Jake Delhomme

Jake Christopher Delhomme ( ; born January 10, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). Delhomme played college football at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, then known as the University of Southwestern Louisiana, before being signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent after the 1997 NFL draft. Delhomme began his professional career as a practice squad player with the Saints in 1997 and 1998 and played in the NFL Europe for two years in between NFL seasons. Returning to the Saints, Delhomme played his first NFL games in 1999. Delhomme played as the Carolina Panthers starting quarterback from 2003 to 2009. Delhomme held many of Carolina's quarterback records until Cam Newton broke most of them. Delhomme led the team to Super Bowl XXXVIII in his first season with Carolina. After his departure from Carolina, Delhomme also played for the Cleveland Browns in 2010 and Houston Texans in 2011.

Early life Delhomme was born to Jerry and Marcia Delhomme, both Cajuns. Delhomme's grandfather bred horses, and his father was a jockey who began racing at eight years old. Delhomme played both quarterback and defensive back for Teurlings Catholic; he made the all-state team in high school not as quarterback, but on defense. Playing on a team with future NFL wide receiver Brandon Stokley and offensive lineman Anthony Clement, the Ragin' Cajuns won the Big West Conference twice, and finished with three winning seasons. During his senior year, he led the Ragin' Cajuns to an improbable win over highly favored Texas A&M 29–22.

Delhomme finished his career as the school's all-time passing leader in yards and touchdowns.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints and NFL Europe Delhomme went undrafted in the 1997 NFL draft, but was later signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent. After another stint on the Saints' practice squad, he was sent back to NFL Europe, this time as a member of the Frankfurt Galaxy. The Galaxy operated under a rare two-quarterback strategy, utilizing both Delhomme and Pat Barnes; the pair was known as the "Double-Headed Quarterback Monster". The unorthodox strategy worked, as the Galaxy won World Bowl '99 over the Barcelona Dragons. Delhomme would later say about his time in Europe:

Following his success in Europe, he was brought back to the New Orleans Saints as the full-time third-string quarterback. In his first NFL start against the Dallas Cowboys, he threw two touchdowns en route to a Saints victory, the team's third.

Carolina Panthers Delhomme played seven seasons with the Carolina Panthers from 2003 to 2009, including an appearance in Super Bowl XXXVIII. With Aaron Brooks cemented as the starter in New Orleans, Delhomme was interested in fighting for a starting spot in the NFL. In the 2003 offseason, he met with representatives from both the Carolina Panthers and the Dallas Cowboys. He eventually signed with Carolina as a free agent. It was his performance against Dallas in 1999 that made new Panthers coach John Fox take notice. Although Rodney Peete was the Panthers' starter, Delhomme was looked at to be the future of the franchise. He started the following week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and proceeded to start every remaining game during the 2003 season. Delhomme led the Panthers on a Cinderella run through the playoffs, including a double-overtime victory against the St. Louis Rams. After beating the top-seeded Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game, the Panthers made it through to Super Bowl XXXVIII to face the New England Patriots. Despite his personal success in the game (16-of-33 for 323 yards, 3 passing touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 113.6 passer rating), as well as setting a record for longest offensive play from scrimmage in Super Bowl history (an 85-yard pass to Muhsin Muhammad), the Panthers fell on a last-minute field goal by Adam Vinatieri. The team was stricken with injuries, fielding five different combinations in their offensive line alone. as well as Steve Smith, their leading wide receiver, the Panthers rallied for a strong second half of the season. Delhomme finished the final eight games of the season with a passer rating of 102.8, fourth best in the league during that period. He also threw 17 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions en route to winning six of their last eight games.

2005 season In 2005, Delhomme helped return the Panthers to the playoffs. In addition to the team's success, Delhomme had one of his most productive seasons as a quarterback. His 11 victories as a starting quarterback set a team record, which he later broke in 2008, and was later broken again by Cam Newton in 2015. He set career highs in completion percentage (60.2) and passer rating (88.1). Once again, he led the Panthers through the playoffs, including a shutout of the New York Giants, and a road victory over the Chicago Bears although the team ultimately fell to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game.

2006 season

Delhomme started the 2006 season as the Panthers' quarterback, the first time in franchise history that the same quarterback was the starter for three straight seasons. Weinke could only manage a single victory in Delhomme's absence (against the rival Atlanta Falcons, only his second victory as an NFL starter ), and Delhomme returned for the season finale against the New Orleans Saints. David Carr, who signed with Carolina in the off-season, took over as the Panthers' starting quarterback. After Carr injured his back in a defeat of the New Orleans Saints, the Panthers signed Vinny Testaverde, who started the next game against the Arizona Cardinals just four days later, and in the process became the oldest starting quarterback to win a game in the NFL. However, an injury to Testaverde coupled with Carr's spinal cord injury led to rookie Matt Moore starting in week 15 against the Seattle Seahawks, a game he won. Meanwhile, Delhomme opted for season ending Tommy John surgery on the elbow after two weeks of testing his arm.

