Detroit Lions Quarterbacks Over The Years [Since 2000]

Detroit Lions quarterbacks over the years are Charlie Batch (2000-2001), Joey Harrington (2002-2005), Jon Kitna (2006-2007) and Dan Orlovsky (2008).

Stafford the most acclaimed QB from the Lions has the team’s highest passing yards, touchdowns, and interceptions. On his lead, the team’s career W-L-T record was 74-90-1 and was the most among other quarterbacks. 

The team comprises some of the best players in this category who have set an excellent mark in the field of American football but the franchise is on the longest post-season winning drought in the National Football League. 

The squad has not gone for a single playoff win after the 1991 season. That season they won a single playoff game. However, they had two NFL championships prior to the Super Bowl Era one in 1935 and the other in 1957. 

The NFC North Division member has been in the League since 12 July 1930 and went by the name Portsmouth Spartans. The team relocated to Detriot in 1934 and got its present-day name. 

Charles Henry Bennet often known as Chuck Bennett was the first QB for the team during the inception time. He played for the franchise from 1930 to 1931. The player passed away in 1973 at the age of 65. 

Lions Quarterbacks By Year

Lions QBs Since 2000

Lions past quarterbacks after 1999 cover 1. Drew Stanton 2. Kellen Moore 3. Matt Cassel 4. Charlie Batch 5. Tim Boyle and 6. David Blough.

Charlie Batch

Batch was picked by the Lions in the 1998 NFL Draft in the second round. He led the team from 1998 through the 2001 season fulfilling a hybrid quarterback role. 

Barry Sanders’s retirement in 1999 put the team under pressure to discover consistency in their running game where Batch came in and used techniques like QB Sweeps, draws, and bootlegs to keep it going against the defenders. 

Despite his effectiveness in the team, the injury never left his side. The player also led the team in a wildcard playoff game in 1999 against the Washington Redskins. 

By the end of 2001, the QB had passed for 9,025 yards and had 49 touchdowns with 40 interceptions. He also rushed for 560 yards going for 5 rushing touchdowns. 

The sportsman played his college football at Eastern Michigan passing for 7,592 yards, with 53 touchdowns and 31 interceptions. On the rushing side, his total yards were 123, and 5 rushing touchdowns. 

Joey Harrington

Harrington came to the Lions as the third pick overall selected in the 2002 NFL Draft and debuted in the starting role in the team’s week 1 loss to the Dolphins. 

During his rookie year, he passed for 2,294 yards with 12 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He played in 14 games that season and had a completion percentage of 50.1.

The player appeared in a total of four seasons with the Lions and threw for 10,242 yards with 60 touchdowns and 62 interceptions. The player was traded to the Miami Dolphins in 2006. 

The QB had one of the most unsuccessful careers with the Lions in the absence of talents in other positions, weak offensive line protection, lack of management from the front office, etc. These are some of the major factors that played a role in his largely unsuccessful career with the team. 

Joey attended Central Catholic High School and played his college football for the Oregon Ducks passing for 6,911 yards with 59 TDs and 23 Interceptions. 

Matthew Stafford

Stafford was born on 7 February 1998 and is still active in the NFL. Stafford was selected by the Lions as the first pick in the NFL Draft of 2009. 

He was given the starting role for the position the same year on 24 April and became the first rookie player since 1968 to start in the QB position in week 1. 

The player played for 12 seasons in the team from 2009 to 2020 being on the lead role for all his career with the Lions except for the 2010 season due to his right shoulder injury against Chicago Bears. 

The QB was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2011. He has set multiple remarkable NFL records and franchise records over the years. 

During the 165 games played for the Lions, Stafford threw for 45,109 yards with 282 touchdowns and 144 interceptions. The player also rushed for 1,198 yards with 14 rushing touchdowns. His sacks count to 385 and his fumbles to 70. 

In 2011, he became the fourth quarterback to throw for more than 5,000 yards in a single season in the history of the NFL and had the record for most passing touchdowns by a rookie QB in a single game. 

The Florida native went to attend  Highland Park High School and played his college football for the University of Georgia for three seasons appearing in 39 games. He passed for 3,459 yards with 51 TDs and 33 Interceptions. 

Detroit Lions Backup Quarterbacks

The important backup quarterbacks for the Lions include Stoney Case, Gus Frerotte, Ty Detmer, Mike McMahon, Jeff Gracia, and Daunte Culpepper. 

