Ranking the Raiders top-5 Quarterbacks in franchise history
By Jason Willis
Ranking the Raiders’ top-5 Quarterbacks in franchise history
. . . Rich Gannon . 4. player. 28
One of the most decorated passers in Raiders history, Gannon took the long way to Oakland. Drafted in 1987 by the Vikings, he played there for six seasons before a stop in Washington and four more seasons with the Chiefs. Finally, in 1999, his age 34 season, Gannon landed with Jon Gruden and the Raiders.
The Gruden and Gannon marriage was an instant success as Gannon had 3,840 passing yards and 24 touchdowns and was named to the Pro Bowl his first year in the silver and black. He was named to the Pro Bowl in each of the next three years and was an All-Pro in both 2000 and 2002.
It was the 2002 season where he found his most success with 4,689 yards passing and 26 touchdowns to just ten interceptions. The Raiders would go 11-5 and he would be named the NFL MVP.
He is also responsible for taking the Raiders to their most recent Super Bowl. While they would embarrassingly lose that game, it was not only the last time the Raiders won the AFC, but it was the last time they won a playoff game.
Unfortunately, the rest of Gannon’s career was filled with injuries that caused him to play just ten games combined in 2003 and 2004. After just four full seasons with the Raiders, it is hard to rank him any higher on this list despite the high level of play he gave the Raiders in the early 2000s.