Bruce Gradkowski

Bruce Raymond Gradkowski (born January 27, 1983) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Toledo. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the sixth round (194th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft. Gradkowski was also a member of the St. Louis Rams, Cleveland Browns, Oakland Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals, and Pittsburgh Steelers. His younger brother, Gino, is a former NFL center.

Bruce Gradkowski

Gradkowski in 2012
No. 7, 8, 5
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Born:	January 27, 1983 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:	Seton-La Salle Catholic (Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania)
College:	Toledo
NFL Draft:	2006 / Round: 6 / Pick: 194
Career history
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2006–2007) St. Louis Rams (2008)* Cleveland Browns (2008) Oakland Raiders (2009–2010) Cincinnati Bengals (2011–2012) Pittsburgh Steelers (2013–2016)
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
MAC Co-Most Valuable Player (2005) 2005 GMAC Bowl MVP
Career NFL statistics
Pass attempts / completions: 709 / 375 Percentage: 52.9 TD–INT: 21–24 Passing yards: 4,057 QB Rating: 65.8 Rushing yards / TDs: 331 / 0 Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early years

Gradkowski is a 2001 graduate from Seton-La Salle Catholic High School. He played as a member of the Seton-La Salle Rebels from 1997 to 2000 in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL). As a junior, Gradkowski threw for 1,630 yards and 10 touchdowns. This performance was then improved as a senior, when he completed 188-of-327 passes (57.5%) and threw for a then-WPIAL record of 2,978 yards and 30 touchdowns (surpassing the previous mark set by Marino). In high school, Gradkowski also played basketball, serving as Seton-La Salle's starting point guard and leading his team in scoring.

College career

After redshirting as a freshman at Toledo in 2001, Gradkowski saw action only as the holder on the special teams unit. In 2003, he became the starting quarterback as a sophomore. He set a Mid-American Conference season record by completing 71.2% of his passes. He threw for 3,210 yards, with a school season record of 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions and a final passer rating of 161.53. He proved he could scramble by rushing for 504 yards and a score on 91 carries (5.5 avg). In 2004, Gradkowski completed 70.2% of his passes for 3,518 yards with 27 touchdowns and eight interceptions and a final passer rating of 162.56. He played in the GMAC Bowl and won MVP. As a senior in 2005, Gradkowski completed 62.3% of his passes for 2,469 yards with 29 touchdowns and twelve interceptions and a final passer rating of 146.42.

Statistics

Year	CMP	ATT	YDS	CMP%	YPA	LNG	TD	INT	Sack	RAT
2003	277	389	3,210	71.2	8.25	66	29	7	9	161.53
2004	280	399	3,518	70.2	8.82	96	27	8	14	162.56
2005	207	332	2,469	62.3	7.44	70	29	12	9	146.42

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Wonderlic
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	217 lb (98 kg)	4.61 s	1.63 s	2.72 s	4.16 s	7.12 s	34 in (0.86 m)	8 ft 11 in (2.72 m)	19[1]
All values from NFL Combine[2]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Gradkowski in the sixth round (194th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft.[3]

After a promising preseason he was nicknamed "The Great Gradkowski". After starting quarterback Chris Simms suffered a ruptured spleen, Gradkowski was named the starter going into Week 5 against New Orleans. In his debut, he completed 20/31 attempts for 225 yards with two touchdowns as the Buccaneers suffered their fourth consecutive loss.

After his first loss, he won two straight starts against the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles before losing to the New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, and the Carolina Panthers. On November 19, 2006, he completed 14/21 attempts for 178 passing yards and two touchdowns while also throwing an interception, in a 20-17 victory over the Washington Redskins.

