Aaron Brooks (American football) facts for kids
Brooks with the New Orleans Saints in 2005
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| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||
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| Born: | March 24, 1976 Newport News, Virginia, U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Ferguson (Newport News) | ||||||||
| College: | Virginia (1994–1998) | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1999 / Round: 4 / Pick: 131 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||
Aaron Lafette Brooks (born March 24, 1976) is an American former professional football quarterback. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. Most of his career was with the New Orleans Saints.
Brooks played for the Saints for six seasons. He set team records for touchdown passes during the regular season and in his career. Before joining the Saints, he spent his first season with the Green Bay Packers. They picked him in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL draft. His last season was with the Oakland Raiders.
His most successful year was in 2000. He led the Saints to their first playoff victory ever. Because of his achievements, he was added to the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame in 2014.
Contents
Early Life and School
Aaron Brooks grew up in Newport News, Virginia. He lived in a public housing area called the East End. He played high school football at Homer L. Ferguson High School. His coach, Tommy Reamon, helped him a lot.
After high school, Brooks earned a scholarship. He went to the University of Virginia (UVA). He graduated from UVA in 1999.
College Football Career
Brooks started at the University of Virginia in 1994. He didn't play in his first year. In 1995, he was a backup quarterback.
In 1996, he competed to be the starting quarterback. He shared playing time with another player, Tim Sherman. The team had strong defensive players like Jamie Sharper and Ronde Barber. Their offense was led by running back Tiki Barber.
Brooks became the main starter in 1997. The team had a tough start but finished strong. They ended the season with 7 wins and 4 losses.
In 1998, the team started very well. They were even ranked in the top ten for a short time. A big moment was the last game of the season. They played against Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers were losing badly at halftime, 29–7. But Brooks led an amazing comeback. They won the game 36–32. This was the biggest comeback in the school's history. The Cavaliers finished the regular season with 9 wins and 2 losses. They played in the Peach Bowl but lost to Georgia.
College Stats
Here are Aaron Brooks' college football statistics:
| Virginia Cavaliers | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
| Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | TD | ||||||
| 1995 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -100.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 1996 | 37 | 89 | 517 | 1 | 7 | 78.3 | 30 | 65 | 4 | |||||
| 1997 | 164 | 270 | 2,282 | 20 | 7 | 151.0 | 85 | 255 | 5 | |||||
| 1998 | 168 | 322 | 2,545 | 15 | 10 | 127.7 | 97 | 320 | 6 | |||||
| Total | 369 | 683 | 5,344 | 36 | 25 | 129.8 | 212 | 640 | 14 | |||||
Professional Football Career
Green Bay Packers
Aaron Brooks started his NFL career in 1999. He was with the Green Bay Packers. He was a backup quarterback behind Brett Favre. He did not play in any regular season games that year.
New Orleans Saints
In 2000, the Packers traded Brooks to the New Orleans Saints. He became the starting quarterback after Jeff Blake got hurt. In his first NFL start, Brooks led the Saints to a big win. They beat the defending Super Bowl champions, the St. Louis Rams. This made him the first quarterback in NFL history to do this.
Brooks led the Saints to a 10–6 record. They won their division, the NFC West. In the playoffs, the Saints again beat the Rams. Brooks threw four touchdown passes in that game. This was the Saints' first playoff win ever. He also became the first quarterback to eliminate the defending Super Bowl champions in his first playoff start. The Saints then lost their next playoff game to the Minnesota Vikings.
In 2001, the Saints finished with a 7–9 record. Brooks threw for a lot of yards, 3,832. He also threw 26 touchdowns, which was a team record at the time.
In 2002, the Saints started strong with a 6–2 record. But they struggled in the second half of the season. They ended up missing the playoffs.
The 2003 season was Brooks' most efficient year. He had a very good passer rating of 88.8. He threw 24 touchdowns and only 8 interceptions. The Saints finished with an 8–8 record but did not make the playoffs.
In 2004, the Saints started with 4 wins and 8 losses. But they finished the season with four straight wins. They almost made the playoffs but lost out on tiebreakers.
In 2005, Brooks had a difficult year. He threw more interceptions than touchdowns. The Saints decided to bench him for the last three games.
Oakland Raiders
After leaving the Saints, Brooks signed with the Oakland Raiders in 2006. He started as their main quarterback. In his first game, he was sacked many times. He also dislocated his shoulder in his second game. This made him miss several weeks.
When he returned, the Raiders continued to struggle. They finished the season with only 2 wins and 14 losses. Brooks was released by the Raiders after the 2006 season.
NFL Career Statistics
Here are Aaron Brooks' full NFL career statistics:
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | Sacks | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Sck | SckY | Fum | Lost | ||||
| 1999 | GB | 0 | 0 | – | DNP | |||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | NO | 8 | 5 | 3–2 | 113 | 194 | 58.2 | 1,514 | 7.8 | 9 | 6 | 85.7 | 41 | 170 | 4.1 | 2 | 15 | 94 | 4 | 1 | ||
| 2001 | NO | 16 | 16 | 7–9 | 312 | 558 | 55.9 | 3,832 | 6.9 | 26 | 22 | 76.4 | 80 | 358 | 4.5 | 1 | 50 | 330 | 13 | 2 | ||
| 2002 | NO | 16 | 16 | 9–7 | 283 | 528 | 53.6 | 3,572 | 6.8 | 27 | 15 | 80.1 | 62 | 253 | 4.1 | 2 | 36 | 236 | 11 | 5 | ||
| 2003 | NO | 16 | 16 | 8–8 | 306 | 518 | 59.1 | 3,546 | 6.8 | 24 | 8 | 88.8 | 54 | 175 | 3.2 | 2 | 34 | 195 | 14 | 11 | ||
| 2004 | NO | 16 | 16 | 8–8 | 309 | 542 | 57.0 | 3,810 | 7.0 | 21 | 16 | 79.5 | 58 | 173 | 3.0 | 4 | 41 | 223 | 13 | 2 | ||
| 2005 | NO | 13 | 13 | 3–10 | 240 | 431 | 55.7 | 2,882 | 6.7 | 13 | 17 | 70.0 | 45 | 281 | 6.2 | 2 | 33 | 202 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2006 | OAK | 8 | 8 | 0–8 | 110 | 192 | 57.3 | 1,105 | 5.8 | 3 | 8 | 61.7 | 22 | 124 | 5.6 | 0 | 26 | 174 | 5 | 3 | ||
| Total | 93 | 90 | 38–52 | 1,673 | 2,963 | 56.5 | 20,261 | 6.8 | 123 | 92 | 78.5 | 362 | 1,534 | 4.2 | 13 | 235 | 1,454 | 64 | 26 | |||
After Football: Property Development
After retiring from football in 2007, Aaron Brooks started a new career. He decided to work in property development. This means he builds and manages new neighborhoods and buildings.
In 2008, he started his first project. It was a neighborhood called Burlington Woods in Virginia. Brooks managed the project until it was finished.
He also planned to invest in a project in his hometown. This was the Southeast Commerce Center in Newport News. Brooks wanted to help redevelop part of downtown Newport News. He planned to build homes, a grocery store, and shops. This project is now known as Brooks Crossing. It is still ongoing as of 2024.
In 2014, Brooks was honored by the New Orleans Saints. He was inducted into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame. His former teammate John Carney was also inducted.
Personal Life
Aaron Brooks is related to other famous football players. He is the second cousin of Michael Vick and Marcus Vick.
See also
- List of most consecutive starts by a National Football League quarterback