2008 season and return Delhomme prepares to pass in a game against the Chicago Bears on September 14, 2008. Delhomme returned to the starting position for the 2008 season. In the first game of the 2008 season, Delhomme restarted his career by coming back on the San Diego Chargers with a touchdown pass on fourth down as time expired to win the game. This is similar to his debut game in 2003. After finishing the regular season 12–4, tying the Panthers' 2nd best record in franchise history, the Panthers were eliminated from the playoffs when on January 10, 2009, on his 34th birthday, Delhomme threw for a career worst five interceptions (and lost one fumble) against the Arizona Cardinals in the divisional round of the playoffs, ending the season with an overall record of 12–5 including the loss in the playoffs.

2009 season On April 23, 2009, the Panthers signed Delhomme to a 5-year extension worth $42.5 million, with a $20 million guarantee, putting him under contract through 2014. In the season opener loss against the Philadelphia Eagles, Delhomme went 7 of 17 for 73 yards with four interceptions and a lost fumble, before getting benched for journeyman Josh McCown. Delhomme threw game-ending interceptions the next 2 games, and despite throwing for 2 touchdowns and 7 interceptions with a 54.3 rating through the first 3 games, coach John Fox kept Delhomme as the Panthers' starting quarterback. Steve Smith jokingly told Delhomme after their loss against the Eagles "I never liked you as a quarterback." After the team's bye week, Delhomme still struggled. In his next three games, he had 2 more touchdowns to 6 more interceptions. In the next four games however, Delhomme only threw 1 interception. In spite of this improved performance, the team went 2–2 in those 4 games. Delhomme's bad performance continued with a 0 TD, 4 INT game against the New York Jets. During the loss to the Jets, Delhomme broke a finger on his throwing hand and was replaced by backup Matt Moore for the next two games, a 16–6 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a 20–10 loss to the New England Patriots. After those games, Moore started to heat up. He beat the Minnesota Vikings 26–7, then beat the Giants in their final game at Giants Stadium with a 41–9 win, and went on to beat the New Orleans Saints 23–10.

Delhomme was placed on season-ending injured reserve on December 24, 2009, and was released by the Panthers on March 5, 2010.

Cleveland Browns On March 13, 2010, Delhomme signed a two-year deal with the Cleveland Browns. Delhomme won the starting quarterback job over Seneca Wallace after competing with him during training camp. However, he suffered a high ankle sprain during the second quarter of the Browns' first game of the season, a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Delhomme had been notably grounded and thrown to the ground by Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, in a preseason game.) Delhomme saw action again midway through the team's Week 5 game after Wallace also injured his ankle. However, he was noticeably not 100% while playing and ultimately re-injured his ankle. Delhomme started against his former team the Carolina Panthers, after Colt McCoy suffered a high ankle sprain. It was Delhomme's first start since Week 1. For the season, he threw two touchdowns and seven interceptions while going 2–3 as a starter.

On July 28, 2011, he was released by Cleveland.

Houston Texans

Delhomme signed with the Houston Texans on November 29, 2011, after quarterbacks Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart went down with season-ending injuries. Despite his experience, Delhomme was signed to back up rookie fifth-round draft pick T. J. Yates, as Yates had been with the team the entire season.

Delhomme entered the Texans' season finale against the Titans after Yates suffered a bruised throwing shoulder. He would go on to lead his team on a potential game-winning drive, completing 18 of 28 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown. But the Texans would lose 23–22 after a botched snap on a two-point attempt play. After the season ended, Delhomme told media that he would most likely retire.

Career statistics

NFL Regular season Year Team Games Passing Rushing Sacked Fumbles 1997 NO 0 0 1998 NO 0 0 1999 NO 2 2 1−1 42 76 55.3 521 6.9 3 5 62.4 11 72 6.5 2 6 42 1 1 2000 NO 0 0 2001 NO 0 0 2002 NO 4 0 — 8 10 80.0 113 11.3 0 0 113.7 4 −2 −0.5 0 0 0 0 0 2003 CAR 16 15 10−5 266 449 59.2 3,219 7.2 19 16 80.6 42 39 0.9 1 23 168 15 4 2004 CAR 16 16 7−9 310 533 58.2 3,886 7.3 29 15 87.3 25 71 2.8 1 33 246 12 5 2005 CAR 16 16 11−5 262 435 60.2 3,421 7.9 24 16 88.1 24 31 1.3 1 28 214 12 6 2006 CAR 13 13 7−6 263 431 61.0 2,805 6.5 17 11 82.6 18 12 0.7 0 22 167 6 4 2007 CAR 3 3 2−1 55 86 64.0 624 7.3 8 1 111.8 6 26 4.3 0 5 46 1 0 2008 CAR 16 16 12−4 246 414 59.4 3,288 7.9 15 12 84.7 20 21 1.1 2 20 130 5 3 2009 CAR 11 11 4−7 178 321 55.5 2,015 6.3 8 18 59.4 17 60 3.5 0 23 187 6 3 2010 CLE 5 4 2−2 93 149 62.4 872 5.9 2 7 63.4 8 −2 −0.3 0 6 49 3 1 2011 HOU 1 0 — 18 28 64.3 211 7.5 1 0 99.0 0 0 — 0 2 18 1 1 Career 103 96 56−40 1,741 2,932 59.4 20,975 7.2 126 101 81.3 175 328 1.9 7 168 1,267 62 28

