Kelly Stouffer

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Kelly Wayne Stouffer (born July 6, 1964 in Scottsbluff, Nebraska) is a former American football quarterback in the NFL. He spent his entire four year career with the Seattle Seahawks from 1988-1992. He graduated from Rushville High School in Nebraska and attended Colorado State University. He currently serves as a television color analyst for Minnesota Vikings pre-season games and ESPN Plus college football games.

At the conclusion of his collegiate career, he achieved notoriety when, after being selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the first round of the 1987 NFL Draft, he sat out what would have been his rookie year due to an inability agree on a contract. The following season, the Cardinals traded his rights to the Seattle Seahawks, who arrived at a deal establishing Stouffer as the "Quarterback of the Future" behind starter Dave Krieg and veteran backup Jeff Kemp. The future seemed to come early when the often inconsistent Krieg was sidelined with a separated shoulder. The following week Kemp was horrendously ineffective starting in place of Krieg and was benched in favor of Stouffer by halftime. Stouffer endeared himself to Seattle fans in one play where, after having his nose broken, he retained his composure and threw for a long gain resulting in a touchdown. For several weeks, Stouffer filled in until Krieg returned to the lineup. Unfortunately, he seemed to regress in the eyes of Seahawk coaches over the next couple of years, and fell back to third string behind Kemp, despite the latter appearing unimpressive in relief of Krieg.

Once Seahawk head coach Chuck Knox was replaced by Tom Flores and Dave Krieg was let go, Stouffer won the starting job, beating out Dan McGwire and Stan Gelbaugh. However, the season was horrendous, with Stouffer losing every game he started before being injured and being unable to play for several weeks. After McGwire was quickly injured, journeyman Gelbaugh became the starter, yielding the job to Stouffer once he recovered. Stouffer, who seemed to have been showing a return to his rookie form just before his injury, was never the same, however, and Gelbaugh quickly became the established starter. Both of Seattle's victories of the horrific 1992 season came with Gelbaugh on the field. The following season, when Seattle's starting quarterback was 1993 first round darft pick Rick Mirer, Stouffer was no longer with the team and his career was over.