(born
August 13 ,
1970 in
Cleveland ,
Ohio ) was an
NFL quarterback.
Grbac played for the
San Francisco 49ers , the
Kansas City Chiefs , and finally the
Baltimore Ravens before unexpectedly retiring in
2001 when the Ravens cut him in a salary cap move when he refused to renegotiate his contract. Grbac retired because he did not want to uproot his family again to another city. Many speculated he retired too in part because of the treatment he received by the Baltimore fans and press.
A year before, the Baltimore Ravens were a super bowl team. When Grbac replaced former Ravens QB
Trent Dilfer at the start of the next season, he posted mediocre passing statistics with an often erratic passing game that led to more interceptions than touchdowns. One game against the Cleveland Browns saw a tear coming down his face after throwing an interception (though coach
Brian Billick and Grbac claimed it was sweat). He still managed to help lead the Ravens to a 10-6 (he went 8-6) record and a loss in the second round of the playoffs. During the season, he was viciously taunted by the fans and harshly criticized by the Baltimore press, who felt that the team should have kept Dilfer as the starter. When Grbac was injured midway through the season and replaced by backup
Randall Cunningham , the popular taunt "Elvis has left the building" was created. Grbac's return was jeered because Cunningham went 2-0 as a starter. In addition, some Ravens players such as
Shannon Sharpe openly criticized Grbac's quarterback decisions. All this took its toll on Grbac.
At the height of his career in
2000 , Elvis passed for 4,169 yards, threw 28 touchdowns and had a quarterback rating of 89.9. He is best known by most people for backing up Steve Young in
Super Bowl XXIX .
In his years in college at the University of Michigan, he set numerous passing records that have since been broken. However, he started Michigan's tradition as the new "Quarterback U" whose products have since included
Todd Collins ,
Scott Driesbach ,
Brian Griese ,
Tom Brady ,
Drew Henson ,
John Navarre , and currently
Chad Henne .
