Many of the NFL’s all-time greats won multiple Super Bowl championships. Think of Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Emmitt Smith, Ray Lewis and Deion Sanders.
Not all of the league’s best players weren’t so lucky, though. Guys like Dan Marino, Dick Butkus, Barry Sanders, Randy Moss and Tony Gonzalez never once hoisted the Lombardi Trophy.
And then there are those much-less-productive players and career backups that were fortunate enough to play with a handful of great teams…and bag themselves a couple of Super Bowl rings because of it.
Here are 12 worst players to win multiple super bowls.
But before we start, we’d like to note that we’re trying to focus on guys who actually saw some playing time throughout their careers — not practice squad players who saw practically no action.
12. Jason Garrett
Most of you folks obviously remember Jason Garrett for his 10-year stint as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. You know, the ultimate clapping guru that Jerry Jones was loyal to for…hmm…maybe 7 years too long?
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Garrett was finally let go as head coach of the Cowboys after a disappointing 2019 season. He led Dallas to NFC East division titles in 2014, 2016 and 2018. Other than that, Dallas was consistently recording 8-and-8 seasons. Enough to please Mr. Jones, apparently!
Maybe Garrett didn’t coach the Cowboys to a Super Bowl, but don’t feel too sorry for him. Garrett already knows the feeling of hoisting a Lombardi Trophy, because he was a two-time Super Bowl winner as a quarterback with the Cowboys in the ‘90s.
Garrett was Troy Aikman’s backup in the 1993 season, when they defeated the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl 28. He actually appeared in five games that season, including one start in place of an injured Aikman in week 11 – although he was replaced by the newly-signed Bernie Kosar after just two offensive series.
The highlight of Garrett’s career came in 1994, when he was forced to start a Thanksgiving Day contest against the Packers because of injuries to Aikman and backup Rodney Peete. After trailing by as much as 14 points, Garrett led the Cowboys to an epic comeback, throwing for 311 yards and two touchdowns to earn a 42-31 victory, and NFC offensive player of the week honors.
Garrett was also on the 1995 Cowboys squad that took down the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl 30, which cemented their status as a dynasty.
Garrett stayed with the Cowboys until the 1999 season, before landing with the New York Giants in 2000. He had very short backup stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins, though Garrett never played a game for either team. He returned to Dallas in 2007 to become their new offensive coordinator.
In his eight seasons with Dallas, Garrett appeared in 39 games, completing 165 passes for 2,042 yards, 11 touchdowns and 5 interceptions…and TWO Super Bowl championships. So don’t go mocking him too much. The man has two rings as a player to brag about.
11. Marc Wilson
Drafted 15th overall by the Oakland Raiders in 1980, Marc Wilson didn’t have the career you’d want from a first-rounder. But at the end of the day, the man stood on top of the football word. Not once, but twice.
Wilson served as a backup to Jim Plunkett during the Raiders’ dominance in the ‘80s — where they came away with a pair of Super Bowl championships during the 1980 and ‘83 seasons.
Injuries forced Plunkett to miss serious time throughout the later stages of his playing career, which opened the door for Wilson to take over as the starter in 1984.
Though the Raiders made the playoffs in Wilson’s first two years as the starter, they didn’t win a single postseason game. He did go 31-and-19 as a starter in Oakland, but Wilson had 77 touchdowns against a whopping 86 interceptions. What can we say? He was simply carried by the talent around him.
Wilson didn’t cut it as a starter, but those two Super Bowl rings are nice consolation prizes nonetheless.
10. Eugene Wilson
Drafted 36th overall by the New England Patriots in 2003, Eugene Wilson immediately became one of the starting safeties for Bill Belichick’s defense. Though Wilson recorded 10 interceptions in his five years with the Patriots, he wasn’t exactly a standout on the Pats’ D.
This New England defense was loaded with Pro Bowl talents like Richard Seymour, Rodney Harrison, Vince Wilfork, Tedy Bruschi, Willie McGinest and Ty Law, among others.
