Francis Joseph Callahan (born June 4, 1993) 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 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 ...

at Wesley, a

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

program in

Dover, Delaware Dover () is the capital and second-largest city of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County and the principal city of the Dover, DE, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County and is part of ...

. He was signed 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 ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2016, and was briefly a member of the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

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 ( ...

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and Seattle Dragons.

College career

After graduation from Holy Spirit High School in his hometown of Absecon, New Jersey, Callahan appeared in four games for Wesley as a true freshman in

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. He completed three of nine throws for 26 yards but missed the entire next season with an injury and

redshirted 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

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, Callahan started all thirteen games for the Wolverines and completed 269 of 461 attempts for 3,599 yards and 29 touchdowns. He set Wesley single-season records in completions and attempts and ranked second in single-season passing yards. In his first career start against Widener, he threw for 510 yards and five touchdowns. In the following week, Callahan led the Wolverines to victory with a 43-yard

Hail Mary The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...

touchdown on fourth and 21 with under a minute remaining to beat archrival

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

. Callahan also helped the Wolverines beat the Division I Charlotte 49ers 35–28. In that game, he passed for 317 yards, threw two touchdowns, and ran for another two. In the Division III playoffs, Wesley beat

Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland where he remained for most ...

29–24 in the first round; Callahan threw a 33-yard touchdown pass with 0:13 remaining and finished with 244 passing yards and four touchdowns. Wesley faced Mount Union in the NCAA quarterfinals. Behind 31–0 after the first quarter, the Wolverines fell short by just three, 62–59; Mount Union recovered an unsuccessful onside kick with ninety seconds remaining. Callahan set school and NCAA playoff records with 633 passing yards and eight passing touchdowns. As a redshirt junior in

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, Callahan threw for 4,190 yards and 46 touchdowns with 10 interceptions, making it the best season ever for a Wesley quarterback. In the fourth game, Wesley beat

Southern Virginia Southern Virginia is a region in the U.S. state of Virginia located along the border with North Carolina. The region includes the counties of Brunswick, Charlotte, Greensville, Halifax, Henry, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, and Pittsylvania, and the i ...

47–7, with Callahan passing for 339 yards and five touchdowns. He went on to have 300 yards or more in the first five games of the season. Callahan once again faced D-I

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in the regular season, this time in the season finale. He threw for a total of 336 yards and two touchdowns with pair of rushing touchdowns in the Wolverines' 38–33 loss. Callahan and the Wolverines dominated in their first three playoff games, outscoring opponents 152–20 until losing again to Mount Union, this time by a wider margin, 70–21. Returning for a fifth year in

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, Callahan threw for 5,063 yards and 55 touchdowns and led Wesley back to the D-III playoffs. He was awarded the

Gagliardi Trophy The Gagliardi Trophy was first presented in 1993 to the Outstanding Division III college football player of the year by the Jostens Company and the J-Club of Saint John's University in Minnesota. Since that time, the award has become one of the ...

, considered the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

for Division III, and became the first D-III player to throw for over 5,000 yards in a season.

Statistics

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Not selected in the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

, Callahan signed as a free agent with the

on May 6. He threw for 499 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions in the preseason, earning him a spot on the Packers'

53-man roster The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

. He was released by the Packers on October 13.

New Orleans Saints

On October 14, Callahan was claimed off waivers by the

, and waived by the team on October 22.

Cleveland Browns

Callahan was claimed off waivers by the

on October 24, and released by the team on November 28.

Green Bay Packers (second stint)

On December 2, Callahan was signed to the Packers' practice squad, and was promoted to the active roster on December 17, 2016. On September 2, 2017, Callahan was waived by the Packers and was signed to the practice squad the next day. After starter

Aaron Rodgers Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Rodgers began his college football career at Butte College in 2002 before transferring to the ...

suffered a broken collarbone in Week 6 against the

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 ...

, head coach Mike McCarthy stated that

Brett Hundley Brett Alan Hundley Jr. (born June 15, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, where he was the school's career leader in both total ...

would take over as starter and Callahan would be Hundley's backup. Callahan was promoted to the active roster the following day. On December 16, 2017, with Hundley still maintaining his position as the Packers' second-string quarterback and the return of

from injured reserve, Callahan was cut to make room for Rodgers. However, three days later on December 19, the Packers re-signed Callahan after Rodgers was placed back on injured reserve. Callahan made his NFL debut on December 31, completing 5 of 7 passes for 11 yards. On April 30, 2018, Callahan was waived by the Packers.

Philadelphia Eagles

On May 7, 2018, Callahan signed a two-year contract with the

. He was waived on September 1, 2018.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On January 3, 2019, Callahan signed a reserve/future contract with the

. On April 26, 2019, the Buccaneers waived Callahan.

Baltimore Ravens

On July 29, 2019, Callahan was signed by the

. He was waived during final roster cuts on August 30, 2019.

Detroit Lions

On November 30, 2019, Callahan was signed to the

. His practice squad contract with the team expired on January 6, 2020.

Seattle Dragons

Callahan was selected by the Seattle Dragons during the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...

's open phase. He signed a contract with the team on January 13, 2020. He was waived during final roster cuts on January 22, 2020.

Team 9

Callahan was signed to the XFL's

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

team, referred to as Team 9, on January 30, 2020. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Wesley Wolverines bioGreen Bay Packers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Callahan, Joe 1993 births Living people American football quarterbacks Baltimore Ravens players Cleveland Browns players Detroit Lions players Green Bay Packers players New Orleans Saints players People from Absecon, New Jersey Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from New Jersey Seattle Dragons players Sportspeople from Atlantic County, New Jersey Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Team 9 players Holy Spirit High School (New Jersey) alumni Wesley Wolverines football players