View source for Kent Graham

{{Short description|American football player (born 1968)}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name        = Kent Graham
| number      = 10, 11
| position    = [[Quarterback]]
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1968|11|1}}
| birth_place = [[Wheaton, Illinois]], U.S.
| height_ft   = 6
| height_in   = 5
| weight_lb   = 231
| high_school = [[Wheaton North High School|Wheaton North]] {{nowrap|([[Wheaton, Illinois]])}}
| college     = [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|Notre Dame]] (1987–1988)<br>[[Ohio State Buckeyes football|Ohio State]] (1990–1991)
| draftyear   = 1992
| draftround  = 8
| draftpick   = 211
| pastteams   =
* [[New York Giants]] ({{NFL Year|1992|1994}})
* [[Detroit Lions]] ({{NFL Year|1995}}) 
* [[Arizona Cardinals]] ({{NFL Year|1996|1997}})
* New York Giants ({{NFL Year|1998|1999}})
* [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] ({{NFL Year|2000}})
* [[Washington Commanders|Washington Redskins]] ({{NFL Year|2001}})
* [[Houston Texans]] (2002)*
* [[Jacksonville Jaguars]] ({{NFL Year|2002}})
| statlabel1  = Passing attempts
| statvalue1  = 1,339
| statlabel2  = Passing completions
| statvalue2  = 694
| statlabel3  = Completion percentage
| statvalue3  = 51.8
| statlabel4  = [[Touchdown|TD]]–[[Interception|INT]]
| statvalue4  = 39–33
| statlabel5  = Passing yards
| statvalue5  = 7,801
| statlabel6  = [[Passer rating]]
| statvalue6  = 69.0
| pfr         = GrahKe00 
}}

'''Kent Douglas Graham''' (born November 1, 1968) is an American former professional [[American football|football]] player who was a [[quarterback]] in the [[National Football League]] (NFL).  He played [[college football]] for the [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|Notre Dame Fighting Irish]] before transferring to the [[Ohio State Buckeyes football|Ohio State Buckeyes]].  After college, Graham had a lengthy career in the NFL with the [[New York Giants]] in two separate stints, as well as [[Starting lineup|starting]] for the [[Arizona Cardinals]] and the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]].  He finished his career in 2002 with the [[Jacksonville Jaguars]].

==Early life==
Graham attended [[Wheaton North High School]] in [[Wheaton, Illinois]], where he was awarded the National High School Quarterback of the Year honor by The National Quarterback Club in 1986.  Recruited by [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|Notre Dame]], he won his first career start for the Irish as a freshman against [[Boston College Eagles football|Boston College]] in 1987.  However, the option-run offense implemented by coach [[Lou Holtz]] was an imperfect fit for the drop-back passer, and after his sophomore year he transferred to [[Ohio State Buckeyes football|Ohio State]], where he was the starter for the [[1991 Ohio State Buckeyes football team|1991 campaign]] in which the Buckeyes finished 8–4.

==Professional career==
Graham began his NFL career with the Giants in 1992, after the team selected him in the eighth round of that year's NFL draft.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1992 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1992/draft.htm |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> Due to injuries to starters [[Phil Simms]] and [[Jeff Hostetler]], Graham was forced into the starting lineup and started three games before he too was injured. He stayed with the team for two more years, only getting one more start, before leaving to play with the [[Detroit Lions]] in 1995.  After not seeing any action, he signed with the [[Arizona Cardinals]] in 1996, where he eventually became the team's starting quarterback.  In two separate stints as Cardinals quarterback, Graham threw for a combined 3,032 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.

Graham returned to the Giants in 1998 to serve as backup to [[Danny Kanell]], who had led the team to the [[NFC East]] title the previous year. He moved into the starting lineup in Week 12 after Kanell had led the Giants to a 3–7 record in the first ten games. Graham led the Giants to two wins in his first three starts, then secured a major upset over the then-undefeated and eventual Super Bowl champion [[Denver Broncos]] in Week 15 by throwing a late touchdown pass to [[Amani Toomer]] to clinch the victory. Graham finished the season 5–1 as the team's starter, and won his final four starts.