Other notable players are:

• Jon Kitna
• Drew Stanton
• David Blough
• Jeff Driskel
• Tim Boyle
• Kellen Moore
• Jake Rudcock
• Matt Cassel
• Chase Daniel

Stoney Case came to the Lions as an unrestricted free agent in 2000 as a backup to Charlie Batch and appeared in five games in total passing for 503 yards, a single touchdown, and 4 interceptions. 

His best game with the team was against the Minnesota Vikings where he threw for 230 yards with one TD and an interception but the team had to bear a 24-27 loss to the Vikings.  

Similarly, Culpepper played his college football at the University of Central Florida and associated with the Lions on 2 November 2008. It was his comeback year after he announced retirement in September of the same year. 

He remained with the team for two seasons and played four games during the first one. The player suffered a shoulder injury and on 28 December 2008, the team became the only franchise to go 0-16 in NFL history. 

In 2009, the QB got his contract restructured and played in Detroit’s biggest defeat in history when they lost to the Ravens by a 48-3 score on 14 December. 

Likewise, David Blough was the backup to Matthew Stafford and had started a few games during Stafford’s injury. He joined the Lions on 30 August 2019 and his first starting role came in a Thanksgiving game against the Chicago Bears on 27 November 2019. 

For the team, he threw for 1,033 passing yards with four touchdowns and seven interceptions. The player was first signed by the Cleveland Browns but was traded to the Detroit Lions later. Blough played his college football at  Purdue University. 

Detroit Lions Quarterback History

Best Lions quarterbacks all-time consist of Matthew Stafford, Bobby Layne, Dutch Clark, Jared Goff, Greg Landry, Tobin Rote, and Erik Kramer. 

Other quarterbacks in the past were:

• Chuck Bennett – 1930
• Dutch Clark – 1931 to 1937
• Glenn Pressnell – 1933
• Vern Huffman – 1938
• Johnny Pingel – 1939
• Byron White – 1940 to 1941
• Harry Hoop – 1942
• Chuck Fenenbock – 1943 to 1945
• Frank Sinkwich – 1943
• Dave Ryan – 1945 to 1946
• Jim Callahan – 1946
• Roy Zimmerman – 1947
• Fred Enke – 1948 to 1949
• Bobby Layne – 1950 to 1958
• Tobin Rote – 1958 to 1959
• Jim Ninowski – 1960 to 1961
• Milt Plum – 1962 to 1967
• Earl Morrall – 1959 to 1964
• Karl Sweetan – 1966 to 1967
• Bill Munson – 1968 to 1974
• Greg Landry – 1968 to 1978
• Erik Kramer – 1991 to 1993
• Dave Krieg – 1994
• Gary Danielson – 1977 to 1984
• Frank Reich – 1998
• Scott Mitchell – 1994 to 1998
• Rodney Peete – 1989 to 1993

Layne associated with the Lions only in 1950 after two seasons of his draft year. He was traded to the team in exchange for WR Bobb Mann. In the 1952 season, the player led the squad to win the NFL Championship which was the first in 17 years.

In his career with the Detroit Lions until 1957, the player passed for 15,710 yards with 118 touchdowns and 142 interceptions. He played college football for Texas. The QB set multiple records in the NCAA, University, and the Cotton Bowl. 

Detroit Lions Quarterback Depth Chart 2023

Starting QB for the Detroit Lions is Jared Goff in 2023. He has been in the starter position since 2021 and is being backed up by Teddy Bridgewater.

The 2023 depth chart of the team has included only two quarterbacks. Goff is playing his third season with the Lions and Bridgewater is in his first season with the team. 

Jared Goff

Goff started his professional career in the League associating with the Los Angeles Rams in the 2016 season. The Lions traded Stafford to get Goff on 18 March 2021. 

His debut play with the team came in the season opener match against the San Fransisco 49ers. Although the Lions bore a 33-41 loss to the 49ers, the QB passed for 338 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

The player completed his first season with the team throwing for 3,245 yards with 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. His past two seasons gave him 7,683 passing yards, 48 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions to go along with 160 rushing yards, 58 sacks, and 16 fumbles. 

The sportsman attended Marin Catholic High School in California and his collegiate football career began associating with the University of California. His college football statistics read 12,195 passing yards, 96 touchdowns, and 30 interceptions. 

Teddy Bridgewater

Bridgewater was signed by the Lions on 10 August 2023 after he left the Miami Dolphins playing for the last season. He has yet to play with the team in the 2023 season. 

The QB has been with a number of teams in the past including Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals, and Denver Broncos passing for 15,120 yards, 75 touchdowns and 47 interceptions in total.