J.P. Losman
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Paul "J. P." Losman (born March 12, 1981) is an American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

 for the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 22nd overall in the 2004 NFL Draft
2004 NFL Draft
The 2004 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24-25, 2004 at the theater at Madison Square Garden...

. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at UCLA and Tulane
Tulane Green Wave football
The Tulane Green Wave football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents Tulane University in New Orleans. The team is a member of Conference USA and is led by interim head coach Mark Hutson, who took over on October 18, 2011, when fifth-year head coach Bob Toledo resigned...

.

Losman has also played for the Las Vegas Locomotives
Las Vegas Locomotives
The Las Vegas Locomotives are a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada who play in the United Football League. The team plays its home games in Sam Boyd Stadium, home field for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Jim Fassel is the franchise's head coach, president, and...

, Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 and Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...

.

College career

After a notable high school career at Venice High School
Venice High School (Los Angeles)
Venice High School is a public high school located in western Los Angeles, California within the Los Angeles Unified School District . The school contains a Foreign Language and International Studies Magnet, Bilingual Business and Finance Academy and a New Media Academy...

 where he earned Parade All-American honors and was rated the No. 3 quarterback in the nation by PrepStar Magazine, Losman accepted an athletic scholarship to attend college at UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...

. He enrolled early during the spring quarter of 1999, in order to compete for the starting quarterback position. Losman wanted that he be named the starting quarterback. However, UCLA informed him that he would not be the starter, and he transferred.

Losman eventually transferred to Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...

 to play for then-head coach Chris Scelfo
Chris Scelfo
Chris Scelfo is an American football coach, currently serving as the tight ends coach for the Atlanta Falcons. He served as head coach at Tulane from 1998 to 2006, including in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and amassed a 37–57 record. Scelfo is the only Tulane head coach to have won two...

, who had made a late recruiting run at him just prior to his committing to UCLA.

After sitting out the 1999 season due to NCAA transfer rules, Losman served as the backup quarterback for two seasons behind future NFL 1st round pick Patrick Ramsey
Patrick Ramsey
Patrick Allen Ramsey is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins 32nd overall in the 2002 NFL Draft...

. Losman would see spot starter's duty in his first two seasons. He passed for 299 yards and 2 touchdowns in his first start against East Carolina
East Carolina Pirates football
The East Carolina Pirates is a college football team that represents East Carolina University . The team is currently a member of the Conference USA, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association .The Pirates have won seven conference championships and...

 during his freshman season. In 2002, his first year as a full-time starter, Losman led the Green Wave to an 8-5 record and a 36-28 victory in the inaugural Hawaii Bowl
Hawaii Bowl
The Hawaii Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game that has been played annually at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii since 2002. Typically played on either Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, the game matches teams from either...

 against the host-team Hawaii Warriors. Following a 3-1 start in the 2003 season, Tulane suffered multiple injuries that depleted its already thin depth on defense, and slumped to a 5-7 finish. Losman completed his collegiate career having completed 570-of-987 passes (57.7 percent) for 6,754 yards, 60 touchdowns, and 27 interceptions. He also ran for 241 yards, with 10 scores on 237 carries.

While at Tulane, he earned a political science degree with a minor in media arts.

2004

After the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 selected Wisconsin wide receiver Lee Evans
Lee Evans (American football)
-Buffalo Bills:Evans was initially assigned the jersey number 84. Evans, as a reference to his full name, had always worn the number 3 in college, a number that was not allowed to be used in professional football for wide receivers...

 with the 13th pick of the 2004 Draft
2004 NFL Draft
The 2004 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24-25, 2004 at the theater at Madison Square Garden...

, the Bills traded back into the first round by trading their second round pick to the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

 and selected Losman with the 22nd pick in the first round of the NFL Draft
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...

. He was the first quarterback to be drafted by the Bills in the first round since 1983
1983 NFL Draft
The 1983 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983...

, when the team drafted Jim Kelly
Jim Kelly
James Edward Kelly is a former American football quarterback in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills and the USFL's Houston Gamblers....

. Like Kelly, Losman was drafted in a quarterback-rich class, and was the fourth (and final) quarterback taken in the first round that year, following Eli Manning
Eli Manning
Eli Nelson Manning is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He is the younger brother of NFL quarterback Peyton Manning and the son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning...

, Philip Rivers
Philip Rivers
Philip Rivers is an American football quarterback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League . He was one half of the Manning-Rivers draft trade which sent him to San Diego and the 1st overall pick, Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning, to the New York Giants. Rivers played college...

, and Ben Roethlisberger
Ben Roethlisberger
Benjamin Todd "Ben" Roethlisberger , nicknamed Big Ben, is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Steelers in the first round in the 2004 NFL Draft...

.