Wilson won back-to-back Super Bowls with the Patriots in the 2003 and ‘04 seasons. They defeated the Carolina Panthers in a back-and-forth thriller in Super Bowl 38, which ended on a last-second Adam Vinatieri field goal.
A year later, the stingy Patriots’ defense kept Donovan McNabb and the Philadelphia Eagles in check, coming away with a 24-21 victory in Super Bowl 39 to clinch dynasty status.
Wilson wasn’t exactly a key cog in those championships, however. And he spent his final three seasons with the Houston Texans, from 2008 to 2010.
Maybe he wasn’t a standout, but Wilson finished with more rings than Dan Marino…and Brett Favre…and Kurt Warner…and Barry Sanders…and Ed Reed, just to name a few!
9. Charlie Batch
Batch was the Detroit Lions’ primary starter from 1998 to 2001, but he struggled mightily behind center. Batch went just 19-and-27 during his four seasons with the Lions, tossing 49 touchdowns against 40 interceptions.
Batch lost all nine of his starts after the 2001 season, and after that, he was forced to accept a backup gig with the Steelers. Batch played out his final years in the Steel City, from 2002 to 2012. And he actually had more success in Pittsburgh, winning six of his nine starts!
But this guy wasn’t anything to get excited about by any means. Batch watched from the sidelines as the Pittsburgh Steelers won Super Bowls 40 and 43 with Ben Roethlisberger and a stingy defense.
All told, Batch saw the Steelers qualify for three Super Bowls and four AFC Championship games during his decade-long run there.
Hey, there are plenty of great quarterbacks that never got to hold the Lombardi Trophy. Batch got to do it twice. Being a backup signal-caller isn’t so bad after all!
8. Steve Furness
The Rhode Island product played on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ legendary and historically dominant “Steel Curtain” defense that took the NFL by storm in the ‘70s. Of course, that unit was headlined by Hall of Famers Jack Lambert and “Mean” Joe Greene.
Furness, a defensive lineman for Pittsburgh from 1972 to ‘80, was a member of all four Steelers’ Super Bowl championship teams during the ‘70s decade. He wasn’t the greatest impact player by any means, but hey! Four rings are four rings.
Furness spent his final season with the Detroit Lions in 1981 before eventually retiring. In his 10 years, he played in 106 games, finishing with 32 sacks and 8 fumble recoveries. His four Super Bowl titles tie him with the likes of Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, and a couple dozen other players for third-most in NFL history.
7. Bubba Paris
The Michigan offensive lineman was simply in the right place at the right time for the San Francisco 49ers.
The Bill Walsh, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice-led 49ers could make anybody look good. That included Paris, a starter on San Fran’s offensive line from 1983 to 1990. He was not exactly a true game-changer, however, and the 49ers were carried by their plethora of Pro Bowl talents — and of course the legendary Walsh.
Paris was part of three 49ers championship teams in the ‘80s. He had brief tenures with the Lions and Indianapolis Colts in the 1991 season before eventually retiring.
But hey, less than one percent of NFLers can brag about matching or topping Paris’ three Super Bowl championship rings. He gets the last laugh here.
6. Daniel Graham
Drafted in the first round — 21st overall by the Patriots in 2002 — Daniel Graham wasn’t much of an impact player. Not even with Tom Brady feeding him the football.
Graham was a 2001 consensus All-American who won the John Mackey Award, handed out annually to the best tight end in college. Graham played with the Patriots from 2002 to ‘06, and he was on their aforementioned Super Bowl 38 and 39 championship teams.
Over his five years with the Patriots, Graham only had 120 receptions for 1,393 yards and 17 touchdowns. He was simply a non-factor during New England’s dynasty run, as Graham only caught one TD pass in 11 postseason games.
5. Jonathan Casillas
Less than a decade in the NFL. Four different teams. And yet, he’s enshrined in NFL lore…to a certain extent.
