Chris Weinke
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| College: | Florida State | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2001 / round: 4 / pick: 106 | ||||||||
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Christopher Jon Weinke (born July 31, 1972 in St. Paul, Minnesota) is a currently inactive American football quarterback. He was originally drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State, winning multiple awards, including the 2000 Heisman Trophy.
In the NFL, Weinke holds the record for most consecutive losses by a quarterback in a season at 14, and has a career record of 2-18 as a starting quarterback.
Baseball career
Before college, Weinke attended Cretin-Derham Hall High School in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He committed to attend Florida State University, but before matriculating, he opted to join the Toronto Blue Jays[1] minor league baseball system where he spent six years, advancing to the Triple-A level, before finally enrolling at Florida State.
Weinke began his minor league career in 1990 with the New York-Penn League's St. Catharines Blue Jays. Following his rookie season he saw time in the Carolina League with the Myrtle Beach Hurricanes in 1992, the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Florida State League in 1993, the Knoxville Smokies of the Southern League in 1994, and with the Syracuse Chiefs of the International League in 1995 and 1996.
During his baseball career he was playing first base when Michael Jordan got his first hit in the minors.[2]
College football career
As a sophomore in 1998, Weinke led the Florida State Seminoles to a 9–1 record and #2 national ranking before a season-ending neck injury forced him to the sidelines. During his junior season in 1999, he led the #1 ranked Seminoles to the school's second national championship, defeating Michael Vick and the Virginia Tech Hokies 46-29 in the Sugar Bowl. As a senior in 2000, Weinke led the nation in passing with 4,167 yards and won the Heisman Trophy, awarded to college football's best player, as well as the Davey O'Brien Award and the Johnny Unitas Award. He also led the Seminoles to the Orange Bowl for their third national championship game in as many years, where they lost 13–2 to the Oklahoma Sooners. At the age of 28, Weinke was the oldest player ever to win the Heisman Trophy. He finished his Florida State career with a 32–3 record and held numerous FSU records including most passing yards in a career and most career touchdown passes. In 2001, Chris became the seventh Seminole (and second quarterback) to have his jersey retired.
Curiously, Chris Weinke was originally recruited by Florida State as part of the same recruiting class as Charlie Ward, another quarterback who would also win a Heisman Trophy and lead the Seminoles to a National Championship. However, because of Weinke's long hiatus in baseball, Weinke and Ward were never teammates.
Pro football career
Carolina Panthers
Weinke was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the fourth round (106th overall pick) of the 2001 NFL Draft. In 2001, he was the starter when the Panthers finished with a 1-15 record (they won their season opener, but lost the remaining 15 games). At the time, the Panthers' 15 consecutive losses in 2001 was a single season record. After the season, Weinke became the Panthers backup quarterback. He saw his first action since the 2002 season on October 16, 2005, when starter Jake Delhomme went down with an injury against the Detroit Lions. Weinke threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Ricky Proehl, giving the Panthers the 21–20 win over the Lions.
He re-signed with Carolina during the 2006 off-season, where he continued to back up Delhomme. On December 10, 2006 in a game against the New York Giants, Weinke made his first start since 2005 in place of an injured Delhomme. The Panthers lost the game, but Weinke threw for 423 yards, topping the previous single-game team record of 373 set by Steve Beuerlein. Weinke started the next two games against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons, the game against Atlanta being his second (and most recent) win as a starter in the NFL.
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers signed Weinke on December 12, 2007 after injuries to quarterbacks Alex Smith and Trent Dilfer. He started the final game of the 2007 season in a 20-7 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Weinke was not brought back by the 49ers for the 2008 season.
Post Athletic Career
Weinke was an executive in the athlete services division at Triton Financial in Austin, TX until the firm was sued for securities fraud on December 22, 2009. [3] On December 31, 2009, he was added as defendant in the suit. [4]
Possible Retirement
Having been inactive for over two seasons, and unlikely to sign with any professional football team, he will probably retire.
References
- ^ Chris Weinke News - The New York Times - Narrowed by 'TORONTO BLUE JAYS'
- ^ "Initiation by fire". Retrieved 2010-01-03.
- ^ "State, federal regulators move on Austin investment firm". The Austin American-Statesman. 2009-12-23. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
- ^ "Four former NFL stars added to civil case". The Austin American-Statesman. 2009-12-31. Retrieved 2009-12-31.