Tobin Rote Was Unbelievably Bad In His Rookie Season With Green Bay

Published on December 27th, 2024 11:28 am EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


There have been some unbelievably bad rookie quarterbacks over the history of the NFL.

Some started out awful and never turned things around - Ryan Leaf is one of the first names that should leap to your mind.

Other quarterbacks started out terribly and eventually turned things around. Terry Bradshaw, Justin Goff and even Peyton Manning are names that would fit in this category.

Ryan Leaf and Terry Bradshaw both had top five TERRIBLE rookie campaigns, but one quarterback was even worst - Tobin Rote of the Green Bay Packers.

Rote was taken by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the 1950 NFL Draft. Rote had enjoyed a great deal of success during his time at Rice in the late 1940s, finishing up his career with a Cotton Bowl victory.

Rote would end his career being regarded as one of the best Green Bay Packers of all time, though things certainly got off to a rough start in his rookie campaign.

Rote was truly terrible, posting a QB rating of just 26.7 in his rookie year, which is the lowest ever posted by a rookie quarterback in the NFL.

Rote went 83-224 in 1950, finishing with a completion percentage of just 37.1%.

Rote threw seven touchdown passes in 1950 and a shockingly bad 24 interceptions. More than 10% of Rote's pass attempts ended up being intercepted.

The one lone spot was Rote's ability to rush - he finished his rookie campaign with 27 rushing attempts for a total of 158 yards. Rote would really ratchet up the rushes in future years, as he would rush for 523 yards in 1951.

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Here are the top five worst QB ratings of all time for a rookie quarterback:

1. Tobin Rote, 26.7
2. Terry Bradshaw, 30.4
3. Lamar McHan, 32.4
4. Dan Darragh, 33.0
5. Ryan Leaf, 39.0