Casillas, the undrafted linebacker out of Wisconsin, joined the New Orleans Saints in 2009. He appeared in 11 games and finished with zero sacks and 20 combined tackles. But hey, the Saints won Super Bowl 44 over the Indianapolis Colts in his rookie season! How many first year players achieve that honor?
Casillas played in just 38 games during his three-year run in New Orleans. He signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2013, but Casillas was traded to the New England Patriots during the 2014 campaign.
Casillas saw limited playing time there, but his Patriots emerged victorious in Super Bowl 49 against the Seattle Seahawks. Now he had two Super Bowl rings.
Casillas then signed with the New York Giants in 2015, where he’d play out the final three seasons of his career. In 102 games, Casillas had 6.5 sacks and 385 combined tackles. Nothing flashy whatsoever…but those two rings more than make up for it.
4. Mike Wilson
The big 6-foot-3, 213-pound wideout was used sparingly during his decade-long tenure with the San Francisco 49ers. Wilson sometimes performed as a special teams returner, but he was more of a No. 3 or 4 pass-catcher.
Wilson, who spent his entire career with the 49ers, was part of the dynasty that produced four Super Bowl championships in the ‘80s. Wilson had just 159 receptions for 2,199 yards and 15 touchdowns throughout his career.
Unless you’re a lifelong 49ers fan, you probably had no idea that this Wilson guy won four Super bowls. Only Tom Brady and Charles Haley have more, with six and five, respectively. Wilson is part of a very lonnnnnnnng list of players who won four — including the aforementioned Steve Furness.
3. Dennis Dixon
The Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers formed one of the greatest rivalries in American sports during the 2000s, and it’s carried over here into the 2020s.
There’s a very short list of players who’ve played on both sides of this epic AFC North rivalry. But former backup quarterback Dennis Dixon — drafted in the fifth round by the Steelers in 2008 — can tell you all about what it’s like.
Dixon was a rookie who attempted ONE pass during the 2008 campaign, when the Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals to win Super Bowl 43. Dixon won both starts for Pittsburgh in the 2010 season while Roethlisberger was suspended due to sexual assault allegations.
Dixon was signed by the Ravens in 2012, and he was part of their practice squad roster. He happily watched from the sidelines as Joe Flacco guided the Ravens to a Super Bowl 47 championship, where they defeated the San Francisco 49ers.
With that, Dixon was now a two-time Super Bowl champion.
Not bad for a guy who only made three starts in his career while tossing…one touchdown against two interceptions. Not bad at all!
2. Randy Grossman
Like everybody else on our list, Grossman was at the right place at the right time.
He played his entire career with the Steelers, from 1974 to ‘81. He never put up big numbers by any means, but Grossman was still part of Chuck Noll’s Steel Curtain dynasty that won four Super Bowls in the ‘70s.
For his career, Grossman only had 119 receptions for 1,514 yards and five touchdowns. He only had one postseason touchdown grab in his career, too. But he was a member of the Steelers teams that won Super Bowls 9, 10, 13 and 14. That makes him the THIRD player on this list with not one, not two, not three, but FOUR TITLES.
1. Ethan Kelley
Very few seventh-round draft selections can ever brag about winning one Super Bowl. But former New England Patriots’ defensive tackle Ethan Kelley can brag about TWO.
Kelley was taken with the 243rd selection by the Patriots in 2003. He didn’t see any playing time in his rookie year, but Kelley still captured a Super Bowl Championship ring after the Pats defeated Carolina.
A year later, Kelley appeared in one game for New England during the 2004 season. It was still enough for him to eventually garner a second Super Bowl title.
Kelley then joined the Cleveland Browns, where he played from 2005 to ‘07. He recorded two sacks during his three years there, and Kelley was out of the league after the 2007 campaign.
Hard to complain about two Super Bowls, though.
What other non-productive players won multiple Super Bowl championships?