Losman's NFL career got off to a shaky start during his first training camp when teammate Troy Vincent ran into Losman and broke his leg in a freak accident. Losman suffered a broken left fibula, which delayed his development as a rookie. He eventually recovered and saw limited action in the 2004 NFL season
2004 NFL season
The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005...

, appearing briefly in three games and completing 3-of-5 passes for 32 yards and 1 interception while backing up Drew Bledsoe
Drew Bledsoe
Drew McQueen Bledsoe is a former football quarterback in the National Football League, best known as the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots from 1993-2001. During the 1990s, he was considered the face of the Patriots franchise...

. Following the Bills' February 2005 release of Bledsoe, Losman was named the team's starting quarterback by head coach Mike Mularkey
Mike Mularkey
Michael Rene Mularkey is an American professional football coach and a former college and professional football player. He played college football for the...

.

2005

In the first game of the 2005 season (Losman's first professional start), Losman led the Bills to a 22-7 victory over the Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. Losman subsequently struggled with his accuracy and, consequently, his confidence; with those struggles followed consecutive Bills losses. This eventually led the Bills to bench Losman in favor of veteran quarterback Kelly Holcomb
Kelly Holcomb
Bryan Kelly Holcomb 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...

 in the fifth game of the 2005 season. After Holcomb suffered a head injury in the first quarter of the Bills' Week 10 game against the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...

, Losman returned to the lineup and threw two quick touchdown strikes to Lee Evans, leading the Bills to a 14-3 victory. The Bills went on to lose all but one of their remaining games in 2005 with Holcomb and Losman splitting time under center.

2006

The Bills cleaned house during the following off-season, with changes in management and the coaching staff. Marv Levy
Marv Levy
Marvin Daniel Levy is a former American and Canadian football coach, front office executive and author.He is a former professional football coach, in the CFL as head coach of the Montreal Alouettes , and in the NFL as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills , coaching the Bills...

, the team's new general manager and former Bills head coach, and Dick Jauron
Dick Jauron
Richard Manuel Jauron is the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He was the head coach for the Buffalo Bills from 2006 until November 2009. Jauron has previously held head coaching positions with the Chicago Bears and, on an interim basis, with the...

, the new head coach, planned on having Losman compete for the starting job against Holcomb and free-agent signee Craig Nall
Craig Nall
Craig Matthew Nall is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft...

. Losman won the job during the preseason.

Losman was considered by many to be a bust until his much-improved 2006 season, in which he threw 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 16 games, with 300-yard games against the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 and Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. Losman led last-minute, fourth quarter scoring drives to beat the Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. Losman had a 62.5 completion percentage for the season, a record for Buffalo Bill quarterbacks in a full 16-game season. He was rated the 11th best passer in the NFL, with an 84.9 passer rating.

Losman's performance over the last half of the 2006 season was greatly improved. However, the offense as a whole was hurt by a below-average rushing attack that created many 3rd and long situations. After the season, the Bills traded Willis McGahee
Willis McGahee
Willis Andrew McGahee III is an American football running back for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft...

 to the Baltimore Ravens and drafted Cal running back Marshawn Lynch
Marshawn Lynch
Marshawn Terrell Lynch is an American football running back for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. In his rookie year, Lynch became the Bills' first 1,000-yard rookie rusher since Greg Bell in 1984...

 with the 12th overall selection of the 2007 Draft and Fresno State running back Dwayne Wright
Dwayne Wright
-Buffalo Bills:Wright was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He was signed to a contract on July 25. He was waived on August 30, 2008.He worked out for the Detroit Lions on September 17, but was not signed.-New York Giants:...

 in the 4th round.

Losman was also mired behind a sieve-like offensive line for most of the first half of the 2006 season; subsequent personnel changes made during the Bills bye week resulted in improved offensive line play and, consequently, more improved and consistent production from Losman. Following the season, the Bills further bolstered their offensive line in free agency, signing guard Derrick Dockery
Derrick Dockery
Derrick Dewayne Dockery is an American football guard for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft...

, right tackle Langston Walker
Langston Walker
Langston Branden Walker is an American football offensive tackle for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Raiders in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at California...

, and guard/center Jason Whittle
Jason Whittle
Jason Whittle is an American football Guard who is currently a free agent. He went to high school in Camdenton, Missouri and played for the Camdenton Lakers...

.

2007

The Bills drafted Stanford quarterback Trent Edwards
Trent Edwards
Trent Edwards is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft...

 with the 92nd overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. Edwards was considered by many to be the 3rd best available quarterback prospect in the draft (behind #1 overall JaMarcus Russell
JaMarcus Russell
JaMarcus Trenell Russell is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. Russell played college football for the LSU Tigers where he finished 21–4 as a starter and was named MVP of the 2007 Sugar Bowl. The Oakland Raiders selected Russell with the first overall pick of the 2007...

 and #22 overall Brady Quinn
Brady Quinn
Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. Quinn was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame.-Early Years:Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn was born on...

