 O'Sullivan during his 2008 tenure with the 49ers. | |||||||||
No. -- Free Agent | |||||||||
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| Quarterback | |||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: August 25 1979 | |||||||||
| Place of birth: Burbank, California | |||||||||
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Career information | |||||||||
| College: UC Davis | |||||||||
| NFL Draft: 2002 / Round: 6 / Pick: 186 | |||||||||
| Debuted in 2004 for the Green Bay Packers | |||||||||
Career history
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| Roster status: Active | |||||||||
Career highlights and awards
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Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2009 | |||||||||
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John Thomas "J. T." O'Sullivan (born August 25, 1979) is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at UC Davis.
O'Sullivan holds the record for most NFL teams as a player at 11. He has been a member of the New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, Cincinnati Bengals, San Diego Chargers, and Oakland Raiders.
Early years[]
O'Sullivan was born in Burbank, California and attended Jesuit High School in Carmichael, California, where he was a letterman in football and baseball. In football, he was a two-time All-Metro League selection and led his school to a Sac-Joaquin Section crown in 1995. In baseball, he played catcher and was an All-Metro League selection. O'Sullivan graduated from Jesuit High School in 1997.
College career[]
He played quarterback for UC Davis, and holds an NCAA Division II record (tie) for touchdown passes in a playoff game with 6, set on November 25, 2000 against Mesa State. He finished his three-year college career with 10,745 passing yards and 94 touchdown passes. He was also Chapter President of the Phi Delta Theta chapter at University of California, Davis.[1]
Professional career[]
New Orleans Saints[]
He spent time in NFL Europe, and in 2004 he finished with the 2nd best passer rating in the league and led his team to World Bowl XII. He was with the New Orleans Saints in 2002 and 2003 before being traded with a second round draft pick to the Green Bay Packers for Mike McKenzie in 2004.
Green Bay Packers[]
He played the first regular season game of his career in 2004 while with the Packers, where he took a knee twice to end the game.
First stint with Bears[]
O'Sullivan spent part of 2005 with the Chicago Bears.
Minnesota Vikings[]
O'Sullivan also spent time with the Minnesota Vikings in 2005
New England Patriots[]
O'Sullivan was with the New England Patriots for part of 2006.
Carolina Panthers[]
On December 26, 2006, O'Sullivan was signed to the practice squad for the Carolina Panthers.
Second stint with Bears[]
On February 8, 2007 he signed with the Chicago Bears. In 2007, He also participated again in NFL Europa for the Frankfurt Galaxy franchise for the second time. Prior to World Bowl XV, O'Sullivan (along with Centurions RB Derrick Ross) shared the 2007 NFL Europa offensive MVP.[2]
O'Sullivan was released by the Chicago Bears on July 7, 2007.
Detroit Lions[]
On July 10, 2007, O'Sullivan was signed by the Detroit Lions. Due to injuries to Detroit's other two quarterbacks, starter Jon Kitna and backup Dan Orlovsky, O'Sullivan played the Lions' final two 2007 preseason games in their entirety. On September 16, 2007, during his second career regular season game O'Sullivan threw his first regular season touchdown pass, a seven-yarder to Calvin Johnson.
San Francisco 49ers[]
After hiring O'Sullivan's former offensive coordinator Mike Martz, the San Francisco 49ers signed O'Sullivan to a one-year contract on February 29, 2008. On August 12, 2008, Coach Mike Nolan appeared on KNBR's "Murph and Mac Show" and announced that O'Sullivan had moved into the lead for the 49ers starting quarterback job.
On August 22, 2008, Coach Mike Nolan officially declared O'Sullivan as the starting quarterback for the 49ers 2008 regular season. After a poor performance against the Seattle Seahawks (2 interceptions, 4 fumbles) on October 26, O'Sullivan was benched and replaced by Shaun Hill by the new coach Mike Singletary. O'Sullivan led the league in both interceptions and fumbles at the time of his demotion. Hill was named the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season.
Cincinnati Bengals[]
An unrestricted free agent in the 2009 offseason, O'Sullivan signed a two-year contract with the Cincinnati Bengals on March 5, 2009. He was released by the Cincinnati Bengals on September 5, 2010.
San Diego Chargers[]
After O'Sullivan was cut by the Bengals, the San Diego Chargers claimed him off waivers.
O'Sullivan was released by the Chargers on October 20, 2010.
Oakland Raiders[]
O'Sullivan was signed by the Oakland Raiders on December 2, 2010, replacing injured quarterback Bruce Gradkowski.