Paul Donald Justin (born May 19, 1968) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

primarily for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

in the seventh round of the 1991 NFL draft. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for Arizona State. He had brief stints with the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

and St. Louis Rams. Prior to his time in the NFL, he was the starting quarterback for the Arizona Rattlers of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL) and the Frankfurt Galaxy of the

World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

(WLAF).

Early life

Justin attended Schaumburg High School, before moving on to

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

College career

He became the starter at

in the seventh game of his sophomore season in 1988, after passing Daniel Ford on the depth chart. He completed 56% (84 of 150) of his passes, threw for 1,063 yards, 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, while helping the team post a 6–5 record. In 1989, he completed 33 of 47 passes for 534 yards (school-record) and 4 touchdowns in a 44–39 upset of No. 23 ranked

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

. He finished the season with a 6–4–1 record, 2,591 yards, 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. In 1990, the Sun Devils opened the season with victories over

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

and

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

, but would lose 4 consecutive games, 3 of them while Justin was out with a dislocated left shoulder suffered during a 30–9 loss against the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

. He also spent two days in a hospital with a probable case of

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...

, that was later diagnosed as a gastrointestinal problem and caused him to lose 17 pounds. He posted a 4–7 record, 1,876 yards, 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Justin was selected by the

in the seventh round (190th overall) of the 1991 NFL draft. He was waived on August 26 and later signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. He was cut on August 31,

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

Arizona Rattlers

Justin played

flag football Flag football is a variant of gridiron football (American football or Canadian football depending on location) where, instead of Tackle (football move)#Gridiron football, tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or ...

, before signing with the Arizona Rattlers of the

(AFL) in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

. He completed 226 of 404 passes, for 2,846 yards, 45 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

Indianapolis Colts

On April 11,

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, he signed with the

, but was released on August 28.

Frankfurt Galaxy

He was re-signed in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

and was allocated to the Frankfurt Galaxy of the

, after being out of football for two years. He led his team to the World Bowl III championship.

Return to the Colts

, he started one game and also shared playing time with Jim Harbaugh against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

. He also played a brief time against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

on November 5. The next year, he started 2 games, winning both of them.

1997

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, he started 4 games, while Harbaugh recovered from a fractured right hand he suffered when he scuffled with NBC sportscaster Jim Kelly. Against the

, he was winning 26–0 in the first half, but the lead disappeared after the Bills outscored the Colts 30–3, Justin made it close again at 37–35 with 14 seconds remaining, but could not complete the potential game-tying two-point conversion. The Bills recovery from a 26-point deficit at the time was the second-largest comeback in NFL history. Coming in with an 0–10 record against the defending

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

champions

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

, he led the team to a 41–38 win, completing 24-of-30 attempts for 340 passing yards. On December 5, he was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...

. On March 26,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, he was traded the

in exchange for a fifth round draft choice (#135- Antony Jordan).

Cincinnati Bengals

The

acquired Justin after the retirement of Boomer Esiason to compete with

Jeff Blake Jeffrey Bertrand Coleman Blake (born December 4, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the East Carolina Pirates. Bl ...

for the starting job. He appeared in 5 games with 3 starts, before being cut on April 20,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

Oakland Raiders

On August 18,

, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

. On August 30, he was traded to the St. Louis Rams in exchange for a seven-round draft choice (#238- Rodregis Brooks).

St. Louis Rams (first stint)

The St. Louis Rams acquired Justin to provide depth at quarterback, after Trent Green suffered a serious left knee injury in the last preseason game and Kurt Warner was named the new starter. He was a part of the

Super Bowl XXXIV Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 30, 2000, to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion ...

winning team.

Dallas Cowboys

On March 30,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, he was signed as a

by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, to replace the departed

Jason Garrett Jason Calvin Garrett (born March 28, 1966) is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He was most notably the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys from 2010 to 2019. Garrett played college f ...

as the backup quarterback. After struggling in preseason (he accounted for 6 critical turnovers in the first two games) and the signing of Randall Cunningham, he was waived injured on August 24.

St. Louis Rams (second stint)

On May 1,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, he signed with the St. Louis Rams. On August 10, he was placed on the

with a torn

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

in his right knee.

References

External links

Paul Justin at ArenaFan Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Justin, Paul 1968 births Living people People from Schaumburg, Illinois Players of American football from Cook County, Illinois American football quarterbacks Arizona State Sun Devils football players Chicago Bears players Arizona Rattlers players Frankfurt Galaxy players Indianapolis Colts players Cincinnati Bengals players St. Louis Rams players World Bowl MVPs American expatriate sportspeople in Germany American expatriate players of American football