An historical look at the uniform numbers for the new Patriots: #10, Jimmy Garoppolo
Free agency is for all intents and purposes over. The draft has finally come and gone. With the exception of the one day a week that the media has access to organized team activities, there's not much to go over that hasn't already been over-analyzed - so with that in mind here is the first in a series of historical looks at who has previously worn the uniform number of the newest members of the New England Patriots. Unless noted otherwise all the players listed took part in at least one regular season game in the season noted for the Pats.
Jimmy Garoppolo is the latest member of the Patriots to don the number 10; here is a look at those who have preceded him to wear that jersey over the years during the franchise history of the Patriots.
10 – Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo
- 6' 2" 22-year old from Eastern Illinois was drafted in the second round, 62nd overall. In four years with the Panthers he completed 63% of his passes, for 13,156 yards and 118 touchdowns; in his final year he threw for 5,050 yards while completing 66% of his passes with 53 touchdowns and only nine interceptions.
2013: WR Austin Collie
- Collie is part of a very select group: he has been an NFL receiver with both Tom Brady and Peyton Manning as his quarterback. Some more trivia: although he grew up in northern California, he was actually born in Hamilton, Ontario. Collie played college ball at BYU - as did his brother and father. A 4th round pick by the Colts in 2009, he suffered (at least) three concussions and blew out his knee early in 2012, leading to his release a year ago. Collie spent the 2013 training camp with the 49ers, but was let go as part of the final roster cuts. He visited with Washington this spring but is still unsigned. With the Patriots he had six receptions for 63 yards in seven games; his best years were from 2009-11 with Indy when he totaled 172 receptions for 1,839 yards and 16 touchdowns.
2013: WR Michael Jenkins (camp/off-season only)
- Jenkins was never part of a Pats regular season roster; he was signed as a free agent March 28 and lined up with the starters during OTAs, but did not stay completely healthy or make an impact during training camp as Bill Belichick elected to go with undrafted free agent Kenbrell Thompkins over the slower 31-year old Jenkins. He did not catch on with any other teams after being released and finished his NFL career with 354 receptions for 4,427 yards and 25 touchdowns.
2011: WR Tiquan Underwood
- The guy with the high top fade at one time gained some notoriety when Belichick-haters piled on for the coach's decision to release him on the eve of the Super Bowl in 2012. He was re-signed that off-season but cut again when the Pats signed Jabar Gaffney. In Underwood's one season with New England he had three receptions for 30 yards in six games. Previously he spent two years with Jacksonville, and was with Tampa Bay the last two seasons where he had 52 catches for 865 yards and six touchdowns. In March Underwood signed a two-year contract with Carolina for $2,100,000, with a $300,000 signing bonus.
2011: WR Jabar Gaffney (camp/off-season only)
- see below for more
2009-11: WR Darnell Jenkins (Practice Squad only)
- Jenkins never appeared on the roster for any regular season games, but was part of the practice squad for two years. He was on Houston's roster for the final two games of 2008, making one appearance with no stats. Jenkins spent most of his time on practice squads: with Houston in '08, Cleveland and Tampa Bay in '09, and then New England. The Pats signed him to the PS on December 9 '09, and he was part of the final roster cuts in 2010 before being re-signed to the PS September 5. Jenkins went on the injured list with a knee injury in November of 2010, and was again part of final roster cuts in 2011; the former Miami Hurricane has not been with an NFL organization since.
2006-08: WR Jabar Gaffney
- As a Florida Gator Gaffney was a two-time All-American, and in 2002 was drafted in the 2nd round by the Texans. He was not-re-signed by Houston, and was a training camp cut by Philly in 2006. In three seasons with the Patriots he had 85 receptions for 1,059 yards and 8 touchdowns, as a fourth option after Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Donte' Stallworth. Gaffney did enough to earn a decent payday, departing to sign a $10 million contract with Denver that included $3 million guaranteed. In 2011 he had had a career-high 68 receptions and 947 yards with Washington, leading to high hopes for Pats fans when he re-signed with New England the following off-season. However, he did not make the final roster, and finished his NFL career with a short stint in Miami. In 158 NFL games Gaffney ended up with 447 receptions for 5,690 yards and 24 touchdowns.
2004: KR/WR Kevin Kasper
- Kasper was a 6th-round draft pick from Iowa who was with the Broncos, Seahawks and Cardinals before arriving in New England; he then was with four other teams in the off season and finished up his career with Detroit. With the Patriots he had no receptions, and three kick returns for an average of 20.3 yards in eight games. In his NFL career Kasper had 24 receptions for 287 yards and three touchdowns, plus 77 kickoff returns for an average of 24.3 yards. His best season was in 2002 when he returned 55 kicks (5th) for 1,300 yards (4th). The former walk-on now runs a training facility in suburban Chicago.
1999-2001: P Lee Johnson
- "Thunderfoot" was an All-American on BYU's 1984 national championship team, and was drafted by the Oilers in the fifth round. He also played with the Browns, Vikings and eagles, but spent the bulk of his career (1988-98) with Cincinnati. In his final year with the Bengals (or Bungles, as they were commonly known as then) he said that if he was a fan he would sell his season tickets; he was released the next day. Johnson joined the Pats at age 38 and got plenty of work, punting 90 times in '99 and 89 in 2000. Johnson punted 203 times with the Pats, averaging 42.3 yards; he was cut after five games in 2001 and replaced by Ken Walter. Overall in his NFL career he punted 1,226 times, which at the time was the most in NFL history and is 4th most now - with a 42.4 yard average. Johnson still holds a record or the longest punt (63 yards) in Super Bowl history.
