John Skelton (American football)

John Michael Skelton (born March 17, 1988) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Fordham and was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He was also a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans and Montreal Alouettes.

John Skelton
refer to caption
Skelton during his tenure at Fordham
No. 19
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1988-03-17) March 17, 1988
El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school:Burges (El Paso, Texas)
College:Fordham
NFL Draft:2010 / Round: 5 / Pick: 155
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Pass attempts:602
Pass completions:320
Percentage:53.2
TD–INT:15–25
Passing yards:3,707
Passer rating:63.0
Player stats at NFL.com

High school career

Skelton attended Burges High School in El Paso, where his father served as an assistant coach. He lettered in football, basketball, baseball, and track. After passing for 2,172 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior in football, he earned first-team All-District I Class-AAAA and All-City honors, and was named the Offensive MVP by the El Paso Times in 2005. He finished his football career as the starting quarterback in the 2006 El Paso All-Star Game.[1]

In basketball, Skelton earned All-City, All-District and All-Region honors. Changing positions every year in baseball, he earned All-District honors all four years and All-City honors in 2006.[1]

College career

In 2006, midway through his freshman year at Fordham, Skelton won the starting quarterback position and started every game for the rest of his college career. He received Patriot League rookie player of the week honors in that season.

Skelton had a solid first full year as the starting quarterback in 2007, being named 2007 Second-team All-Patriot League in a season in which he threw for 22 touchdowns (the third best single season total in Fordham history). He threw for over 200 yards in seven games in 2007 and for over 300 yards in two games and ranked second in the Patriot League in passing yards per game and total offense. He led the Fordham Rams to a Patriot League championship,[2] earning them a trip to the NCAA FCS playoffs. In the playoff game against the University of Massachusetts, Skelton set a Patriot League playoff record for touchdowns responsible for at five(5), throwing for 3 and running for 2.

In 2008, Fordham struggled to a 5–6 record, missing the playoffs. However, Skelton put up good numbers for the Fordham Rams with 2,650 yards, and 15 touchdowns with 7 interceptions, finishing the season ranked second in the Patriot League in passing average (236.8 yards/game) and total offense (244.5).

John Skelton's senior year, the 2009 season, was a record-shattering one, with new school records for completions and passing yards. He led the NCAA FCS in passing yards/game (337.09) and total passing yards (3,708), ranked second in total offense (348.18/yards/game), and ranked third in completions per game (25.82).

Out of the 11 scheduled games, Skelton threw for over 300 yards eight times, 4 times exceeding 400 yards. During his four-year career at Fordham, he completed 802 passes for 9,923 yards and 69 touchdowns, all school records.

In recognition of his accomplishments and strong interest from NFL scouts and teams, Skelton played in the prestigious East-West Shrine Game on January 23, 2010, at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando and participated in the NFL Scouting Combine in February.

Awards and honors
  • 2006 Patriot League Rookie of the Week [3]
  • 2007 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week[4]
  • 2007 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week[5]
  • 2007 Second-team All-Patriot League selection
  • 2008 Preseason All American by Consensus Draft Services
  • 2009 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week[6]
  • 2009 Preseason All American by Consensus Draft Services
  • 2009 College Sporting News National All-Star[7]
  • 2009 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week[8]
  • 2009 ECAC Offensive Player of the Week[9]
  • 2009 NCAA Championship Subdivision (FCS) National Leader in Passing Yards Per Game[10]
  • 2009 NCAA Championship Subdivision (FCS) National Leader in Total Passing Yards[11]
  • 2009 Invited to play in the 4th annual Texas vs. The Nation Game
  • 2009 Played in the East-West Shrine Game- January 23, 2010
  • 2009 Accepted invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine

Records

Fordham University school career records:

  • Total offense: 10,488
  • Touchdown passes: 69
  • Passing yards: 9,928
  • Pass completions: 802
  • Pass attempts: 1363
  • Combined touchdowns: 83

Statistics
  Passing Rushing
SeasonTeamGPCmpAttPctYdsTDIntRtgAttYdsTD
2006Fordham 97416744.39606894.88562041
2007Fordham 1221638356.42,6502211127.73964536
2008Fordham 1122837261.32,605157129.66582132
2009Fordham 1128444164.43,7132610150.05863465
Totals 438021,36358.89,9236936131.412961,21614

Source:[12]

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpWonderlic
6 ft 5+3⁄8 in
(1.97 m)		 243 lb
(110 kg)		 32 in
(0.81 m)		 9+3⁄4 in
(0.25 m)		4.85 s1.61 s2.78 s4.33 s7.17 s33.5 in
(0.85 m)		9 ft 0 in
(2.74 m)		24[13]
All values from 2010 NFL Scouting Combine[14][15]

2010 season

Skelton was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft.[16] He was signed on July 14. After Matt Leinart was released, he was named the third-string quarterback for the Cardinals.

Skelton's first NFL game experience was a 2010 preseason game against the Houston Texans where he led the Cardinals to two touchdown drives in two possessions as Arizona rallied for a victory. He completed five passes out of six attempts for 84 yards and achieved a perfect passer rating of 158.3.[17]

Skelton entered in the fourth quarter of a game against the St. Louis Rams to make his NFL debut, and he completed three of his six passes for 45 yards with a passer rating of 75.0. The Cardinals still failed to win, losing to the Rams 19–6. Skelton was named the starting quarterback thereafter.

