If it’s handled accordingly and doesn’t get out of control, competition and hatred between NFL teammates can be a good thing. It’s totally fine trying to push yourself harder than the other guy when it comes to a battle for the starting job – especially at the quarterback position.
Whether it was competition, personal vendettas or something else? For better or for worse, these 10 former NFL quarterback teammates really could not stand one another.
Joe Montana and Steve Young
Montana and Young. You won’t find a better quarterback succession in NFL history than this.
Montana was the face of the San Francisco 49ers for over a decade, leading the franchise to four Super Bowl championships. But an elbow injury which required surgery sidelined “Joe Cool” for the entire 1991 season, leaving the 49ers no choice but to roll with Young.
The lefty showed plenty of flashes in his 10 starts and led San Fran to a 10-win season, though they fell just short of making the playoffs. The 49ers continued with Young in 1992, and he went on to win his first of two NFL MVP awards.
Young’s 49ers reached the NFC title game that year but fell to the rival Dallas Cowboys. The 49ers decided to stick with the younger QB and traded Montana to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1993.
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In 1988, Montana told Sports Illustrated that he and Young “were friends” in person. But it was another story on the football field.
“We’re friends, Steve and I,” Montana said at the time. “But out on the practice field, if he doesn’t hate me as much as I hate him, then there’s something wrong.”
Both men were classy as could be during the QB controversy, but Montana’s quote there summed it all up. The competition brought out the tension, and you know Montana took it personally when the 49ers chose Young over the established future Hall of Famer.
In 2012, Adam Lazerus published a book on the Montana-Young feud titled “Best of Rivals: Joe Montana, Steve Young, and the Inside Story Behind the NFL’s Greatest Quarterback Controversy.”
That’s how the game goes. Both men wanted to be the franchise face of the NFL’s golden organization at the time. Both succeeded in their respective goals. 49ers fans certainly aren’t complaining about the controversy. It worked out nicely for everyone, after all!
Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers
The “Gunslinger” still had several quality years of football left in him when the Green Bay Packers selected Aaron Rodgers 24th overall in 2005. It’s just, the Pack couldn’t resist passing on A-Rod’s talents, as many viewed him as the top prospect in that year’s class.
And so, Favre played three more years in Green Bay while trying to hold off Rodgers from stealing his job. Things boiled over in 2008 when Favre walked back on his retirement and sought a return to Green Bay.
But Mike McCarthy and the Packers had enough of Favre’s retirement/unretirement games and were committed to building around Rodgers. As a result, the three-time MVP was traded to the New York Jets.
In 2019, Favre admitted that during their time together in Green Bay, he and Rodgers were “strong enemies”, citing the tense competitive nature.
There’s also a story about Rodgers infuriating Favre when he referred to the legend as “Grandpa” on one occasion. Also, Favre pulled a practice prank in which he got Rodgers to unknowingly autograph his own helmet.
We’re sure the rivalry heated up when Favre signed with the rival Minnesota Vikings in 2009. But the rivalry has cooled down over the years, and both Favre and Rodgers haven’t been shy in offering strong praise towards one another.
It’s just, y’know. Competition can bring out the most fierce of you sometimes!
Roger Staubach and Clint Longley
Staubach lives on in NFL lore as one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever live. “Roger the Dodger” earned six Pro Bowl nods and led the Cowboys to two Super Bowl championships in the ‘70s decade.
Longley, on the other hand, had a rather brief pro football career and is best known for two things: 1. Leading Dallas to an improbable comeback win in their 1974 Thanksgiving Game against Washington and 2. The punching incident with Staubach.
Folks gave Longley the nickname “Mad Bomber” due to his short temper.
In a 1976 practice, Longley insulted Staubach’s beloved teammate and receiver Drew Pearson. This led to a physical brawl between Longley and Staubach, which the latter apparently won soundly.
But two days later, Longley confronted Staubach and hit him with an unexpected sucker punch. Staubach went down into a set of weight scales which left a scar above his left eye.
Rumor has it that Longley did this in order to facilitate a trade. Well, he got his wish as America’s team subsequently traded Longley to the San Diego Chargers.
Ben Roethlisberger and Mason Rudolph
To say that Ben Roethlisberger wasn’t happy when the Pittsburgh Steelers took Mason Rudolph 76th overall would be a massive understatement.
After the move, Roethlisberger admitted that he was “surprised” over the pick during an interview on 93.7 The Fan (via ESPN) in Pittsburgh. Roethlisberger said that though it was “Nothing against” Rudolph, he felt the Steelers should have drafted somebody that could help the team immediately.
“I just don’t know how backing up or being a third [string] – well, who knows where he’s going to fall on the depth chart — helps us win now,’ Roethlisberger said.
“But, you know, that’s not my decision to make. That’s on the coaches and the GM and the owner and those kind of things. If they think he can help our team, so be it, but I was a little surprised.”
Rudolph hasn’t been shy in throwing some shade over at the two-time Super Bowl champion. During the 2022 offseason, he gave a short-and-sweet answer when asked about mentoring 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett.
Rudolph interrupted the question and asked “Being like someone else?”. Clearly a jab at Roethlisberger for seemingly not willing to mentor him.
Yeah, gotta think that Rudolph didn’t shed a tear when Big Ben called it quits after the 2021 season!
Tom Brady and Drew Bledsoe
This is another case where the two men played nice in public. But c’mon, it doesn’t take a genius to understand the bitterness these two men felt towards one another.
Bledsoe was supposed to be the long-time franchise face of the New England Patriots. The No. 1 pick of the 1993 Draft turned the Patriots into an AFC heavyweight and led them to a Super Bowl 31 appearance.
