Sage Rosenfels
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Sage Jamen Rosenfels (born March 6, 1978) 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
Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
. He was then 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 fourth round of the
2001 NFL Draft The 2001 NFL Draft was the 66th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting," was held at the ...
. He played with the
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 ...
from 2002–2005, the
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
from 2006–2008, the Vikings in 2009, and 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. ...
in 2010. He spent portions of the 2011 season with the Vikings and Dolphins, after being released by the Giants during preseason. Through 2010, he had completed 351-of-562 passes for 4,156 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 29 interceptions, and had a career 81.2 quarterback rating.


Early years

Rosenfels was born just outside Maquoketa, Iowa, a town of approximately 6,000, to a Jewish father and a
gentile Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym for ...
mother. He was the fourth of five children. He attended
Maquoketa Community High School Maquoketa Community High School is a public high school in Maquoketa, Iowa, United States. It is located at 600 Washington, Maquoketa, Iowa. It is the only high school in the Maquoketa Community School District. Athletics The Cardinals compete ...
, where 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 ...
in football, basketball, baseball, tennis, and track, as well as a member of the National Honor Society. In football, he played
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 ...
,
defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
, punter, and kicker. As a senior, he was a first team All-District selection, was named as an All-Eastern Iowa selection by the ''Quad City Times'' and the ''Dubuque Telegraph Herald'', and was honored as a second team Class 3-A All-State defensive back by the ''Des Moines Register''. His senior year, he threw for 1,150 yards and 10 touchdowns. In basketball, he was a three-year letterman. As a junior, he was an All-State Honorable Mention selection. As a senior, he named as an All-Eastern Iowa selection by the ''Quad City Times'', and was an All-State selection. In baseball, playing
third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
, he was twice named as an All-District selection, was a two-time All-Conference selection, and was a two-time All-State selection. In tennis, he was a four-year letterman. In the only season he competed in track, Rosenfels was a member of the 4x200-meter relay team which placed at the State Championships. He graduated from Maquoketa High School in 1996.


College career

Rosenfels was a two-year starter at
Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
. During the 2000 season, Rosenfels led the Cyclones to an 8–3 regular season mark, and a trip to the Insight.com Bowl in
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...
. He led his team to key wins versus Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma State, and Colorado where he had more than 100 rushing yards. The Cyclones defeated the University of Pittsburgh in the bowl game, and Rosenfels (23–34; 308 yards; 2
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...
s) was named Offensive MVP. He was also named Offensive MVP of the Cyclones for the 2000 season. The win against Pittsburgh was the first bowl victory in Iowa State's 108-year football history. Rosenfels graduated from Iowa State University in December 2000 with a BA degree in Marketing. National Football Scouting Inc., a combine services that analyzed college players for NFL teams, rated Rosenfels the second-best NFL prospect among senior quarterbacks.


Statistics


Professional career


Washington Redskins (2001)

Rosenfels, selected 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 fourth round of the
2001 NFL Draft The 2001 NFL Draft was the 66th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting," was held at the ...
, spent one season as the team's third-string quarterback.


First stint with Miami Dolphins (2002–05)

He was acquired by the
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 ...
on August 22, 2002, in exchange for a
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 ...
seventh round draft pick. In 2004 he threw a touchdown pass for 76 yards, which tied for the 8th-longest pass of the year in the NFL. In 2005, Rosenfels led Miami's biggest comeback since 1974, when he entered their Week 13 game against 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. ...
. After Gus Frerotte was sidelined by a concussion in the third quarter, Rosenfels entered the game with the Dolphins trailing 23–3. Rosenfels led the team on three fourth-quarter scoring drives, as he threw for 272 yards and 2 touchdowns, as they beat the Bills, 24–23. Two weeks later, Rosenfels entered the game at halftime versus the
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
with the score tied 10–10, and led them on two scoring drives to get the win 24–20.


Houston Texans (2006–08)

He signed with the
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
as an unrestricted free agent on March 13, 2006. In 2006, the Houston Texans trailed the Tennessee Titans 21–3 before he threw three second-half touchdown passes to cut the lead to 28–22 as time ended the comeback. The ''
Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
February 2007 off-season awards issue predicted that Sage would be 2007's
Tony Romo Antonio Ramiro Romo (born April 21, 1980) is an American sportscaster and former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Eastern Illino ...
, the breakout quarterback of the year coming from a backup role. In 2007, the Houston Texans trailed the Tennessee Titans 32–7 entering the fourth quarter. Rosenfels tied an NFL record by throwing four 4th-quarter touchdown passes, to give the Texans a 36–35 lead before Rob Bironas kicked his NFL-record 8th
field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...
to give the Titans a 38–36 win. Rosenfels finished the 2007 season at 4–1 as a starter, in comparison to Matt Schaub's 4–7 on the season. He completed 154-of-240 passes for 1,684 yards and 15 touchdowns. His passing touchdown percentage of 6.3% was fourth-best in the NFL for the season, and his pass completion percentage of 64.2% was the 10th-best in the NFL. In 2008, Rosenfels started in the Texans' home opener against 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 ...
. Although Rosenfels had led the team to a 27–10 lead with 8:18 remaining, Indianapolis scored a touchdown to make the score 27–17 with 4:04 left. After Rosenfels fumbled twice the Colts took the lead and, following a last-minute Rosenfels interception, finished the game with a 31–27 victory. Rosenfels got his first win as a starter in 2008 in a November game 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 ( ...
. His second win of the season came against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Houston Texans' first ever Monday Night Football appearance. In his three seasons with the Texans, Rosenfels went 6–4 as a starter. Through the 2008 season, he had thrown 30 career touchdown passes.