In his first career NFL start, Skelton led the Cardinals to a 43–13 victory over the Denver Broncos, snapping a seven-game losing streak for the Cardinals. He completed 15 of his 37 passes with 146 passing yards. He was nominated for Rookie of the Week after this game, but Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots wound up winning the award. In Skelton's third NFL start, on Christmas Day, he led the game-winning drive, bringing the Cardinals in field goal range where Jay Feely was able to kick the game winning field goal. The Cardinals won 27–26 against the Dallas Cowboys.

Skelton would lose the last game of the season against the San Francisco 49ers for the Cardinals throwing both a touchdown pass and an interception. He would finish his rookie season with two touchdown passes and two interceptions, a total of 662 passing yards, and a QB rating of 62.3.

2011 season

In 2011, Skelton stepped into the starting quarterback position for an injured Kevin Kolb. He helped end the Cardinals' six-game losing streak in his first game as starter against the St. Louis Rams in week 9, winning 19–13. For the rest of 2011 he threw for 1,913 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions with a quarterback rating of 68.9. Skelton started seven games in total and the team had a 5–2 record during his starts.[18]

2012 season

On August 31, 2012, Skelton was named the starting quarterback for the Cardinals for game one against the Seattle Seahawks on September 9. Shortly after, Skelton lost his job due to an ankle injury in week 1. He started four games following Kolb's injury before being benched in favor of 6th round rookie Ryan Lindley. Skelton started one more game due to poor play from Lindley only before being benched for the season after a four interception performance in a rematch against the Seahawks on week 14.[19][20] On April 1, 2013, Skelton was released.[21]

Cincinnati Bengals
Skelton with the Bengals, 2013

On April 3, 2013, the Cincinnati Bengals claimed Skelton off waivers.[22] Skelton was waived by the Bengals on August 31, 2013.[23]

San Francisco 49ers

On October 2, 2013, Skelton was signed by the San Francisco 49ers.[24] He was waived on October 9 after the 49ers acquired McLeod Bethel-Thompson.[25]

Tennessee Titans

On November 18, 2013, Skelton was signed by the Tennessee Titans. Skelton was waived by the Titans on December 17, 2013.[26]

Montreal Alouettes

On February 6, 2015, Skelton was signed by the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.[27] He was released in May 2015.[28]

NFL career statistics
Year Team Games Passing Rushing Sacks Fumbles
GPGSRecordCmpAttPctYdsY/ATDIntRateAttYdsAvgTDSckYdsFumLost
2010ARI 542-26012647.66625.32262.310494.9096531
2011ARI 875-215127554.91,9137.0111468.9281284.602316241
2012ARI 661-510920154.21,1325.62955.4451.30159842
Career19178-932060253.23,7076.2152563.0421824.3047325114

Personal life

His brother Steve Skelton played tight end for Fordham and practiced with the Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans but was cut before the regular season and never played in a professional game.

In November 2021, John Skelton qualified for the March 2022 Tempe, Arizona city council race.[29]

References
  1. "Arizona Cardinals bio". Arizona Cardinals. Archived from the original on 2011-12-09. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
  2. "Fordham football team wins Patriot League Championship".
  3. "John Skelton, Fordham freshman QB named Patriot League Rookie of the Week".
  4. "Sophomore Quarterback Throws for Three Touchdowns in Win at Colgate".
  5. "Sophomore Quarterback Throws for Career High 323 Yards and Two Touchdowns in Win at Lafayette". Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  6. "Patriot League Football Release - 10.05.09".
  7. "College Sporting News Allstars 10/19/09". Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  8. "Patriot League Football Release - 10.19.09".
  9. "Eastern College Athletic Conference - 10.04.09". Archived from the original on 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  10. "NCAA Championship Subdivision National Player Report - 11.21.09".
  11. "NCAA Championship Subdivision National Player Report - 11.21.09".
  12. "John Skelton #19 QB".
  13. "Historical NFL Wonderlic Scores". wonderlictestsample.com. Archived from the original on September 2, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. "John Skelton Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  15. "2010 NFL Draft Scout John Skelton College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  16. "2010 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  17. "Arizona Cardinals rookie QB John Skelton makes strong debut". Archived from the original on 2012-03-22. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
  18. "John Skelton 2011 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  19. Rosenthal, Gregg (13 August 2012). "John Skelton named Arizona Cardinals' starting QB". NFL.com. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  20. "John Skelton benched in second quarter vs. Falcons". Arizona Sports. 18 November 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  21. Rosenthal, Gregg (1 April 2013). "John Skelton cut by Arizona Cardinals after three years". National Football League. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  22. Hanzus, Dan (3 April 2013). "John Skelton claimed on waivers by Cincinnati Bengals". National Football League. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  23. "The Official Site of the Cincinnati Bengals". www.bengals.com. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  24. Sessler, Marc (2 October 2013). "John Skelton, San Francisco 49ers strike contract". National Football League. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  25. "QB Bethel-Thompson claimed off waivers by 49ers". Yahoo! Sports. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  26. "The #Titans have signed QB Tyler Wilson from the Raiders practice squad and waived QB John Skelton". Twitter. 2013-12-17. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  27. Ian Rapoport [@RapSheet] (6 February 2015). "The CFL's Montreal Alouettes signed former #AzCardinals QB John Skelton to a two-year deal" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. "Alouettes Transactions 2015". Archived from the original on 2015-06-01. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  29. "7 Tempe City Council candidates qualify for March ballot. Here's who is running". AZCentral. 2021-11-09. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
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