Top 50 NFL Quarterbacks: #23 - Tobin Rote

Tobin Rote

Rote was one of the early pioneers in the NFL, playing most of his career in the 1950's, and while his name isn't remembered much today, he was a very good quarterback who had a couple of great seasons.

Rote was drafted by Green Bay in 1950, and he spent his first 7 years playing for the Packers, who were a struggling team at the time. He improved steadily every year, culminating in his career year in 1956, during which he led the league in completions, passing yards and touchdowns, and led all quarterbacks in rushing yards and touchdowns. Even with his great performance, his team finished 4-8, and he was traded to Detroit, while Green Bay replaced him with Bart Starr.

In his first season with the Lions, he split time at QB with Bobby Layne, but Layne broke his leg late in the season and Rote was given the starting duties just in time for a one-game tiebreaker against the San Francisco 49ers. The Lions trailed 27-7 early in the third quarter, but Rote led them on 4 scoring drives and they won 31-27.

The following week they faced Cleveland in the NFL Championship Game, and he had one of the greatest performances in championship history, finishing with 280 yards, 4 touchdowns without an interception, plus a rushing touchdown, as they destroyed the Browns 59-14. Championship MVP's were not named back then, but it is a sure thing that he would have been the choice.

Rote played for 2 more years in Detroit, but the team could not match their previous greatness, and Rote was released after the 1959 season. Finding no NFL team to join, he went to play in the CFL, where he played 3 seasons and set a number of records (although none of that was taken into account for this list).

In 1963 the AFL came calling, and he joined the San Diego Chargers, where he recorded his career highs in passing yards, completion percentage, and touchdown passes. He did have one last hurrah, as he won the AFL MVP and led his team to the championship that season, whipping the Boston Patriots 51-10 behind his 3 touchdowns, two passing and one on the ground, his second great championship performance. The aging QB played two more seasons before retiring.

While a few of the prime years of his career were cut out by his time in Canada, Rote was a two-time champion who led the league in multiple categories over and over, and he was great in championship situations, which is why he is able to live on on this list of the all-time greats.