He only ever lost his starting job because of a freak injury against the New York Jets in Week 2 of the 2001 season. Bledsoe got hit by Mo Lewis while running out of pounds, and it caused a sheared blood vessel that nearly killed him.
The Patriots had no choice but to roll with Brady, and we know how that played out! Hall of Fame corner Ty Law shared a tale where TB12 showed up to practice and told the team that Bledsoe “isn’t getting this (expletive) job back.” And Brady was right.
Brady went on to become the GOAT, and Bledsoe was traded to the rival Buffalo Bills after the season. During a 2021 interview with Colin Cowherd, Bledsoe admitted that he’s “bothered” that his career is merely treated as a “footnote” to Brady’s.
It’s simply one of the biggest “what ifs” in NFL history: What if Bledsoe never got hurt? Where would Brady even be today? Would Bledsoe have led the Patriots to multiple Super Bowls?
We’ll never know. But we do know that these two weren’t friends in the slightest during that 2001 season together.
Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler
There weren’t any instances of Manning or Osweiler publicly insulting one another, but it’s pretty clear how they viewed one another.
Weeks after winning the 2012 Manning free agent sweepstakes, the Denver Broncos drafted Arizona State QB Brock Osweiler in round two. Manning was 36 years of age at the time, so taking his successor made perfect sense at the time.
Osweiler finally got his chance to start in the second half of the 2015 season when Manning was sidelined with plantar fasciitis. Osweiler won four of his six starts and had the Broncos on the cusp of clinching the AFC’s top seed in Week 17. And then things swerved.
Manning was cleared for Denver’s Week 17 game against the San Diego Chargers, but head coach Gary Kubiak wanted to keep rolling with Osweiler. However, a plethora of Bronco turnovers prompted Kubiak to pull Osweiler in favor of Manning midway through the third quarter.
Manning’s return energized the Broncos offense and crowd. They narrowly pulled out a tight victory to clinch the top seed. One part that stood out from the game? Osweiler’s bittersweet applause following Denver’s go-ahead TD:
Manning and the Broncos went on to win Super Bowl 50. The four-time MVP announced his retirement after the season. Rather than take over as Denver’s new long-term starting QB, Osweiler spurned them to sign with the Houston Texans.
John Elway later commented that he was “surprised” over Osweiler being so disappointed about his benching. The irony is that Osweiler wound up returning to the Broncos in 2017 when they became even more desperate for a quarterback in a disastrous season.
Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts
During the 2020 season, it was reported that Wentz was unhappy over the Philadelphia Eagles drafting Jalen Hurts in round two. That should have motivated Wentz to return to his Pro Bowl-like form, but it never happened.
Wentz’s relationship with then-head coach Doug Pederson was done for when he was benched in favor of Hurts late in the season. Wentz sought and received a trade in the ensuing offseason, getting sent to the Indianapolis Colts.
Clearly, there was no going back when the Eagles gave up on the former franchise QB in favor of a rookie.
Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo
Brady himself won’t admit it, but you just know that the Garoppolo saga in New England drove a wedge in his relationship with Bill Belichick.
The Patriots drafted Garoppolo in the second round in 2014. Brady, of course, would lead New England to Super Bowl championships in the 2014 and 2016 seasons – and that put the planned Garoppolo era in Foxborough on hold.
Belichick was reportedly preparing to move on from Brady at some point in 2017, but it’s been said that Robert Kraft forced him to keep TB12 and trade Garoppolo. San Fran wound up acquiring Jimmy G for the low price of a second-round pick ahead of the 2017 trade deadline.
When Brady heard about Belichick’s plans to ditch him, it apparently fired him up more and led to the deterioration of their relationship.
In 2021, Dan Pompei of The Athletic shared a story where Brady refused to talk to Garoppolo when they played “the bucket game” in a practice. That sounds like the competitive Brady we all know and love or hate…depending on who you ask.
Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins
With the No. 2 pick in the 2012 draft, Washington drafted Robert Griffin III. As insurance, they drafted Michigan State QB Kirk Cousins in round four.
It turned out to be a wise call for Washington, because Griffin was unable to stay healthy after his thrilling rookie year. Behind the scenes, however, the relationship between the two 2012 draftees was a rocky one.
Washington played a game of musical chairs at QB over the 2013 and ‘14 seasons before finally rolling with Cousins in 2015. Former Washington tight end Chris Cooley told ESPN 980 in a 2016 interview that the two QBs “never hung out together, they never spent time together, their families didn’t hang out together. … It was never a great relationship.”
Griffin also threw shade at RG3 in 2021 after Minnesota spent a second-round pick on Texas A&M QB Kellen Mond.
“Kellen Mond represents exactly what he doesn’t do well. Cousins has been collecting checks there in Minnesota for a long time.”
Tell us what you really think, Robert!
Joe Flacco and Lamar Jackson
The Baltimore Ravens were headed for a fourth-straight non-playoff season in 2018. A mid-season hip injury forced Flacco out of the lineup, and the Ravens moved forward with rookie Lamar Jackson. Baltimore actually traded up to nab Jackson with the No. 32 selection.
His dynamite dual-threat play breathed new life into the Ravens. Jackson won six of seven starts and propelled Baltimore to the AFC North division title – their first in six years.
Turns out, the Flacco-Jackson feud started well before the former lost his starting job. It was reported after the draft that Flacco didn’t return Jackson’s text messages, though this was never confirmed.
When asked by a reporter if he had spoken to Flacco, Jackson said he had yet to get the chance to speak with the Super Bowl 47 MVP.
If it makes Jackson feel better, Flacco said it wasn’t his job to mentor Broncos quarterbacks following his trade there. And after joining the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021, Flacco once again stated that he wasn’t there to be a mentor. In this case, to Jalen Hurts.
Which other NFL quarterback teammates hated each other?
