selected Peete in the 6th round (141st overall) of the 1989 NFL Draft, after losing because he was not expected to have the strength or arm strength required to play in football. He also joined Barry Sanders on the team.

Peete had been expected to start the season off as a rookie but strained his knee against the Los Angeles Rams in his final preseason game, missing the first three games of the season and being replaced with Bob Gagliano. When Greg Landry first took the Lions in 1968, he would have been the first rookie quarterback to start for the Lions since 1968. In a 17-16 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that earned him NFC Offensive Player-of-the-Week honors, he finished 17-of-31 for 268 yards, one passing touchdown, ten carries for 78 yards, and one rushing touchdown, as well as one rushing touchdown. He had 8 starts in his career, while others had 103-of-196 attempts for 1,479 yards and 5 passing touchdowns.

He had 142 of-271 completions (52.4%) for 1,974 yards, 13 passing touchdowns, 48 passes for 365 yards (second on the team) and 6 rushing touchdowns in 1990. With 79.8 rating points and his interception percentage (3.0%), he ranked fifth in the NFC, and his lowest in franchise history. In the third game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he had a career-high 8 passes for 97 yards, including 17-of-26 completions and one rushing touchdown. In the fourth game against the Green Bay Packers, he suffered a pulled hamstring, causing him to miss the next two games. He returned in his seventh game against the New Orleans Saints, leading to a 27-10 victory, one passing touchdown, and 38 rushing yards. In the upcoming game against the Washington Redskins, he suffered a left hamstring injury, leaving the team with a 35-21 lead and the team could not afford losing 38-41 in overtime. In the 14th game against the Chicago Bears, he skipped the next three games and returned to action, helping the team score 21 first quarter points (franchise record) while throwing a career-high 4 touchdowns.

He played in the first eight games before suffering from a season-end Achilles tendon injury against the Dallas Cowboys. Peete had coached the team to a 5-2 record. In the 23-14 victory over the Green Bay Packers, he had career-highs of 25-of-38 completions to go along with 271 yards and one passing touchdown. Erik Kramer, the team's coach, was suspended after the NFC Championship Game against the Washington Redskins. On October 30, he was added to the injured reserve list.

He played in 1992, scoring 123-of-213 points (57.7%) for 1,702 yards and 9 passing touchdowns. He had 20-of-31 completions for 323 yards (career high) and one 78-yard touchdown pass in his fourth game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the eighth game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he passed for three touchdowns.

While playing ten games in 1993, he had a career-high completion percentage (second in franchise history) and had a career-high 62.3% completion percentage. In the third game, he sustained an injury that required him to miss two games. In his first seven starts, he was still managed to lead the team to six victories. In the eighth game against the Minnesota Vikings, he had 20-of-28 completions for 273 yards, scoring 17th quarter points to overcome a 13-27 deficit and a 93 yard touchdown pass (career high). For the last four regular season games, he was the team's third-string quarterback behind Kramer and former Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware.

Bernie Kosar was recalled as Troy Aikman's backup on May 3, 1994, after he signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys to replace Bernie Kosar as Troy Aikman's backup. In a 28-21 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, Aikman sustained a concussion on the first drive and Peete replaced him with two touchdown passes. In his 11th game against the Washington Redskins, he substituted an injured Aikman (sprained left knee), but he was forced to pull back third-string quarterback Jason Garrett after losing 31-7. In a 31-19 victory, he started in place of an injured Aikman, tallying 172 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception. In the season's finale against the New York Giants, he was left 4:49 minutes behind in the first half, with 6-of-8 completions for 50 yards and no touchdowns.

He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent on April 22, 1995. After the team got off to a 1-3 start, new head coach Ray Rhodes used the West Coast offense and named Peete over quarterback Randall Cunningham. He's off to a 9-3 record in 12 games, with 215-of-375 (47.3%) for 2,326 yards, 8 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.

He re-signed with the Eagles on March 14, 1996. Ty Detmer left his first job. Peete played in 5 games (3-2 record), with 80 percent of completions (59.7%) for 992 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions.

Bobby Hoying was named starter in 1998, and the team got off to a 1-6 start. Koy Detmer and Peete's split time at quarterback for the remainder of the season.

He was traded to the Washington Redskins in return for a 2000 sixth round pick (#192-John Romero).

He was the back up quarterback behind Brad Johnson in 1999. He played in 3 games, scoring 8-of-17 points (47.1%) for 107 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. He was the first quarterback to play regular season passes for three different NFC East clubs.

He was signed by the Oakland Raiders on July 13, 2000, reuniting with head coach Jon Gruden, who was his offensive coordinator with the Eagles. Rich Gannon and Bobby Hoying were the third-string quarterback behind him. He didn't appear in any games.

He was released on September 2, 2001 after being placed on the depth chart by rookie Marques Tuiasopo. After Hoying suffered ligament damage in his throwing elbow, he rejoined the Raiders on September 29. He appeared in one game but didn't record any stats.

He was signed by the Carolina Panthers as a free agent on March 28, 2002. Peete's career seemed to be over before he was named the starter over Chris Weinke, leading the team to a 3–0 start and ultimately a 7–9 record, an increase over 1–15 years old. He had a career high of 14 starts, 223-of-381 completions, 2,630 passing yards, 14 interceptions, and a passer rating of 77.4.

Head coach John Fox was fired in the third quarter after a poor showing in the first half of the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Delhomme was drafted as starting quarterback for the remainder of the season, leading the team to an 11–5 record and a Super Bowl XXXVIII game against the New England Patriots.

He was fired for salary cap reasons on February 28, 2005, but he opted to resign with the Panthers for another season with a lower salary. Peete ended his career with the most NFL career passing yards among quarterbacks from the United StatesC, a record that was eventually eclipsed by Carson Palmer.

Peete finished his career with 1,344 completions in 2,346 attempts, 76 passing touchdowns, 92 interceptions, and a passer rating of 73.3.

Entertainment career

Peete, following his retirement from football, became one of the Fox Sports Networks sports talk show The Best Damn Sports Show Period, alongside John Salley, Chris Rose, and Rob Dibble. The Oprah Winfrey Network announced in 2015 that they were producing a docuseries about Peete and his family.

On television, Rodney Peete and his partner Holly Robinson Peete appear in Lipozene commercials.

Rodney Peete co-hosted the Hallmark Kitten Bowl in 2019.

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