How 5 legendary QBs performed with new teams

At age 43, Tom Brady will begin a new chapter with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The six-time Super Bowl winner struggled in his final season with the New England Patriots in 2019, as he posted one of his worst completion rates and threw his lowest number of touchdown passes since 2006.

While he hopes to launch a new phase of success with Bruce Arians and the Bucs, history indicates his transition to Tampa Bay may be rough.

Let's dissect the performances of five other legendary quarterbacks who made the jump to a different team in the latter part of their career and determine how well they transitioned.

Joe Namath

Career: 50.1% completion rate, 197.6 yards per game, 65.5 QB rating

Final full season with New York Jets, 1975: 3-10 record, 48.2% completion rate, 2,286 yards, 15 touchdowns, 28 interceptions, 163.3 YPG, 51.0 QB rating

First year with Los Angeles Rams, 1977: 2-2 record, 46.7% completion rate, 606 yards, 3 TDs, 5 INTs, 151.5 YPG, 54.5 QB rating

"Broadway Joe" became the first professional quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards in one season (1967). A year later he led the Jets to the franchise's only championship title in Super Bowl III.

Injuries plagued the latter part of his career, and he signed with the Los Angeles Rams in 1977, after the Jets waived his contract. Namath appeared in just four games during his lone season in L.A. Hamstring and knee issues hindered his performance, and he decided to retire at the end of the season.

Joe Montana

Career: 63.2% completion rate, 211.2 YPG, 92.3 QB rating

Final season with San Francisco, 1990: 14-1 record, 61.7% completion rate, 3,944 yards, 26 TDs, 16 INTs, 262.9 YPG, 89.0 QB rating

First year with Kansas City, 1993: 8-3 record, 60.7% completion rate, 2,144 yards, 13 TDs, 7 INTs, 194.9 YPG, 87.4 QB rating

Four-time Super Bowl champion and two-time NFL MVP Joe Montana became the face of the San Francisco 49ers during his storied tenure. Yet, when an elbow injury sidelined him for all of the 1991 season and most of 1992, Steve Young emerged as the star quarterback of the Niners, which prompted Montana to request a trade.

Montana began his stint with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1993. He played 11 games in his first season and ended up with a Pro Bowl selection. He took the Chiefs to the playoffs both in 1993 and 1994, but his stats dropped off in both seasons, compared to his final full season with the 49ers.

Kurt Warner

Career: 65.5% completion rate, 260.8 YPG, 93.7 QB rating

Final full season with St. Louis, 2001: 14-2 record, 68.7% completion rate, 4,830 yards, 36 TDs, 22 INTs, 301.9 YPG, 101.4 QB rating

First year with New York Giants, 2004: 5-4 record, 62.8% completion rate, 2,054 yards, 6 TDs, 4 INTs, 205.4 YPG, 86.5 QB rating  

First year with Arizona, 2005: 2-8 record, 64.5% completion rate, 2,713 yards, 11 TDs, 9 INTs, 271.3 YPG, 85.8 QB rating

Super Bowl MVP and two-time NFL MVP Kurt Warner spearheaded the "Greatest Show on Turf," before a broken hand and finger hampered his career with the Rams. One year after he put up a career-high 4,830 yards and lost to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI, Warner wrestled with injuries and played just nine games combined in 2002 and 2003.

The Rams released Warner in 2004, and the New York Giants swooped in to sign the QB to a one-year deal. Warner went 5-4 as a starter but was benched in favor of Eli Manning in Week 11. Warner sought another fresh start in Arizona the next season, and he played there from 2005 to 2009.

In his first season as a Cardinal, Warner appeared in 10 games and tallied 2,713 yards, 11 TDs, and got intercepted nine times.

It took until 2008 for Warner to find his stride in Arizona. That season he put up 4,583 yards (the second-highest total of his career), earned a wild-card spot in the playoffs, and made it to Super Bowl XLIII, where the Cardinals fell, 27-23, to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The following season Warner lost in the Divisional Round of the playoffs and announced his retirement soon after. 

