Jon Kitna
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| Detroit Lions — No. 8 | |
| Quarterback | |
| Date of birth: September 21, 1972 | |
| Place of birth: Tacoma, Washington | |
| Height: 16 ft 2 in (4.93 m) | Weight: 217 lb (98 kg) |
| National Football League debut | |
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| 1997 for the Seattle Seahawks | |
| Career history | |
| College: Central Washington | |
| Undrafted in 1997 | |
Teams:
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Selected NFL statistics (through Week 17 of the 2007 NFL season) |
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| TD-INT | 147-146 |
| Passing yards | 26,535 |
| QB Rating | 76.8 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
Jon K. Kitna (pronounced /KIT-nuh/) (born September 21, 1972 in Tacoma, Washington) is an American football player at the quarterback position in the National Football League for the Detroit Lions. He attended Central Washington University and was quarterback for the Wildcats during their 1995 NAIA National Football Championship season. Jon has a wife Jennifer and 2 sons Jordon and Jalen. In 2001 he started the Jon and Jennifer Kitna Eternal Blessings Foundation, supporting various Christian ministries and also a Christian-based ministry at Remann Hall in Tacoma, Washington.
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[edit] High School
Jon Kitna attended Lincoln High School (Tacoma, Washington) and was a standout in football, basketball, and baseball. He was a friend of and a prep teammate of Lawyer Milloy in football and basketball.
[edit] College
He attended Central Washington University and was quarterback for the Wildcats from 1992-1995. In 1995 the Wildcats won the NAIA National Football Championship with Kitna as their quarterback. Finished his career completing 911 of 1550 passes (58.8%) for 12,353 yards, 99 TDs and 59 INTs in 43 games.
[edit] Professional career
[edit] Barcelona Dragons
Kitna was named the Most Valuable Player in NFL Europe when he led the Barcelona Dragons to the 1997 World Bowl Championship (World Bowl V), winning 38-24 over the Rhein Fire.
[edit] Seattle Seahawks
Kitna was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Seattle Seahawks. He served as a backup to Warren Moon in 1997 and 1998, but started the final five games of the 1998 season. Then, in 1999, he started 15 games for the Seahawks, leading them to a 9-7 record (Kitna going 8-7 in games started) and winning the AFC Western Division Championship. Seattle would lose a Wild Card Game to the Miami Dolphins which is noteworthy as the final game played in the Seattle Kingdome.
In 2000, Kitna opened the season with a 4 INT preformance against the Miami Dolphins which opened the door for Coach Mike Holmgren to start Brock Huard. During that season Kitna and Huard rotated as starting QBs due to injury and benchings. His last win for the Seahawks came on a rain soaked Husky Stadium turf in December of that year beating the AFC Championship Game bound Oakland Raiders on a TD pass to then rookie Darrell Jackson in the final minute of play.
[edit] Cincinnati Bengals
In 2001, he signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals.
In 2003, Kitna played every down, and was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year after throwing for over 3,500 yards and 26 touchdown passes in leading the Bengals to a respectable 8-8 record, that team's first non-losing season since 1996.
Jon Kitna's secondary role with the team was to prepare young quarterback Carson Palmer (the Bengals' #1 draft pick in 2003). It was a role Kitna accepted gracefully. By 2004, Palmer was ready, leading the Bengals to another 8-8 season. Kitna was the backup for Palmer in that season. The two QB's developed a close friendship off the field, particularly because both men are avid golfers.
Kitna was unexpectedly thrust back behind center during the Bengals' AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on January 8, 2006. Carson Palmer went down with a knee injury on his second play from scrimmage and Kitna stepped in off the bench and into a relief role. Kitna finished 24-40 for 197 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions as the Bengals fell to the eventual Super Bowl XL champion Pittsburgh Steelers 31-17.
[edit] Detroit Lions
On March 14, 2006, Kitna was signed by the Detroit Lions as a Free agent to a 4-year contract. He was expected to compete for the starting QB position with Josh McCown, but coach Rod Marinelli made Kitna the starting quarterback. Kitna played every down for the second time in his career during the 2006 season and finished the season with 4,208 passing yards and 21 touchdowns, but he also threw 22 interceptions and lost 9 fumbles for the 3-13 Lions. His quarterback rating was 79.9 for the 2006 season. Jon was announced to be the starter and captain for the 2007-2008 season by Lions head coach Rod Marinelli. In March of 2007, Jon guaranteed the Lions would win a minimum of 10 games in the upcoming season [1], though they failed to reach this mark after losing their 7th game of the season in week 14, before eventually finishing 7-9, after starting the season with a 6-2 record.
[edit] External links
- Jon Kitna player profile at NFLPlayers.com
- Jon Kitna Guarantee [1]
| Preceded by Warren Moon |
Seattle Seahawks Starting Quarterbacks 1998-2000 |
Succeeded by Matt Hasselbeck |
| Preceded by Akili Smith Scott Mitchell |
Cincinnati Bengals Starting Quarterbacks 2001-2003 |
Succeeded by Carson Palmer |
| Preceded by Tommy Maddox |
NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award 2003 |
Succeeded by Drew Brees |
| Preceded by Joey Harrington |
Detroit Lions Starting Quarterbacks 2006- |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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| Zorn • Krieg • Gelbaugh • Mirer • Friesz • Moon • Kitna • Hasselbeck |
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| Stofa • Cook • Carter • Anderson • Esiason • Klingler • Blake • O'Donnell • Smith • Kitna • Palmer |
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| Ninowski • Plum •Morrall • Plum • Sweetan • Plum • Munson • Landry • Munson • Reed • Landry • Danielson • Komlo • Danielson • Hipple • Danielson • Hipple • Danielson • Hipple • Long • Hilger • Gagliano • Peete • Kramer • Peete • Kreig • Mitchell • Batch • Frerotte • Batch • Detmer • Harrington • Garcia • Kitna |
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| 1972: Morrall | 1973: Gabriel | 1974: Namath | 1975: Hampton | 1976: Landry | 1977: Morton | 1978: Riggins | 1979: Csonka | 1980: Plunkett | 1981: Anderson | 1982: Alzado | 1983: B. Johnson | 1984: Stallworth | 1985: No Selection | 1986: Montana & Kramer | 1987: White | 1988: Bell | 1989: Anderson | 1990: Word | 1991: McMahon | 1992: Cunningham | 1993: Allen | 1994: Marino | 1995: Harbaugh & Hearst | 1996: Bettis | 1997: Brooks | 1998: Flutie | 1999: Young | 2000: J. Johnson | 2001: Hearst | 2002: Maddox | 2003: Kitna | 2004: Brees | 2005: Bruschi & Steve Smith | 2006: Pennington | 2007: Greg Ellis |
