Elvis Grbac

Grbac was drafted in the eighth round (219th overall) of the 1993 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, where he served as Steve Young's backup from 1994 to 1996.[9]

Grbac had an injury and was taken in and out of the lineup by coach George Seifert, Grbac played in 11 games in his rookie season only throwing for two touchdown passes in games against the Minnesota Vikings and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; he threw one interception. During his rookie season he posted a QB rating of 98.2, with two touchdowns, and completing 35-of-55 pass attempts. He appeared in a total of sixteen games with the 49ers, five of them as the starting quarterback. In Week 11, he led the 49ers to an upset victory over the eventual Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys, 38–20, throwing for two touchdowns and running for a third.[10] Grbac ended the season with a QB rating of 96.6, 183 passes attempted and 127 completed, eight passing touchdowns and two rushing, for a total of 1,469 yards gained. During the 1996 season, he played a total of 15 regular season games, four as a starter, passing for 10 touchdowns and rushing for two, with a total of 122 passes completed and 1,236 yards gained. In 1997, he signed a contract with the Kansas City Chiefs becoming their quarterback.

Grbac replaced Steve Bono as the Chiefs starter in 1997. He orchestrated a Monday Night Football comeback in Week Two against the Oakland Raiders. Despite trailing by two touchdowns late in the second half, he rallied the Chiefs by directing a six-play, 80-yard touchdown drive without the benefit of a single time-out, culminating that comeback with a 32-yard game-winner to Andre Rison with 0:03 remaining to seal a 28–27 Chiefs win.[11]

In the 1997 season, Grbac led the Chiefs to their fourth AFC West Division championship, as the team finished the year with six consecutive victories, a first in team history.[12] The 1997 season was also the beginning of a quarterback controversy, when Grbac started the first nine games and suffered an injury, leading to Rich Gannon's substitution for the next six games. Grbac would return in the team's season finale. Gannon won five consecutive starts down the stretch to help the Chiefs earn home-field advantage with a 13–3 record.[13] Grbac was an excellent quarterback, and a talented thrower,[14] while Gannon was an aggressive leader who demanded the most of his players.[14] Grbac was selected by coach Marty Schottenheimer to start the team's playoff game against the Denver Broncos, which the Chiefs would lose 14–10 amid an ineffective performance from Grbac.[15][13] Chiefs fans were divided over whether Gannon or Grbac should lead the team. Eventually, Grbac was selected to remain the Chiefs starting quarterback; Gannon was released and signed with the Raiders in 1999.[16] In 1998, the Chiefs struggled in the highly competitive AFC West. Grbac completed only 98-of-188 attempts, for five touchdowns, and gained 1,142 yards in this season. For 1999, the Chiefs won 2nd place in the AFC West. Grbac had a 9–7 record, starting all 16 games. In the final game of the season against the Oakland Raiders, the Chiefs were denied a trip to the playoffs and an AFC West division title when Raiders kicker Joe Nedney kicked a game-winning field-goal in overtime. In 2000, Grbac passed for 4,169 yards and 28 touchdowns with a passer rating of 89.9 en route to the 2001 Pro Bowl.

Grbac finished his four seasons in Kansas City by throwing for 10,643 yards, having 66 touchdowns to 47 interceptions, and a record of 26–21. Despite some success, Grbac became unpopular among Chiefs fans because the team's decision to start him over Gannon.[17][18] Whereas Grbac went winless in the postseason, Gannon led the division rival Raiders to Super Bowl XXXVII during the 2002 season and earned MVP honors.

On the June 13, 2023, edition of The Program with Soren Petro radio show, former Chiefs offensive lineman Tim Grunhard revealed that Grbac threw a Christmas party for his teammates in 2000 that was only attended by approximately 10 players, which upset Grbac. Grunhard said he addressed the team about the lack of support the next week and surmised the party was not well attended because a significant portion of the Chiefs' roster did not particularly like Grbac due to his serious personality and lack of bonding with colleagues.[19]

Grbac signed a free-agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens in 2001 to replace former starter Trent Dilfer. The contract was for over five years and was worth $30 million.[20] While Dilfer had been the starting quarterback of the Baltimore team that won Super Bowl XXXV, he was seen as a game manager who benefited from a dominant defense and the Ravens believed they could improve at quarterback.

Although the Ravens recorded a 10–6 regular season record and qualified for the playoffs, Grbac's performance was considered a disappointment. He performed statistically below Dilfer's performance in the previous season and two of the Ravens' wins occurred when Randall Cunningham started as a quarterback. During the postseason, the Ravens were defeated 27–10 by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round; Grbac threw three interceptions and no touchdowns.

At the end of the season, the Ravens released Grbac in a salary cap move after he refused to renegotiate his contract.[21] At the time of his retirement, Grbac had been in negotiations with the Denver Broncos as a backup to Brian Griese, but Grbac opted for retirement. Baltimore's free agent signing of Grbac is considered among the league's worst due to his inefficient performance and lasting only one season with the team.[22][23]