Gustave Joseph Frerotte (; born July 31, 1971) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. He was drafted by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

in the seventh round of the 1994 NFL Draft. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

. Frerotte, who was selected to the

1997 Pro Bowl The 1997 Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 1996 season. The game was played on February 2, 1997, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The final score was AFC 26, NFC 23. Mark Brunell of the Jacksonville Jaguars was the game's MVP. ...

while with the Redskins, also played for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

, and

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

Early years

Frerotte attended Ford City High School in

Ford City, Pennsylvania Ford City is a borough in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, United States, northeast of Pittsburgh along the east bank of the Allegheny River and south of Kittanning, the county seat. The population of Ford City at the 2010 census was 2,991. An ...

, a suburb of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. In high school, he was a

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. Frerotte graduated in 1989. He played with

Denny Harriger Dennis Scott Harriger (born July 21, 1969) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Detroit Tigers in Major League Baseball in . Harriger attended Ford City High School in Ford City, Pennsylvania where he played fo ...

on the school's baseball team in 1987 and helped lead the team to a

Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc., also known by its acronymn PIAA, is one of the governing bodies of high school and middle school athletics for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. The PIAA's main ...

state championship in 1987. He was later named to the Ford City Hall of Fame. Frerotte is the cousin of

Mitch Frerotte } Paul Mitchael Frerotte (March 30, 1965 – June 11, 2008) was an American professional football player who played as a guard for four seasons in the National Football League, all with the Buffalo Bills. Biography Frerotte is perhaps best know ...

, an

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

who played for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

during the 1990s.

College career

At the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

, he started eight games as a

redshirt freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 1990 after quarterback T.J. Rubley was injured, starting his first career game at

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. He finished his college career as the school's second-ranked all-time passer, behind Rubley. During his collegiate career, he threw for 5,480 yards and 32 touchdowns on 432-of-860 passing. His 2,871 passing yards as a senior were the most by a Tulsa quarterback in 28 years. As a sophomore, Frerotte also handled punting duties for the team and averaged 35.5 yards per punt. As an

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...

, he joined the

Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha (), commonly known as PIKE, is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and colonies across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate members over 30 ...

Fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

Professional career

Washington Redskins

Frerotte was picked in the seventh round of the 1994

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

with the 197th overall pick by the

; earlier in the same draft, the Redskins had selected

Heath Shuler Joseph Heath Shuler (born December 31, 1971) is an American businessman, former NFL quarterback, and former U.S. Representative for from 2007 to 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition during ...

with their first-round pick (third overall). However, by the next season Frerotte was the starting quarterback due to Shuler's injuries and struggles adjusting to the professional game. Frerotte would retain the starting job until 1998. During his Pro Bowl season in 1996 (actual Pro Bowl Game played in February 1997), Frerotte passed for 3,453 yards (6th best in NFL and his career high), also ranking 9th in pass completions, finishing the year completing 270 of 470 passes. Frerotte also ranked 3rd in the league in average yards per pass completion (12.3). Frerotte had led the league in that category the season before (13.8 yards per completion), his first as a steady starter (16 games, 11 starts), finishing that year with 199 completions in 396 attempts for 2,751 yards with 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. In November 1997, Frerotte sprained his neck by ramming his head into a padded cement wall during a touchdown celebration in a 7–7 tie against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

on ''

ESPN Sunday Night Football ''ESPN Sunday Night Football'' is the ESPN cable network's weekly television broadcasts of Sunday evening National Football League (NFL) games. The first ESPN Sunday night broadcast occurred on November 8, 1987, while the last one aired on January ...

''.

Detroit Lions

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, he played for the

, where he backed up

Charlie Batch Charles D'Donte Batch (born December 5, 1974) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft and played 15 seasons in th ...

. Frerotte wound up starting for the Lions in the playoffs while Batch was out with injuries; the Lions lost in the Wild Card round to the Redskins, Frerotte's former team, 27-13. The 1999 season statistically was one of Frerotte's best, posting a career-high 60.2% completion percentage (4th best in NFL) and an 83.6 passer rating (9th best in NFL and best of Frerotte's career when starting six or more games). He also finished in the NFL Top 10 for Highest Average yards Per Pass Attempt at 6.88 (9th in NFL) & Passing Yards Per Game at 235.2 (8th in NFL). Frerotte's best game of the season came vs Chicago (11/25/99) completing a career best (up to this point) 29 completions for 309 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, a key player in a narrow 21-17 win. The following week Frerotte again played well, this time facing his former team, helping Detroit beat Washington 33-17 completing 21 of 32 passes for 280 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Frerotte established a then career high 375 yards, completing 24 of 39 passes again with two touchdowns and no interceptions in a losing effort vs Arizona on 11/14/99 (Full Season Statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference.com and individual game statistics courtesy of NFL.com).