Graham started the 1999 season as the starter ahead of offseason acquisition [[Kerry Collins]]. He held a winning record in his nine starts, finishing 5–4, but struggled most of the year.  After back-to-back ineffective performances he was benched during a Week 11 game against the [[Washington Redskins]] in favor of Collins.  He did not see another snap as a Giant.  Graham was released during the off-season (February 10, 2000) due to his lack of consistency and to create room under the salary cap.

In February 2000 Graham was signed by the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] on a $5.1 million deal over three years to replace [[Mike Tomczak]], who had been released in the off-season, as the backup for [[Kordell Stewart]]. In the wake of Stewart, who was having to cope with drastic changes to the offensive team members (including Tomczak, who had served as his mentor), having a mediocre 1999 season and a competitive first training camp, Steelers coach [[Bill Cowher]] assigned Graham as the starting quarterback for the start of the 2000 season.  Despite solid efforts, Graham performed less than impressive, beginning the season 0–3 due to Pittsburgh's defensive weaknesses.  In the third game of the season vs. the [[Tennessee Titans]], Graham threw for 254 yards in one of the best offensive showings for the Steelers in over two seasons before injuring his hip late in the game and being replaced by Stewart, who went on to lead the team to two straight victories as Graham recovered.  This built a quarterback controversy among fans and media, as many of the Steeler faithful supported Graham ahead of Stewart despite Stewart's recent successes with the team (having led the team to the playoffs twice in his first two full years as starter). However, Graham struggled mightily upon his return to the Steelers and eventually lost whatever playing time he had earned. After platooning with Graham, Stewart returned to the starting position and Graham was cut at the end of the year.

In 2001, he was signed by the Redskins.  After initial starter [[Jeff George]] was cut, Graham became the team's second stringer for much of the season. In 2002, Graham was picked in the expansion draft by the Houston Texans to be their third-string quarterback.  He never played again.

==NFL career statistics==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! colspan="3"| Games
! colspan="9"| Passing
! colspan="5"| Rushing
! colspan="2"| Sacked
|-
! {{abbr|GP|Games played}} !! {{abbr|GS|Games started}} !! {{abbr|Record|Record as a starter}} !! {{abbr|Cmp|Passes completed}} !! {{abbr|Att|Passes Attempted}} !! {{abbr|Pct|Completion percentage}} !! {{abbr|Yds|Passing yards}} !! {{abbr|Y/A|Yards per passing attempt}} !! {{abbr|Lng|Longest pass completion}} !! {{abbr|TD|Passing touchdowns}} !! {{abbr|Int|Interceptions}} !! {{abbr|Rtg|Passer rating}} !! {{abbr|Att|Rushing attempts}} !! {{abbr|Yds|Rushing yards}} !! {{abbr|Y/A|Yards per rushing attempt}} !! {{abbr|Lng|Longest rushing attempt}} !! {{abbr|TD|Rushing touchdowns}} !! {{abbr|Sck|Times sacked}} !! {{abbr|Yds|Yards lost due to sacks}}
|-
! [[1992 NFL season|1992]] !! [[1992 New York Giants season|NYG]]
| 6 || 3 || 0–3 || 42 || 97 || 43.3 || 470 || 4.8 || 44 || 1 || 4 || 44.6 || 6 || 36 || '''6.0''' || 15 || 0 || 7 || 49
|-
! [[1993 NFL season|1993]] !! [[1993 New York Giants season|NYG]]
| 9 || 0 || — || 8 || 22 || 36.4 || 79 || 3.6 || 18 || 0 || 0 || 47.3 || 2 || −3 || −1.5 || −1 || 0 || 3 || 28
|-
! [[1994 NFL season|1994]] !! [[1994 New York Giants season|NYG]]
| '''13''' || 1 || 0–1 || 24 || 53 || 45.3 || 295 || 5.6 || 55 || 3 || 2 || 66.2 || 2 || 11 || 5.5 || 9 || 0 || 2 || 22
|-
! [[1996 NFL season|1996]] !! [[1996 Arizona Cardinals season|ARI]]
| 10 || 8 || 4–4 || 146 || '''274''' || 53.3 || 1,624 || 5.9 || 69 || '''12''' || 7 || 75.1 || 21 || 87 || 4.1 || 19 || 0 || 19 || 120
|-
! [[1997 NFL season|1997]] !! [[1997 Arizona Cardinals season|ARI]]
| 8 || 6 || 1–5 || 130 || 250 || 52.0 || 1,408 || 5.6 || 47 || 4 || 5 || 65.9 || 13 || 23 || 1.8 || 10 || '''2''' || 16 || 115
|-
! [[1998 NFL season|1998]] !! [[1998 New York Giants season|NYG]]
| 11 || 6 || 5–1 || 105 || 205 || 51.2 || 1,219 || 5.9 || '''87''' || 7 || 5 || 70.8 || 27 || '''138''' || 5.1 || '''23''' || '''2''' || 12 || 75
|-
! [[1999 NFL season|1999]] !! [[1999 New York Giants season|NYG]]
| 9 || '''9''' || 5–4 || '''160''' || 271 || 59.0 || '''1,697''' || 6.3 || 56 || 9 || '''9''' || 74.6 || '''35''' || 132 || 3.8 || 17 || 1 || '''26''' || '''184'''
|-
! [[2000 NFL season|2000]] !! [[2000 Pittsburgh Steelers season|PIT]]
| 12 || 5 || 2–3 || 66 || 148 || 44.6 || 878 || 5.9 || 77 || 1 || 1 || 63.4 || 8 || 7 || 0.9 || 7 || 0 || 13 || 70
|-
! [[2001 NFL season|2001]] !! [[2001 Washington Redskins season|WSH]]
| 3 || 0 || — || 13 || 19 || '''68.4''' || 131 || '''6.9''' || 16 || 2 || 0 || '''122.9''' || 7 || −7 || −1.0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 16
|-
! colspan="2"| Career !! 81 !! 38 !! 17–21 !! 694 !! 1,339 !! 51.8 !! 7,801 !! 5.8 !! 87 !! 39 !! 33 !! 69.0 !! 121 !! 424 !! 3.5 !! 23 !! 5 !! 100 !! 679
|}

