Jake “The Snake” Plummer was a second-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals where he played the first six years of his NFL career.
He became a free agent at the age of 29 and signed with the Broncos to replace Brian Griese, who was supposed to be the heir apparent to John Elway.
Plummer stepped into some big shoes at a really tender time in Broncos football history. He quickly established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the team.
In Mike Shanahan’s offense, Plummer played the best football of his professional career, winning 39 of his 54 starts with the team and throwing 71 touchdowns compared to 47 interceptions.
Plummer and the Broncos reached the AFC Championship in the 2005 season, where they were drubbed at home by the Pittsburgh Steelers. This loss set in motion a bizarre chain of events at the quarterback position in Denver.
Plummer was the quarterback of the Broncos through my high school years, and I absolutely loved watching him play. I think he doesn’t get the credit he deserves as one of the more underrated quarterbacks to play the game.
He may not have been an elite gunslinger, but Plummer was one of the best quarterbacks to play in the Shanahan offense. One bad game in 2005 erased what should have been a title year for Denver.