First stint with Minnesota Vikings (2009)

Rosenfels was acquired from the Texans by 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 ...
on February 27, 2009. In exchange, the Texans received a fourth-round pick in the
2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...
. After failing to negotiate the rights to No. 18 from wide receiver
Sidney Rice Sidney R. Rice (born September 1, 1986) is a former American football wide receiver who played seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Rice played college football at South Carolina. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the s ...
, Rosenfels decided to wear No. 2 because he had two children named Peyton and Ava and his favorite band is U2. Rosenfels was originally supposed to battle
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 ...
for the starting spot, but his role changed to third-string quarterback after
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 ...
was signed.


New York Giants (2010–11)

On September 3, 2010, Rosenfels was traded, along with RB
Darius Reynaud Darius Reynaud (born December 29, 1984) is a former American football running back and return specialist. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at West Virginia. He has also played ...
, to 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. ...
. He was
Eli Manning Elisha Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning football dynasty, he is the youngest son o ...
's backup throughout the season, and also was the team's holder for field goals and extra points. His only action at quarterback was in the 4th quarter of a victory at Seattle. In 2011, in his one preseason game he completed 13 of 19 passes, for 129 yards, even though he played with strep throat. He missed most of the pre-season and on September 3 was placed on
injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...
when he contracted
bacteremia Bloodstream infections (BSIs), which include bacteremias when the infections are bacterial and fungemias when the infections are fungal, are infections present in the blood. Blood is normally a sterile environment, so the detection of microb ...
. On October 4, he was released with an injury settlement. At the time, he had a career 81.2 quarterback rating.


Second stint with Miami Dolphins (2011)

On October 6, 2011, Rosenfels signed a one-year deal for $970,000 with the
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 ...
after a season-ending injury to Chad Henne. The Dolphins chose Rosenfels after also working out
Kellen Clemens Kellen Vincent Clemens (born June 7, 1983) is a former American football quarterback who spent eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the New York Jets in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played colle ...
,
J. P. Losman Jonathan Paul Losman (born March 12, 1981) is an American football coach and former quarterback. Losman played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at UCLA and Tu ...
,
Brett Ratliff Brett Ratliff (born August 8, 1985) is a former American football quarterback. He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Butte College and Utah. He has also been a member of the Cleveland ...
,
Jim Sorgi James Joseph Sorgi Jr. (born December 3, 1980) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at the University of Wisconsin and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. Sorgi served as ...
, and
Charlie Frye Charles Thomas Frye (born August 28, 1981) is a former American football quarterback and former quarterbacks coach for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 200 ...
. Rosenfels was placed on the reserve/non-football illness list on October 25. He was waived from the list on December 1.


Second stint with Minnesota Vikings (2011–12)

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 ...
claimed Rosenfels off waivers on December 2, 2011. On August 31, 2012, as the Vikings reduced their roster down to league maximum of 53 players, he was released.


NFL career statistics

Source: NFL.com


Post-NFL

Rosenfels is a writing contributor for ''The Athletic Minnesota'' and ''theScore.com.'' He also serves as a color analyst for Iowa State games on Cyclones TV and a radio host for ESPN 1500 in Minnesota. In 2018, he joined the cast of Late Night Tailgate a touring sports discussion and comedy show produced by MBM Entertainment, The Kicker and IMG Artists. As part of this tour, Rosenfels made both his standup comedy as well as his singing debut at Irving Arts Center on October 10, 2018. His a capella performance of ''
I Will Always Love You "I Will Always Love You" is a song written and originally recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Written as a farewell to her business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, expressing Parton's decision to pursue a solo career, ...
,'' written by
Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...
and later recorded by
Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...
was captured on film by the Irving Community Television Network.


See also

* List of select Jewish football players


References


External links


Sports Illustrated profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenfels, Sage 1978 births Living people 21st-century American Jews American football quarterbacks Houston Texans players Iowa State Cyclones football players Jewish American sportspeople Miami Dolphins players Minnesota Vikings players New York Giants players People from Maquoketa, Iowa Players of American football from Iowa Washington Redskins players