==Personal life==
His son, Taylor Graham, attended the New York Giants rookie minicamp in 2015 tryouts.<ref name="NY Giants website news">{{cite web|title=NY Giants website|url=http://www.giants.com/news-and-blogs/article-1/Former-Giants-QB-Kent-Grahams-son-joins-Rookie-Tryouts/7a06ba4a-7c07-457c-b365-b1ce74fbe931|access-date=January 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125134438/http://www.giants.com/news-and-blogs/article-1/Former-Giants-QB-Kent-Grahams-son-joins-Rookie-Tryouts/7a06ba4a-7c07-457c-b365-b1ce74fbe931|archive-date=January 25, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> His nephew, [[Bo Richter]], is an outside linebacker for the [[Minnesota Vikings]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lewis |first1=Alec |title=Vikings UDFA signings: 17 thoughts on the 17 post-NFL Draft additions |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5455946/2024/04/29/vikings-nfl-draft-udfa-signings/ |date=29 April 2024 |access-date=23 August 2024}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40710FF3B590C7A8CDDAD0894DA404482&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fG%2fGraham%2c%20Kent Graham Signs With the Texans]
*[https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10F12F83E590C738DDDA00894D1494D81&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fG%2fGraham%2c%20Kent No. 1 Quarterback Handles 2d-String Question]
*[https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30F15F83A5A0C728DDDAB0894D8404482&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fG%2fGraham%2c%20Kent Graham, Released by Giants, Feels the Best Man Didn't Win]
*[https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/29/sports/plus-nfl-camps-steelers-graham-to-replace-stewart.html Steelers' Graham To Replace Stewart]

{{1988 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football navbox}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Kent}}
[[Category:1968 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American football quarterbacks]]
[[Category:Arizona Cardinals players]]
[[Category:Detroit Lions players]]
[[Category:Houston Texans players]]
[[Category:21st-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:Jacksonville Jaguars players]]
[[Category:New York Giants players]]
[[Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players]]
[[Category:Ohio State Buckeyes football players]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Steelers players]]
[[Category:Washington Redskins players]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Wheaton, Illinois]]