Darren Werner
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No. 2 Free Agent | |||
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| Quarterback | |||
Personal information | |||
| Place of birth: Glidden, Iowa | |||
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Career information | |||
| High school: Glidden Ralston Community | |||
| College: Iowa | |||
| NFL Draft: 2014 / Round: 4 / Pick: 54 | |||
| Debuted in 2014 for the New England Patriots | |||
Career history
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| Roster status: Active | |||
Career highlights and awards
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Darren Werner (June 22, 1991) is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots. He played college football at Iowa under Head Coach jmjacobs. Werner was selected with the 54th overall pick in the 2014 NFLHC Draft.
Contents
Early Years
Darren Werner was born in the small town of Glidden, Iowa and grew up a diehard Hawkeyes fan. He attended Glidden Ralston Community Superintendent, and was the star QB for the 8-man team. He was two time Class 8 Man Player of the Year, and helped lead the Wildcats to back to back Class 8 Man Championships. Despite not playing in traditional 11 man football, Werner made a name for himself at various football camps. He received offers from many FCS schools such as Illinois St., Northern Iowa, and Youngstown St., but immediately committed once he received an offer from Iowa.
College Career
While at Iowa, Werner was a 3 year starter.
College statistics
Statistics
| Year | Team | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rating | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | TD | Int | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| 2013 | Iowa | 11 | 11 | 128.8 | 247 | 412 | 60.1 | 2658 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | 11 | 11 | 128.8 | 247 | 412 | 60.1 | 2658 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Professional Career
New England Patriots
Werner was drafted with the 54th overall pick in the 4th round of the 2014 NFLHC Draft by the New England Patriots. He was moved to backup behind rookie Rob LeCount for the 2015 season. Following the 2015 season the Patriots did not renew his contract. He was chosen as AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in week 1 of 2014. He made the AFC ProBowl Squad in 2014.
Houston Texans
Finding himself as arguably the most talented QB in the free agency pool after the 2016 season, Werner attracted considerable attention across the league. It was the Houston Texans offer that Werner accepted, a 2 year frontloaded deal worth $16 millioin. He played backup to rookie Harold Simmons until being traded with WR Ken Brown to Seattle for QB Richard Ramos and FS Reynaldo Harris. He saw action at the end of one game, week 3 against Seattle, whom he would be playing for in a few short weeks.
Seattle Seahawks
Werner started every remaining game in 2016 for the Seahawks after arriving in Seattle.
Denver Broncos
After the 2016 season, Denver Broncos owner/GM TheSam traded for Werner and OT William Hart for Denver's 2017 4th round and 2018 5th round picks. Werner started every game of the 2017 and 2018 season. After the 2017 season, new Broncos GM DescretoBurrito offered Werner a contract extension with the same terms as his previous one. He was chosen as AFC offensive player of the week for his performance in both weeks 16 and 17 of 2017. After 51 games in Denver, after the 2019 season, Werner entered free agency after the Broncos management opted not to offer him a new contract.
Houston Texans
In the 2020 offseason, Werner signed a 1 year contract with the Houston Texans. He served as a backup for Alex LeShoure for the season, and did not play a snap. Following the conclusion of the 2020 season, he was signed to a 2 year, 10 million dollar extension by the Texans.
New England Patriots
In the 2021 offseason, Werner was traded to his original team, the New England Patriots, for a 6th round pick.
Professional Statistics
| Year | Team | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rating | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | TD | Int | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| 2014 | New England | 11 | 11 | 90.4 | 160 | 272 | 58.8 | 1946 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | New England | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 | Houston | 1 | 0 | 42.4 | 1 | 3 | 33.3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Seattle | 7 | 7 | 102.0 | 119 | 181 | 65.8 | 1609 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2017 | Denver | 16 | 16 | 108.0 | 300 | 455 | 65.9 | 3889 | 31 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | Denver | 19 | 19 | 97.6 | 356 | 585 | 60.9 | 4597 | 35 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2019 | Denver | 16 | 16 | 81.63 | 366 | 647 | 56.6 | 4053 | 26 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020 | Houston | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | 70 | 69 | 94.3 | 1302 | 2143 | 60.8 | 16094 | 115 | 39 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | ||
