Kelly Holcomb

Infobox NFLretired
name=Kelly Holcomb


width=
caption=
position=Quarterback
number=10, 13
birthdate=birth date and age|1973|7|9
city-state|Fayetteville|Tennessee
deathdate=
debutyear=1995
finalyear=2007
undraftedyear=1995
college=Middle Tennessee State
teams=
* Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1995)*
* Barcelona Dragons (1996)
* Indianapolis Colts (1996-2000)
* Cleveland Browns (2001-2004)
* Buffalo Bills (2005-2006)
* Philadelphia Eagles (2007)*
* Minnesota Vikings (2007):*Offseason member only
stat1label=TD-INT
stat1value=39-38
stat2label=Passing yards
stat2value=5,916
stat3label=QB Rating
stat3value=79.2
nfl=HOL006197
highlights=
* First-team All-OVC (1994)

Bryan Kelly Holcomb (born July 9, 1973, in city-state|Fayetteville|Tennessee) is a former American football quarterback of the National Football League. He was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 1995. He played college football at Middle Tennessee State.

Holcomb also was a member of the Barcelona Dragons, Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings.

Early years

Holcomb attended Lincoln County High School in Fayetteville, Tennessee, and was a student and a lettered in football as a quarterback, baseball as a shortstop, and basketball and led his basketball team to the 1990 Tennessee State Championship.

College career

Holcomb played college football at Middle Tennessee State University. During his freshman season in 1991, his near-perfect performance versus then No. 1 ranked Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium versus a secondary that featured future NFL players Terrell Buckley and Clifton Abraham put him on the map. For the day, Holcomb completed 20 of 28 passes for 188 yards in his first college start.

Professional career

NFL Europe

Holcomb was quarterback for the now-defunct Barcelona Dragons of NFL Europe in 1996.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Holcomb spent the 1995 season on the Buccaneers practice squad. He was released in 1996, as the Buccaneers opted to go with Scott Milanovich as the team's No. 3 quarterback.

Indianapolis Colts

Holcomb was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as a street free-agent in 1996. His first season he didn't play a regular season game. In 1997 a disappointing season, Holcomb played five games and started one in which he threw only one touchdown and eight interceptions. Holcomb never saw action in a regular season game for the Colts again.

Cleveland Browns

A backup to Peyton Manning of Indianapolis, Holcomb was cut in the 2000 off-season to be allowed to compete for the starting job with the Cleveland Browns, following Bruce Arians who left as the QB coach of the Colts to become the offensive coordinator of the Browns. The Browns had drafted Tim Couch with the number 1 pick in the 1999 draft. During their time in Cleveland, Holcomb occasionally outshined the former number one pick. In his first season as a Brown, Holcomb played in only one game which he completed seven of twelve passes for 114 yards and a passing touchdown. In Holcomb's second season he played in four games and started two games in which he threw eight touchdowns and four interceptions with 790 passing yards. In 2003, his third season, he had more playing time playing ten games and starting eight of them. He replaced Tim Couch as starting quarterback during that season. In that season he threw ten touchdowns and twelve interceptions. In his final season as a Brown Jeff Garcia replaced him as starting quarterback. Holcomb only played in four games and started two of them in which he threw seven touchdowns and five interceptions with 737 yards passing.

Buffalo Bills

Holcomb went to the Buffalo Bills before the 2005 season. He started half of the games in his first season as a Bill while J.P. Losman started the other half. Holcomb threw ten touchdowns and eight interceptions with 1,509 passing yards that season. In Holcomb's second and final season as a Bill he didn't play a regular season game the whole season.

Philadelphia Eagles

He was traded on March 26, 2007 to the Philadelphia Eagles with Takeo Spikes for Darwin Walker and a conditional 2008 draft pick. However, Holcomb never played a regular season game as an Eagle and was quickly traded.

Minnesota Vikings

On August 27, 2007, the Philadelphia Eagles traded Holcomb to the Minnesota Vikings for a 6th round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. Holcomb played and started three games that season throwing two touchdowns and an interception with 515 passing yards. After the 2007 season, the Vikings then went on to release him on February 27, 2008.

Retirement

On July 7, 2008, it was announced that Holcomb would retire from the NFL.

Memorable moments

He has two of the most memorable passing performances in NFL history. A Wild Card game against Pittsburgh in January 2003 saw Holcomb become the 3rd QB in playoff history to throw for more than 400 yards. With no running support whatsoever, Holcomb shredded the Steelers' secondary. He finished with 429 yards, a new postseason record for a regulation game. However, Tommy Maddox rallied the Steelers late in the game to overcome a 17-point deficit and defeat the Browns, 36-33.

External links

* [http://vikings.com/TeamPlayerProfile_kelly_holcomb.aspx Minnesota Vikings bio]
* [http://www.footballdb.com/players/kelly-holcomb-holcoke01 NFL Europa bio]