On Thanksgiving day, the Buccaneers would lose to the Dallas Cowboys, after Gradkowski threw two interceptions and only completed 10 passes. The following week, he continued to falter as he threw three interceptions in a loss to his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers. His play would continue to decline as he would lose the next two games against the Atlanta Falcons and Chicago Bears and was also benched in the middle of both games. In the second quarter in Chicago, he was pulled for good in favor of Tim Rattay. He would not start again in 2006 as Rattay led a comeback, accounting for four touchdowns in the second half, whereas under Gradkowski the team had a streak of 10 scoreless quarters. He finished his rookie season completing 177-of-328 pass attempts for 1,661 yards and nine touchdowns and nine interceptions.[4]

In 2007, during a Week 12 matchup against the Washington Redskins, Gradkowski came in after the first play because of an injury to newly acquired starting quarterback Jeff Garcia. However, he would only complete 9-of-19 passes and didn't throw a single touchdown. The next week, Gradkowski was benched in favor of Luke McCown.

He had a record of 3-8 as a starter. Gradkowski set the record for throwing more passes in NFL history before suffering a second career interception, with 200 passes.[5]

On May 30, 2008, Gradkowski was waived by the Buccaneers.

St. Louis Rams

Gradkowski was claimed off waivers by the St. Louis Rams in June 2008,[6] but was waived during final cuts on August 30, 2008.

Cleveland Browns

Gradkowski was signed by the Cleveland Browns as their fourth-string quarterback on December 2, 2008 after quarterback Derek Anderson was placed on injured reserve. He was the starter for the Browns' 2008 season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 28, 2008, after injuries to Anderson, Brady Quinn, and Ken Dorsey.[7] Gradkowski was waived on February 9, 2009.

Oakland Raiders

Gradkowski in 2010

A day after being waived by the Browns, Gradkowski was claimed off waivers by the Oakland Raiders.

On November 22, 2009, in his first start for the Raiders, Gradkowski threw two touchdowns, matching former Raiders quarterbacks JaMarcus Russell's total for the season to that point, and led the team to come from behind 20-17 victory over the heavily favored Cincinnati Bengals.

In Week 13, on the road the Raiders beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-24. Gradkowski completed 20-of-33 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns, including an 11-yard game-winning touchdown to Louis Murphy. For his performance in this game he was awarded the AFC Offensive Player of the Week award for week 13 of the regular season.[8][9]

On December 13, 2009, he was injured in a game against the Washington Redskins during the second quarter and was replaced by Russell. The Raiders lost the game 34-13 without Gradowski.[10] Gradkowski missed the remainder of the 2009 season with a partially torn Medial collateral ligaments in both knees.[11]

On March 15, 2010, he was re-signed by the Oakland Raiders for one year.[12] He tore a pectoral muscle while lifting weights in April 2010.[13] In Week 2 of the 2010 NFL season he took over for benched starter Jason Campbell and lead the Raiders to a victory over the St. Louis Rams.

On September 22, 2010, Gradkowski became the Oakland Raiders starting quarterback for Week 3.[14] On November 28, 2010, Gradkowski suffered a third-degree separation of his throwing shoulder. On December 2, the Raiders placed Gradkowski on injured reserve, ending his 2010 season.[15]

Cincinnati Bengals

Following the 2011 NFL lockout, Gradkowski signed a two-year contract with the Cincinnati Bengals.[16] He was the team's second-string quarterback behind Andy Dalton. After Dalton suffered a minor injury that removed him from the game, Gradkowski threw a touchdown while snapping the ball while the Browns were still in the huddle. He then appeared during a Week 13 match up against the Pittsburgh Steelers, completing 3-of-6 passes for 17 yards with one interception.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Gradkowski in 2013

On March 13, 2013, Gradkowski signed a three-year deal with his hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.[17]

Ultimately, Gradkowski had very few career snaps with the Steelers. He played in none of the regular season games during 2013. In 2014, he played in one game. He missed almost the entire 2015 season due to hand and shoulder injuries.[18]

The Steelers re-signed Gradkowski to a one-year contract on May 2, 2016.[19] On August 31, 2016, Gradkowski was placed on the injured reserve list following damage to his hamstring sustained during the opening game of the preseason.[18][20] The Steelers released Gradkowski on October 7, 2016.[18]

