Remember him? Former Super Bowl winner again taking a back seat

He may be the most unceremonious Super Bowl winning quarterback this side of Trent Dilfer (and perhaps Mark Rypien). But Brad Johnson, who guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 48-21 rout of the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII, has had an above-average career that currently has him holding a clipboard for Tony Romo in Dallas. He will be entering his 17th NFL season in 2008 after being drafted in the 9th round of the 1992 Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. He is among the most accurate passers in NFL history, becoming the first player to complete over 60% of his passes in 12 straight seasons. Yet he has always taken a backseat role to flavors of the month despite his steady production. First it was Randall Cunningham in his 1998 renaissance year. Then it was Jeff George in a 2000 season in Washington gone awry. Tavarais Jackson helped give him the boot in his second stint in Minnesota before Johnson became Romo's backup this past year.

So perhaps it was only fitting that Johnson's performance in 2002 was overshadowed by the Buccaneers' dominant defense. He almost assuredly will never be a starter again in the league, but if Romo succumbs to injury, the Cowboys would be in steady hands with Johnson.

Johnson had a potentially promising career with the Redskins before injury and ineffectiveness in 2000 led to George taking over at the helm. Johnson left as a free agent in 2001 to join the Bucs, but a one-and-done in the playoffs had many questioning if he was capable of taking Tampa Bay deep into the playoffs. But Johnson flourished in Jon Gruden's first season as head coach, and was as instrumental to their Super Bowl run as their vaunted defense.

Alas, he will not end up in Canton. He may not even be remembered by the casual football fan when his career officially ends. But he'll always have his Super Bowl ring and a place in the history books.