Postseason Year Team Games Passing Rushing Sacked Fumbles 2000 NO 0 0 2003 CAR 4 4 3−1 59 102 57.8 987 9.7 6 1 106.1 10 −1 −0.1 0 8 49 2 1 2005 CAR 3 3 2−1 54 90 60.0 655 7.3 5 4 82.4 5 24 4.8 0 6 47 3 0 2008 CAR 1 1 0−1 17 34 50.0 205 6.0 1 5 39.1 0 0 — 0 2 11 1 1 2011 HOU 0 0 Career 8 8 5−3 130 226 57.5 1,847 8.2 12 10 83.3 15 23 1.5 0 16 107 6 2

NFL Europe Year Team Passing Rushing Sacked 1998 Amsterdam Admirals 15 47 31.9 247 5.3 0 4 15.1 2 20 10.0 0 4 29 1999 Frankfurt Galaxy 136 202 67.3 1,410 7.0 12 5 96.8 21 126 6.0 0 18 119 Career 151 249 60.6 1,657 6.7 12 9 81.4 23 146 6.3 0 22 148

College Season Team Passing Rushing 1993 Southwestern Louisiana 145 259 56.0 1,842 7.1 14 12 124.3 58 -81 -1.4 1 1994 Southwestern Louisiana 119 259 45.9 1,712 6.6 10 18 100.3 63 -186 -3.0 4 1995 Southwestern Louisiana 190 351 54.1 2,761 7.9 20 10 133.3 51 8 0.2 1 1996 Southwestern Louisiana 201 377 53.3 2,901 7.7 20 17 126.4 58 -79 -1.4 0 Career 655 1,246 52.6 9,216 7.4 64 57 122.5 230 -338 -1.5 6

Career highlights Awards and honors World Bowl champion (1999) Pro Bowl (2005) NFC champion (2003) NFC Offensive Player of the Week (Week 4, 2008) Carolina Panthers Hall of Honor Lead the league in 4th quarter comebacks (5) and game-winning drives (8) in 2003 Tied for the most 4th quarter comebacks (4) in 2008 Lead the league yards per completed pass (13.4) in 2008

Records NFL records Longest completed pass in Super Bowl history (85-yard touchdown to Muhsin Muhammad in Super Bowl XXXVIII)

Panthers franchise records Most career 4th quarter comeback wins (17) Most career game-winning drives (23) They have two daughters: Lauren Elizabeth, who was born on December 17, 2001, and Lindsey Marie, who was born on February 25, 2007. The Delhommes are devout Catholics. Delhomme wears #17 because it is the date of his first daughter's birthday, and she was born after 17 hours of labor.

Delhomme has garnered popularity as a pitch-man for the fast food restaurant Bojangles', where he is often depicted as a single-minded fried-chicken addict who audibles Bojangles' "fixin's" at the line of scrimmage. One commercial parodies the film Jerry Maguire and the line "Show me the money!"; former teammate with the Panthers Steve Smith is featured in a cameo. Another commercial with Smith portrays the duo as the Dukes of Hazzard, driving the General Lee with a large chicken head on the roof. Delhomme has also done SunCom Wireless limited edition cell phone commercials that feature a Panthers logo and his signature, and he has appeared in public service announcements for Civitan International. Delhomme is noted for licking his fingers before every play, and sticking his tongue out as part of his focus.

The official Panthers website featured a regular discussion with Delhomme during the regular season, known as "Cajun Up with Jake".

Since retiring from football in 2011, Delhomme returned to his hometown of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, and worked in banking while also breeding racehorses. His best, a mare named Forest Lake who won several stakes races, retired in 2017 and was sent to be bred in Kentucky. Another, Touchuponastar, is trained by his brother Jeff Delhomme and has earned nearly $1.7 million as of December 2025.

On July 9, 2019, the Panthers announced that Delhomme would be inducted into the team's Hall of Honor along with Jordan Gross, Wesley Walls, and Steve Smith Sr. On August 14, 2019, he was named to the Panthers' radio team as a color analyst.