Jeff Graham (born February 5, 1966) 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 ...

who played five seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

with the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

and

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

. He was drafted by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

in the fourth round of the

1989 NFL Draft The 1989 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 1989, at the Marriott Marq ...

. 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 ...

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

and attended

Estancia High School Estancia High School is located in Costa Mesa, California and is part of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District which serves approximately 21,000 students who reside in the cities of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. Estancia High School is a co ...

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish for "Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wa ...

. Graham was also a member of the

New York/New Jersey Knights The New York/New Jersey Knights was a franchise in the World League of American Football for the 1991 and 1992 seasons. They played in the North American East division, which they won in the 1991 season. They were coached by Mouse Davis, an archit ...

of the

World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

. He was inducted into the Long Beach State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Graham was drafted 87th overall in the 1989 NFL Draft by the

. He was the sixth quarterback taken in the draft and the second quarterback taken by the Packers in the draft as

Anthony Dilweg Anthony Hume Dilweg (born March 28, 1965) is a former American football player and the current founder and CEO of Dilweg, a leading Southern commercial real estate investment firm. Before entering the world of real estate, he played football prof ...

was drafted in the previous round. Graham was traded on draft day to the Washington Redskins for wide receiver

Erik Affholter Erik Konrad Affholter (born April 10, 1966) is a former professional American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers. As a 16-year-old place kicker during his junior season of high school he broke a nat ...

and two draft picks.

Washington Redskins

Graham entered 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 ...

' training camp to battle out

Stan Humphries William Stanley Humphries (born April 14, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers.. He played high school football a ...

for the 3rd string quarterback position behind Doug Williams and

Mark Rypien Mark Robert Rypien (born October 2, 1962) is a Canadian-born former American football quarterback who played 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Washington State and was drafted by the Washington Redsk ...

. He was waived on August 30.

Cleveland Browns

Graham was picked up by 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 ( ...

and assigned to their developmental squad for the 1989 season. Graham resigned for the 1990 season however a rotator cuff injury placed him on injured reserve for the season.

New York/New Jersey Knights WLAF

Graham's greatest professional success came as starting quarterback of the

where he started 9 of 10 games played and threw for 2407 yards completing 157 of 272 attempts with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions. He added 140 yards rushing on 24 carries and led the Knights into the playoffs where they lost to the eventual league champion

London Monarchs The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league, the World League of American Football (WLAF). The Monarchs played their final season in 1998 as the England Monarchs. In 1999, they were re ...

. Graham posted World League postseason record of 399 yards including two touchdowns in the 42-26 loss.

San Diego Chargers

For the 1991 season, Graham was signed to the

' practice squad following a tour of duty with the WLAF. Graham was promoted to the 47 man roster December 1 after an injury to starting quarterback

John Friesz John Melvin "Deep" Friesz (pronounced "Freeze") (born May 19, 1967) is a former professional football player, a quarterback in the National Football League for four teams. Selected in the 1990 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers, he later played f ...

. The 1992 season gave Graham an opportunity to compete for the starting position with Friez and

Pat O'Hara Patrick O'Hara (born September 27, 1968) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the Pass game analyst for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach of the New Orleans ...

, but in the end, Graham was let go in August cut downs.

Indianapolis Colts

Graham was briefly picked up by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

on September 17 1992 following his release from the Chargers. He spent a little over a week with the practice squad before being waived from the squad on September 24.

Seattle Seahawks

On October 15 1992 Graham was picked up by the

and assigned to the practice squad. He was released from the practice squad on November 4.

Atlanta Falcons

Following his release from the Seahawks practice squad the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

signed Graham to their practice squad November 18 1992, he was subsequently picked up by Seattle and signed to their active roster.

Seattle Seahawks (second stint)

On December 17 1992 Graham returned to the Seahawks after the retirement of

Rusty Hilger Russell Todd Hilger (May 9, 1962 – December 24, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played eight seasons for the Los Angeles Raiders, Detroit Lions, Indianapolis C ...

and Graham was the Seahawks 3rd string quarterback behind

Stan Gelbaugh Stanley Morris Gelbaugh (born December 4, 1962) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills, Phoenix Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks. He attained his greatest success in the World League of Ameri ...

and

Kelly Stouffer Kelly Wayne Stouffer (born July 6, 1964) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He spent most of his career with the Seattle Seahawks from 1988–1992. Early years Born in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, Stouff ...

. Graham was on and off with the Seahawks through the 1994 season bouncing between the practice squad and inactive roster.

Oakland Raiders

Graham's last year in the NFL came with the

for the 1995 season. Once

Jeff Hostetler William Jeffrey Hostetler (born April 22, 1961) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants, Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, and Washington Redskins. His nickname is "Hoss." College career ...

was placed on injured reserve in December Graham was promoted to the third-string quarterback position. He was not retained for the 1996 season

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Jeff Living people 1966 births Players of American football from California American football quarterbacks Long Beach State 49ers football players New York/New Jersey Knights players People from Costa Mesa, California Washington Redskins players Cleveland Browns players San Diego Chargers players Sportspeople from Orange County, California Indianapolis Colts players Atlanta Falcons players Seattle Seahawks players Oakland Raiders players