Rex Grossman: Where is the last Bears Super Bowl QB now?
CHICAGO – Rex Grossman is one of the most recognizable quarterbacks in Chicago Bears history. Despite helping lead the Bears to the Super Bowl in 2006, Grossman’s name largely lives in infamy as his 11-year NFL career was filled with ups and downs.
Rex Grossman’s high school career
Grossman was born in Bloomington, Indiana in 1980 and went on to play football at Bloomington South High School. The Panthers’ quarterback threw for 7,518 yards and 97 touchdowns in three seasons, including 3,080 yards and 44 touchdowns as a senior in 1998. His senior season ended on a high note as he led Bloomington South to a 35-14 win over Homestead High School in the Indiana Class 5A state title game. He threw for 216 yards and his five scores set an Indiana record for the most touchdowns thrown in a championship game.
Grossman was named the 1998 Indiana Player of the Year by USA Today and Parade magazine named him to its high school All-America team. He received Indiana’s Mr. Football honors later that year and in the summer of 2007, Bloomington South retired his jersey.
Rex Grossman’s college career
Grossman accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida where he played for the Gators from 1999-2002. After redshirting his freshman year in 1999, Grossman beat out Jesse Palmer and the No. 1 high school recruit in the country, Brock Berlin, in 2000. He started his first game as Gator on October 7, 2000 against LSU and earned the opportunity the week before when he threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns against Mississippi State in Florida’s only SEC loss of the season.
Over the next two weeks, Grossman solidified his spot as the Gators’ starting QB by throwing for over 500 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions in wins over LSU and Auburn. He led Florida to the SEC championship and was named Most Valuable Player of the SEC Championship Game. Grossman finished his first collegiate season as a starter with 1,866 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions with a passer efficiency rating of 161.8 which was the third best in NCAA Division I football.
Grossman threw for over 300 yards in nine consecutive games during his sophomore season in 2001 while leading the nation in passing efficiency, passing completion percentage and yards per attempt. He was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, was voted the AP Player of the Year and came in second in the balloting for the 2001 Heisman Trophy to Nebraska quarterback Eric Couch in one of the closest Heisman votes in the history of the award. At the time, Grossman’s 55 touchdown passes through his sophomore season were the most in NCAA history.
Back in 2001, Heisman runner-up Rex Grossman's 464 passing yards vs LSU broke the school passing record for a single game, previously held by Danny Wuerffel. Grossman finished with 5 TDs, 2 of them to All-American and Warfield Award Winner Jabar Gaffney. #GatorMade #GoGators pic.twitter.com/UP9MvfPuHi
— Florida Vault (@FloridaVault) January 22, 2018
After leading the Gators to the 2003 Outback Bowl as a junior – where they lost to Michigan, 38-30, despite 323 yards and two touchdowns – Grossman decided to forgo his final year of college eligibility and declared for the NFL Draft.
Over three seasons at Florida, Grossman threw for 9,164 yards and 77 touchdowns with a 146.77 passer rating which made him the third-most efficient passer in SEC history. He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a “Gator Great” in 2013.
Rex Grossman’s NFL career
Grossman was drafted No. 22 overall in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. The rookie QB sat behind veterans Chris Chandler and Kordell Stewart in 2003 and only saw action late in the season after the Bears had been eliminated from playoff contention.
The Bears fired head coach Dick Jauron after the season and hired Lovie Smith who declared Grossman the team’s starting QB ahead of the 2004 NFL season. The criticism from Bears fans began early on as Grossman threw a game-ending interception against the Detroit Lions on opening day. He played in just three games that season due to damage to his knee ligaments that he suffered while scrambling for a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings.
Grossman then missed most of the 2005 season after breaking his ankle in a preseason game. He returned late in the season and helped the Bears clinch a playoff berth before struggling in his first playoff game, completing just 17 of 41 passes for 192 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a 29-21 loss to the Carolina Panthers.
Rex Grossman’s Super Bowl run
During the Bears Super Bowl season in 2006, Grossman became the franchise’s first QB to start all 16 games since Kramer in 1995. Despite several productive performances – including being named the NFC Offensive Player of the Month in September – Grossman’s penchant for turning the ball over made him a consistent target of criticism from Bears fans. Look no further than a Week 6 contest against the Arizona Cardinals where Grossman fumbled twice and threw four interceptions.
Rex Grossman had the lowest passer rating in a win since 2000 (20+ attempts) with a 10.2
It was a 24-23 win against the Cardinals in ‘06, where he went 14/37, with 144 yards and 4 INTs.
The #Bears also had the biggest comeback without an offensive TD in #NFL history. pic.twitter.com/n04a0VGFlo
— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) July 5, 2022
Smith supported Grossman throughout the season despite his inconsistencies and declared that he would remain the Bears’ starting QB throughout the playoffs, much to the displeasure of many within the Chicago area who called for Grossman to be benched in favor of veteran Brian Griese.
Grossman made Smith’s decision look like a smart one when he led the Bears to a 27-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks while throwing for 282 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He then led the Bears to a 39-14 win over the New Orleans Saints to advance to Super Bowl XLI. In the Super Bowl, Grossman completed 20-of-28 passes and a touchdown but threw two interceptions, including a pick-six, and fumbled twice as Peyton Manning and the Colts won Super Bowl XLI, 29-17.
Rex Grossman threw a Super Bowl touchdown. pic.twitter.com/46BGSRvayx
— This Day in Chicago Sports (@ChiSportsDay) February 21, 2021
The fall of Rex Grossman
Even after inconsistent and lackluster play throughout the preseason, Smith named Grossman the team’s starting QB for the 2007 season. He committed 10 turnovers through the first three weeks of the season and was benched in favor of Griese shortly after. Grossman would return as the starter later that season after a shoulder injury sidelined Griese but he would sustain a knee injury during his fifth consecutive start before once again being replaced by Griese.
Grossman returned to the Bears as an unrestricted free agent the following season and was the team’s backup QB behind Kyle Orton until Week 9. He played in just four games that season in what would be his final one with the Bears. He would spend time as a backup with the Houston Texans, Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns and finally the Atlanta Falcons who would release him in 2015.
Grossman finished his NFL career with more interceptions (60) than touchdown passes (56).
Rex Grossman’s nicknames
Grossman earned plenty of nicknames throughout his football career but perhaps none stuck more than the one Florida head coach Steve Spurrier gave him: Sexy Rexy. The nickname then earned national recognition when teammate Muhsin Muhammad used it while introducing Grossman during a starting lineup segment on Monday Night Football.
Due to his injury-prone years, Grossman was also infamously known around Chicago as “Rex Glassman” or “Wrecks Grossman.”
Where is Rex Grossman now?
Grossman and his wife, Allison, started their own nursing company, Florida Medical Staffing, in 2009. Based in Delray Beach with another branch in Tampa, Grossman’s company provides healthcare jobs to the medical community throughout Florida and beyond.