1993: QB Scott Secules
- Secules was a late round draft pick by Dallas who spent most of his career as a backup to Dan Marino in Miami. In '93 he came in to start in replacement for an injured Drew Bledsoe, and the Pats won that first game over the Cardinals on a 2-yard TD from Secules to Ben Coates. Things went downhill after that though, with the Pats losing each of the next four games with Secules under center; he finished the season with nine interceptions and just two touchdowns. On twitter Secules now describes himself as an 'old QB who loves to fish, relax with my family and help create Better Athletes and Better People' in Dallas Texas; he is now employed as the Executive Director at the north Texas branch of the Positive Coaching Alliance.
1990: P Brian Hansen
- Hansen spent 15 years in the NFL with the Saints, Patriots, Browns, Jets and Washington. In his one season with New England he led the league in punts (90) and punting yards (3,752), averaging 41.7 yards per punt. When he retired Hansen ranked 5th in career punts with 1,057, and 4th in punting yards with 44,700.
1989: WR Glenn Antrum
- Antrum finished his collegiate career as UConn's all-time leading receiver with 186 catches for 2,552 yards. He appeared in one game with the Pats with no stats.
1987: QB Bob Bleier
- Bleier was one of the best football players ever at the University of Richmond, but had a very brief NFL career. As a replacement player during the player strike, Bleier was one of five players (along with Steve Grogan, Tom Ramsey, Tony Eason and Doug Flutie) to start at quarterback in 1987 for Raymond Berry, going 1-1 with one other appearance. Bleier completed just 36% of his passes (14-39) with one touchdown and one interception, plus a one-yard rushing touchdown that proved to be the winning score in a 14-7 game against Buffalo (on a day he went 4-13) at Sullivan Stadium.
1982: QB Tom Flick
- Flick was a 4th-round pick by the Redskins in 1981 after being named Pac-10 Player of the Year, but had a very nondescript NFL career. In 21 games with four teams from 1981-86, Flick was 47-106 with two touchdowns and ten interceptions. He had three starts in 11 games in '86 with San Diego, going 0-3 with two TD and 8 picks. With the Pats he threw only five passes, all incomplete, as the third quarterback behind Steve Grogan and Matt Cavanaugh. Flick now works as a corporate leadership speaker and consultant.
1974: P Dave Chapple
- Not to be confused with comedian Dave Chappelle, Chapple was a 10th-round draft pick of the 49ers who played in just one game in his first three years due to a slipped disc in his back. In his first full season he made the Pro Bowl with the Rams with a net average of 42.1 yards per punt - an NFL season record that would not be surpassed until 2007. His numbers dropped after that though; by the time he joined the Pats for the last half of the '74 season he averaged just 35.4 yards on his 29 punts, and his NFL career was over. Since then he has worked extensively as an artist: Chapple has made a larger-than-life-size bronze sculpture of the late Olympic sprinter FloJo (Florence Griffith Joyner), stamps for several state agencies, and paintings for several golf organizations including the U.S. Open.
1971: WR Eric Crabtree
- Crabtree was a 13th-round draft pick for Denver in '66. He broke out in his second season, averaging 40 receptions, 724 yards and 6 touchdowns over the next three years. Crabtree suffered multiple concussions, and by the time the Patriots acquired him midway through the '71 season his skills had diminished. He played six games with the Pats, with nine receptions for 120 yards and one touchdown that season, playing in his final NFL game shortly after turning 27. In six years as a pro he had 164 receptions for 2,663 yards and 22 touchdowns.
1967: QB Don Trull
- At Baylor Trull led the nation in passing yards and touchdowns in '63, and was part of the 2013 College Football Hall of Fame class that also included former Patriots Tedy Bruschi, Rod Shoate and Vinny Testaverde. Trull played six years in the AFL and NFL with the Oilers and Patriots and also played in the Canadian Football League, the World Football League and even one game in the Continental Football League. After his stellar college career Trull was stuck behind George Blanda in Houston before joining the Pats. The Patriots had nearly gone to the inaugural Super Bowl the previous season, but slipped to 3-10-1 in '67 - a year the Boston area became enamored with the Impossible Dream Red Sox, with the Pats an afterthought. Trull got three starts that year, going 0-3 late in the season in relief of an aging babe Parilli, completing just 33% of his passes with one touchdown and seven interceptions. In his final start Trull went just 5-20 with no touchdowns and three picks in a 44-16 loss in the final home game of the year against Buffalo. Trull suffered a shoulder injury early in '68 and was released; after that he re-joined the Oilers for two years before heading to the CFL.
1960: QB/TE Harvey White
- Harvey White is a noteworthy person in the history of the Patriots franchise: he was the first player to sign a contract with the Pats, on December 20, 1959. White was the quarterback at Clemson in '59, and signed by then-scout Mike Holovak to a no-cut contract after the initial Bluebonnet Bowl versus TCU in Houston. After bringing twelve quarterbacks in to training camp, coach Lou Saban went with 36-year old Butch Songin as his QB in 1960, and after an injury White was moved from backup QB to tight end. In nine games with the Patriots White went 3-7 for 44 yards as a quarterback, caught two passes for 24 yards, and gained seven yards on five rushing attempts.
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