), but waited until late in the 3rd round prior to the Bills selection. Public statements from the Bills coaching staff and management reaffirmed Losman's title as the Bills undisputed starting quarterback after the draft.

For 2007, Buffalo offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild
Steve Fairchild
-Personal life:Fairchild graduated from Colorado State University in 1980 with a degree in economics.-References:...

 indicated that with the improved offensive line he plans to employ a more wide-open offense utilizing multiple wide receiver sets and taking greater advantage of the running backs in the passing game.

On September 23 Losman suffered a grade one sprain of his left knee in the first series of plays in a game against New England. Losman was hit late after completing a four-yard pass to Marshawn Lynch by New England nose tackle Vince Wilfork, who was assessed a 15 yard roughing the passer penalty.

"It was just a simple swing pass to get an early completion. The guy came in, hit me in the knee," said Losman, who stayed in the game for two plays "I knew something was wrong from the get-go, but I figured I'd play a few plays and maybe the pain would go away."

Losman was out for the next two games and was available for the October 21 home game against the Baltimore Ravens, but Dick Jauron chose to give Edwards the nod, just for the week. Edwards performance impressed Jauron enough that on October 23, Trent Edwards was named the starting quarterback for the Bills, having won 2 of the 3 games he started. Reports surfaced, however, that many players on the team were unhappy about Losman losing his job. The reports continued to allege that team owner Ralph Wilson, Jr. wanted Losman benched so that he could not reach the statistical milestones needed for his bonus.

In an October 28, 2007 game at the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, Edwards injured his wrist and was replaced by Losman. Losman led the Bills on two consecutive scoring drives, including one that ended with an 85-yard touchdown pass to WR Lee Evans
Lee Evans (American football)
-Buffalo Bills:Evans was initially assigned the jersey number 84. Evans, as a reference to his full name, had always worn the number 3 in college, a number that was not allowed to be used in professional football for wide receivers...

. Starting the next game for injured Trent Edwards, Losman threw for almost 300 yards and one touchdown to lead the Buffalo Bills to a win.

At the end of the season Losman was upset about losing his job to Edwards and wanted to be traded, but said he would play out the season if necessary.

2008

Though he wanted to be traded, Losman continued playing for the Bills in 2008. Losman played in place of an injured Trent Edwards intermittently throughout the season with limited success. The team did not win a game with Losman.

Losman's contract expired at the end of the 2008 season and the Bills made no effort to keep him, instead replacing him with Ryan Fitzpatrick
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Ryan Joseph Fitzpatrick is an American football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Harvard....

.

Las Vegas Locomotives

Losman was drafted by the Las Vegas Locomotives
Las Vegas Locomotives
The Las Vegas Locomotives are a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada who play in the United Football League. The team plays its home games in Sam Boyd Stadium, home field for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Jim Fassel is the franchise's head coach, president, and...

 of the UFL. He signed with the Locomotives on July 21, 2009. On November 27, 2009, he helped lead them to the inaugural UFL Championship
2009 UFL Championship Game
The 2009 UFL Championship Game was the concluding game of the United Football League's Premiere Season. The game was staged at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas on Friday, November 27, 2009 , and was won by the Las Vegas Locomotives, who defeated the previously unbeaten Florida Tuskers 20–17 on a...

.

Losman worked out for the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....

 on December 4, 2009 due to their backup quarterback Jim Sorgi
Jim Sorgi
James Joseph "Jim" Sorgi, Jr. is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2004 NFL Draft...

 becoming injured in practice.

Oakland Raiders

With injury to starting quarterback Bruce Gradkowski
Bruce Gradkowski
Bruce Raymond Gradkowski is an American Football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft after playing college football at Toledo.Gradkowski has previously been a member of the Tampa...

, the Raiders signed Losman on December 15, 2009.

Losman made his first Oakland appearance against the Denver Broncos on December 20, 2009, throwing one incomplete pass after both QBs Charlie Frye
Charlie Frye
Charles Frye, , is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Akron.-Early years:...

 and JaMarcus Russell
JaMarcus Russell
JaMarcus Trenell Russell is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. Russell played college football for the LSU Tigers where he finished 21–4 as a starter and was named MVP of the 2007 Sugar Bowl. The Oakland Raiders selected Russell with the first overall pick of the 2007...

 suffered injuries and had to leave the game.

Seattle Seahawks

On May 18, 2010, Losman signed with the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...

. He was released on September 4. On November 10, 2010, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll reported via Sirius Radio that the Seahawks had signed Losman again. Losman participated in the January 8, 2011, playoff between the Seahawks and the New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....

.

External links

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