(born
July 6 ,
1964 in
Scottsbluff, Nebraska ) is a former
American Football Quarterback in the
NFL . He spent his entire four year career with the
Seattle Seahawks from
1988 -
1992 . He graduated from Rushville High School in
Rushville, Nebraska and attended
Colorado State University . He currently serves as a
Television Color Analyst for
Minnesota Vikings pre-season games, as well as
College Football games for
Versus and
ESPN Plus .
At the conclusion of his collegiate career, he achieved notoriety when, after being selected by the
St Louis Cardinals in the first round of the
1987 NFL Draft , he sat out what would have been his
Rookie year due to an inability agree on a contract. The following season, the Cardinals traded his rights to the
Seattle Seahawks , who arrived at a deal establishing Stouffer as the "Quarterback of the Future" behind
Starter Dave Krieg and veteran backup
Jeff Kemp . The future seemed to come early when the often inconsistent Krieg was sidelined with a
Separated Shoulder . The following week Kemp was horrendously ineffective starting in place of Krieg and was benched in favor of Stouffer by halftime. Stouffer endeared himself to Seattle fans in one play where, after having his
Nose Broken , he retained his composure and threw for a long gain resulting in a
Touchdown . For several weeks, Stouffer filled in until Krieg returned to the lineup. Unfortunately, he seemed to regress in the eyes of Seahawk coaches over the next couple of years, and fell back to third string behind Kemp, despite the latter appearing unimpressive in relief of Krieg.
Once Seahawk
Head Coach Chuck Knox was replaced by
Tom Flores and Dave Krieg was let go, Stouffer won the starting job, beating out
Dan McGwire and
Stan Gelbaugh . However, the season was horrendous, with Stouffer losing every game he started before being injured and being unable to play for several weeks. After McGwire was quickly injured, journeyman Gelbaugh became the starter, yielding the job to Stouffer once he recovered. Stouffer, who seemed to have been showing a return to his
Rookie form just before his injury, was never the same, however, and Gelbaugh quickly became the established starter. Both of Seattle's victories of the horrific
1992 season came with Gelbaugh on the field. The following season, when Seattle's starting quarterback was
1993 first round draft pick
Rick Mirer , Stouffer was no longer with the team.
Kelly Stouffer was signed by the
Carolina Panthers to a
Free Agent contract in May 1996 but lasted less than one season.
