WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Andrew Luck's 2012 NFL draft was filled with bust QBs but one team hit the jackpot in the later rounds

  • The 2012 NFL draft saw an impressive run of quarterbacks taken.
  • Andrew Luck was taken first overall, while Washington moved up and selected Robert Griffin III.
  • The Seahawks hit the jackpot in the third round, picking up Russell Wilson.
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The 2012 NFL Draft saw a flurry of quarterbacks taken.

Andrew Luck was the first pick of the draft, playing his entire career with the Indianapolis Colts before retiring in 2019.

While most of the other QBs taken in early in the draft turned out to be disappointments, some teams hit the jackpot in later rounds.

Below we take a look back at what happened to the QBs taken in the 2012 NFL draft. 

After eight brilliant seasons with the Colts, Luck shocked the NFL world by announcing his retirement just before the 2019 season. Facing another severe injury, Luck said he needed to separate himself from football to live the life he wants to live.

Washington traded three first-round picks and a second-round selection to the Rams to move up four spots and draft Baylor QB Robert Griffin III. He was a Pro Bowler and Rookie of the Year his first season.

Things quickly fell apart for RG3 thanks to a series of injuries. He lost his job and was inactive the entire 2015 season. Since then, he has bounced around the league as a backup.

The Dolphins took Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill with the eighth pick overall.

Tannehill started all but three games in his first five seasons with the Dolphins, but missed the entire 2017 season with a knee injury, and reached the playoffs just once. After the 2018 season he was traded to the Titans where he replaced Marcus Mariota as the starter after just two games. After the season, he re-signed with the Titans on a four-year, $118 million contract.

The Browns selected Brandon Weeden out of Oklahoma State with the 22nd pick of the first round. The Browns received the pick from the Falcons in a 2011 draft-day trade that gave Atlanta Julio Jones with the sixth pick.

Weeden lost his job in his second year, and the Browns released him after just two seasons. He was briefly a starter for the Cowboys in 2015 and most recently served as a backup for the Texans.

The Broncos took Brock Osweiler in the second round with the 57th pick to be the heir to Peyton Manning.

Osweiler played well when he subbed for Manning for seven games during the Broncos' 2015 Super Bowl run. He turned that into a $72 million free-agent contract with the Texans. Houston gave up after one season, trading a second-round pick to the Browns so that they would take his contract. After one season with the Dolphins, Osweiler was without a team to start the 2019 season and announced his retirement mid-season.

The Seahawks took Russell Wilson out of Wisconsin in the third round with the 75th overall pick.

Wilson has led the Seahawks to two Super Bowls, and a Super Bowl XLVIII win. He briefly became the highest-paid player in the NFL in 2019 with a 4-year, $140 million contract extension.

The Philadelphia Eagles used the 88th pick in the third round to take Nick Foles out of Arizona.

After three seasons as a part-time starter, Foles spent time with the Rams and Chiefs. He contemplated retirement before returning to the Eagles. He subbed for injured starter Carson Wentz in 2017 and led the Eagles to a Super Bowl win. After the 2018 season, he signed a 4-year, $88 million contract to become the starter for the Jaguars but lost the job to rookie Gardner Minshew and was traded to the Bears after the season.

The Redskins took Kirk Cousins out of Michigan State in the fourth round with the 102nd pick overall. The pick was considered controversial as Washington had already taken RG3 in the first round.

Cousins took over as the full-time starter for the Redskins in 2015, leading them to a Wild Card berth. He became a free agent after the 2017 season after failing to reach a long-term deal with Washington. He signed a 3-year, $84 million contract with the Vikings. At the time, he was the highest-paid player in NFL history.

The Cardinals drafted San Diego State QB Ryan Lindley in the sixth round with the 185th pick overall. He started four games as a rookie.

After brief stints with the Chargers, Colts, and Patriots, he played one season in the CFL with the Ottawa Redblacks. Lindley briefly worked as an assistant coach with the Browns, and now serves as an offensive analyst for the Utah Utes.

B. J. Coleman (Packers, 243rd overall) and Chandler Harnish (Colts, 253rd overall) were drafted in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL draft out of Tennessee-Chatanooga and Northern Illinois, respectively. Neither player ever played in a regular-season NFL game.


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