Denver Broncos

In 2000, Gus was a backup for the

. After

Brian Griese Brian David Griese ( ; born March 18, 1975) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the th ...

was injured, he led the Broncos to the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. The team lost in the opening round to the eventual

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

champion

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

. He remained the Broncos' backup until the

2001 NFL season The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL), and the first season of the 21st century. The league permanently moved the first week of the regular season to the weekend following Labor Day. In the wake o ...

was over. Playing in 10 games (6 starts) subbing for the injured Griese, Frerotte lead Denver to four wins in his six starts, finishing the season with a 59.8% completion percentage (2nd best of career in a season with 6 or more starts), passing for 1,776 yards with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions. Frerotte finished 4th in the league in Average Yards Per Pass Completion (12.9) and 10th in Average Yards Per Pass Attempt (6.88). Among his more notable performances, Frerotte quarterbacked a wild 38-37 win over division rival San Diego on November 19, overcoming 4 interceptions and a lost fumble by passing for a career-high 462 yards and 5 touchdowns. He was far more efficient in wins over New Orleans on 12/03/00 (11 completions in 16 attempts for 201 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions) and in the regular season finale vs San Francisco on 12/23/00 (18 completions in 29 attempts for 205 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions). At one stretch Denver scored at least 38 points in three consecutive games with Frerotte starting at quarterback (11/19/00 vs San Diego, 11/25/00 vs Seattle, 12/03/00 vs New Orleans). (Full season statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference.com and individual game statistics courtesy of NFL.com)

Cincinnati Bengals

He joined the Cincinnati Bengals in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, winning the starting job before losing the position after three games to

Jon Kitna Jon Kelly Kitna (born September 21, 1972) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Central Washington ...

under the soon-to-be-fired coach

Dick LeBeau Charles Richard "Dick" LeBeau ( ; born September 9, 1937) is a former American football cornerback and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He was active with the NFL for 59 consecutive seasons, 14 as a player with the Detroit Lions and ...

. His most notable play with the Bengals came against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

on September 15: Frerotte, attempting to avoid a sack by Orpheus Roye, threw the ball with his left hand (Frerrotte is right-handed) and was intercepted by Browns defensive lineman and former teammate with the

Kenard Lang Kenard Dushun Lang (born January 31, 1975) is a former American football defensive end who played in the National Football League. He played for the Cleveland Browns, Washington Redskins, and Denver Broncos. High school years Lang attended Mayna ...

, who returned the ball 71 yards to the Bengals 8-yard line.

2003–2007: Vikings, Dolphins, and Rams

In 2003 and 2004, Frerotte backed up

Daunte Culpepper Daunte Rachard Culpepper (born January 28, 1977) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at UCF and was selected ...

for the

, and served as the team's holder on field goals. He won both games as a temporary starter for the team in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

. Frerotte earned the

starting job in 2005. He started 15 games, guiding the Dolphins to a 9–6 record, throwing for 18 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, completing 52% of his passes and finished the season with a 71.9 quarterback rating. After, he joined the

as back-up to

Marc Bulger Marc Robert Bulger (; born April 5, 1977) is a retired American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth r ...

. St. Louis cut Frerotte after two seasons with the team on February 28, 2008.

Second stint with Vikings

On April 1, 2008, he returned to the Vikings, signing a two-year, $3.75 million deal. He was

Tarvaris Jackson Tarvaris D'Andre Jackson (April 21, 1983 – April 12, 2020) was an American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). Jackson played college football for both Alabama State and Arkansas. He played professionally for the ...

's backup for the first two games of the year. On September 17, 2008, he was named the starter for the rest of the 2008 season by head coach

Brad Childress Bradley Childress (born June 27, 1956) is a former American football coach. He worked for over 40 years as a coach for various college programs and National Football League (NFL) franchises. He was the offensive coordinator for Wisconsin from 19 ...

. Frerotte led the Vikings to an 8–3 record before suffering a back injury, which reinstated Jackson as the starter. On November 30, 2008, Frerotte tied the NFL record for the longest pass from scrimmage by throwing a 99-yard touchdown pass to

Bernard Berrian Bernard Berrian (born December 27, 1980) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Fresno State. Berrian also played for the Minnes ...

against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. Frerotte had expressed interest in being the starting quarterback for the Vikings for the

2009 NFL season The 2009 NFL season was the 90th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL). The 50th anniversary of the original eight charter members of the American Football League was celebrated during this season. The preseason started ...

, but was released on February 27, 2009, after the team traded for quarterback

Sage Rosenfels Sage Jamen Rosenfels (born March 6, 1978) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Iowa State. He was then drafted by the Washington Redskins in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played with the Miami Dolp ...

. The Vikings, however, would end up signing

Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 20 ...

to be their eventual starter.

After retirement

By December 2010, Frerotte was working for GAIMPlan Consulting which helps high school athletes select a college. On January 19, 2011, Frerotte announced he would be taking over as head coach at

John Burroughs School John Burroughs School (JBS) is a private, non-sectarian college-preparatory school with 631 students in grades 7– 12. Its 49-acre () campus is located in Ladue, Missouri (US), a suburb of St. Louis. Founded in 1923, it is named for U.S. natu ...

in the

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, area. His teams were runners up in the state championship game in 2011 and 2012. In 2017, Frerotte joined

Coraopolis, Pennsylvania Coraopolis () is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The population was 5,559 at the 2020 census. In 1940, the population peaked at 11,086. Coraopolis is located west of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River and to the east of the Pittsburg ...

-based startup RC21X as the Vice President of Brain Health Initiatives. The company developed a cloud-based tool to monitor brain performance. Frerotte also serves as a brand ambassador for the firm.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Gus Frerotte's Stats on Pro-Football-Reference.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frerotte, Gus 1971 births Living people American football quarterbacks Cincinnati Bengals players Denver Broncos players Detroit Lions players Miami Dolphins players Minnesota Vikings players National Conference Pro Bowl players People from Ford City, Pennsylvania People from Kittanning, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania Sportspeople from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area St. Louis Rams players Tulsa Golden Hurricane football players Washington Redskins players