Brett Favre

Career: 62.0% completion rate, 237.9 YPG, 86.0 QB rating

Final season with Green Bay, 2007: 13-3 record, 66.5% completion rate, 4,155 yards, 28 TDs, 15 INTs, 259.7 YPG, 95.7 QB rating

First year with New York Jets, 2008: 9-7 record, 65.7% completion rate, 3,472 yards, 22 TDs, 22 INTs, 217.0 YPG, 81.0 QB rating  

First year with Minnesota, 2009: 12-4 record, 68.4% completion rate, 4,202 yards, 33 TDs, 7 INTs, 262.6 YPG, 107.2 QB rating   

In 16 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, Brett Favre led his team to 11 playoff appearances, collected three MVP awards, played in back-to-back Super Bowls, and won one in 1996. He mulled over retirement, beginning in 2006, but stuck it out until 2010, as he bounced from Green Bay to New York to Minnesota.

The Packers traded Favre to the Jets in 2008, and he played in New York for one season. In Week 4 the QB threw six touchdowns, a career high and one short of the NFL record. However, for the year, he compiled 22 touchdown passes and coughed up as many interceptions. 

Favre complained of pain in his right shoulder toward the end of the season, and an MRI later determined he had a torn biceps tendon. The signal-caller informed the Jets of his intention to retire, but he ended up landing back in the NFC North, instead.

Favre signed with the Vikings and excelled in his first season, with 4,202 yards and 33 TDs (which both bested his totals in his final season with Green Bay). The Vikes boasted a 12-4 record and advanced to the NFC Championship Game, where they lost in overtime to the New Orleans Saints — the eventual Super Bowl champions. 

In his final season, Favre suffered a shoulder sprain and appeared in 13 games.

Peyton Manning

Career: 65.3% completion rate, 270.5 YPG, 96.5 QB rating

Final season with Indianapolis, 2010: 10-6 record, 66.3% completion rate, 4,700 yards, 33 TDs, 17 INTs, 293.8 YPG, 91.9 QB rating

First year with Denver, 2012: 13-3 record, 68.6% completion rate, 4,659 yards, 37 TDs, 11 INTs, 291.2 YPG, 105.8 QB rating

From 1998 to 2011, Peyton Manning guided the Indianapolis Colts to 11 playoff appearances and one Super Bowl title, while the gunslinger also earned four NFL MVPs and 11 Pro Bowl invites.

At the age of 36, one year after he sat out all of 2011 with a neck injury, Manning signed with the Denver Broncos and brought magic to the Mile High City. In Manning's first season, the Broncos improved from 8-8 to 13-3 and earned a postseason berth.

Manning completed 68.6% of his passes, the second-best completion rate of his career, and tossed 37 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. His QB rating jumped to 105.8, compared to 91.9 in 2010, but his passing yardage dipped from 4,700 in his final full season with the Colts to 4,659 yards his first year in Denver.

In 2013 Manning accomplished a career-high 5,477 yards and 55 TDs, on his way to a record-setting fifth MVP award. He appeared in the Super Bowl twice with Denver and won a title in 2015 to cap the final season of his career.

What to expect from Brady in 2020

Based on the QBs listed above, it's clear the transition to a new team comes with ups and downs. While Manning and Warner enjoyed a career resurgence and postseason success, it took a couple seasons to get the ball rolling.

Namath, Montana, Warner, Favre, and Manning all experienced a drop in passing yardage from the year before, when they left their longtime team and joined a new one.

If you're looking to bet on Brady's passing props, keep that in mind. Same goes with longtime Charger Philip Rivers, who signed with the Colts in the offseason.

Brady's passing yardage has declined steadily from 2017 to 2019, though Rivers put up his highest passing total since 2015 last season. Age, and the adjustment to a different roster and coaching staff, should play a factor and keep either from soaring too high in their first seasons with new teams.

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