Career statistics

Year	Team	GP	GS	Att	Cmp	Pct	Yds	Avg	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	TD	Fum
2006	TB	13	11	328	177	54.0	1,661	5.1	9	9	65.9	41	161	3.9	0	11
2007	TB	4	0	24	13	54.2	130	5.4	0	1	52.4	7	20	2.9	0	0
2008	CLE	2	1	21	7	33.3	26	1.2	0	3	2.8	1	2	2.0	0	0
2009	OAK	7	4	150	82	54.7	1,007	6.7	6	3	80.6	18	108	6.0	0	5
2010	OAK	6	4	157	83	52.9	1,059	6.7	5	7	66.3	12	41	3.4	0	3
2011	CIN	2	0	18	8	44.4	109	6.1	1	1	59.7	11	29	2.6	0	0
2012	CIN	2	0	11	5	45.5	65	5.9	0	0	64.6	4	-2	-0.5	0	1
2013	PIT	0	0	DNP
2014	PIT	1	0	0	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	2	-2	-1.0	0	0
Career		37	20	709	375	52.9	4,057	5.7	21	24	65.8	88	329	3.7	0	20

Personal life

In 2017, Gradkowski became a volunteer assistant quarterbacks coach at Anthony Wayne High School in Whitehouse, Ohio and also joined the University of Toledo's Rocket Football Radio Network as a color analyst.[21][22]

Gradkowski is the owner of Social Gastropub in Perrysburg, Ohio.[23]

References

1. "Historical NFL Wonderlic Scores". wonderlictestsample.com. Archived from the original on September 2, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2016.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
2. "Bruce Gradkowski". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
3. "2006 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
4. "NFL Player Profile:Bruce Gradkowski". NFL.com. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
5. Archived November 9, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
6. "Rams add Gradkowski to mix of quarterbacks behind Bulger". NFL.com. July 26, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
7. "Bruce Gradkowski to Start Finale for Browns v. Steelers". SI.com. December 25, 2008. Archived from the original on February 4, 2009. Retrieved December 25, 2008.
8. Corman, Rebecca (December 8, 2009). "Gradkowski Named AFC Offensive Player of the Week". Raiders.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2009. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
9. "Wilson: Gradkowski named AFC Player of the Week". National Football Post. December 9, 2009. Archived from the original on October 23, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
10. "Redskins vs. Raiders - Box Score - December 13, 2009 - ESPN".
11. Williamson, Bill (December 13, 2009). "Gradkowski likely to miss season". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
12. "Oakland Raiders NFL Football". Archived from the original on June 26, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
13. Rosenthal, Gregg (April 15, 2010). "Bruce Gradkowski tears pectoral muscle". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
14. "Gradkowski wrests Raiders' starting QB job from Campbell". NFL.com. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
15. "Raiders place Gradkowski on IR after surgery". ESPN.com. December 2, 2010. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
16. "Jay Gruden: Bruce Gradkowski is "the ultimate competitor"". Stripehype.com.
17. Gantt, Darin (March 13, 2013). "Gradkowski agrees to three-year deal with Steelers". NBCSports.com. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
18. Chester, Simon A. (October 7, 2016 Chester, Simon A. (October 8, 2016). "Steelers release quarterback Bruce Gradkowski". USA Today Sports Digital Properties.
19. Wesseling, Chris (May 2, 2016). "Steelers re-sign veteran backup QB Bruce Gradkowski". NFL.com. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
20. Bergman, Jeremy. "Steelers claim Mettenberger, put Gradkowski on IR". NFL.com. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
21. Briggs, David (August 11, 2017). "Bruce Gradkowski is back in school, and kids and coaches love it". post-gazette.com. Archived from the original on November 10, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
22. "Bruce Gradkowski to Join Rocket Football Radio Network Team". utrockets.com. August 11, 2017. Archived from the original on November 10, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
23. "Social Gastropub - About Us". socialgastropub.com. Retrieved November 11, 2020.

External links

• Official website
• Profile at NFL.com
• Pittsburgh Steelers profile
• Oakland Raiders profile
• Cincinnati Bengals profile
• Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference