Tom Savage
refer to caption
Savage with the Pittsburgh Panthers in 2013
No. 3, 5, 7, 12, 14
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1990-04-26) April 26, 1990 (age 33)
Springfield, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High school:Cardinal O'Hara
(Springfield, Pennsylvania)
College:Rutgers (2009–2010)
Arizona (2011)
Pittsburgh (2012–2013)
NFL draft:2014 / Round: 4 / Pick: 135
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Passing completions:181
Passing attempts:315
Percentage:57.5
TD–INT:5–7
Passing yards:2,000
Passer rating:72.5
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Thomas Benjamin Savage (born April 26, 1990) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Rutgers, Arizona, and Pittsburgh and was drafted by the Houston Texans in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

Savage spent the first four seasons of his career with the Texans; during his first three seasons, he was primarily a backup, and notably missed the entire 2015 season due to injury. In 2017, he started the most games of his career at 7. After an offseason stint with the New Orleans Saints in 2018, he spent parts of the 2018 regular season with the San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals without seeing any game action. He then had an offseason stint with the Detroit Lions in 2019.

Early life

Savage was born in Springfield, Pennsylvania on April 26, 1990, to Linda and Tom Savage. His older brother, Bryan, played quarterback at Wisconsin and Hofstra.[1][2][3]

At Cardinal O'Hara High School, Savage was a member of the Lions football team for four years and started at quarterback for three.[4] He threw for 1,355 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior.[5]

College career

Savage enrolled at Rutgers University in 2009 under head coach Greg Schiano.[6] After Rutgers opened the season with a 45–17 loss to Cincinnati, Savage was named the starting quarterback.[7] He led the team to a 9–4 record.[8] During his freshman year at Rutgers, Savage passed for 2,211 yards and 14 touchdowns, while throwing only seven interceptions.[9] In arguably his best game of the year, he completed 14-of-27 passes for a season-high 294 yards and two touchdowns against the University of Central Florida in a 45–24 victory in the 2009 St. Petersburg Bowl.[10] He was named on the All-American Freshman Team by the Football Writers Association of America.[11]

In the 2010 season, Savage threw for 521 passing yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions.[12] Early in the season, he was sidelined by a hand injury and replaced with freshman quarterback Chas Dodd.[13] Dodd remained the starting quarterback based on his performance against Connecticut in his first ever start.[14] On January 8, 2011, Savage announced he would transfer from Rutgers University.[15] Rutgers granted Savage a conditional release. In February 2011, he announced that he was transferring to Arizona. Savage missed the 2011 season due to NCAA transfer rules, but was eligible to play in 2012.[16]

Late in 2011, Savage announced his departure from Arizona, a move which followed the announcement that Arizona had hired Rich Rodriguez as head coach.[17] Savage later transferred to Pittsburgh, where he redshirted in 2012.[18] Savage initially wanted to play at Rutgers again; however, a hardship waiver was denied by the NCAA.[19]

On August 14, 2013, Pitt head coach Paul Chryst officially named Savage the starting quarterback for the 2013 season opener against Florida State.[20] On September 21 against Duke, he threw for 424 yards and six touchdowns in the 58–55 victory.[21] Savage finished the season with 2,958 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.[22]

Savage majored in communications.

College statistics

Season Team Passing Rushing
Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg TD
2009 Rutgers 149 285 52.3 2,211 7.8 14 7 128.7 59 −105 −1.8 1
2010 Rutgers 43 83 51.8 521 6.3 2 3 105.3 32 −6 −0.2 0
2013 Pittsburgh 238 389 61.2 2,958 7.6 21 9 138.2 76 −208 −2.7 3
Career 430 757 56.8 5,690 7.5 37 19 131.1 167 −319 −1.9 4

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Wonderlic
6 ft 3+7⁄8 in
(1.93 m) 		228 lb
(103 kg) 		31+5⁄8 in
(0.80 m) 		9+5⁄8 in
(0.24 m)		 4.97 s 1.77 s 2.92 s 4.36 s 7.33 s 27 in
(0.69 m)		 8 ft 9 in
(2.67 m)		 29[23]
All values from NFL Combine[24]

Houston Texans

2014 season: Rookie year

In the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft, Savage was drafted 135th overall by the Houston Texans. He was the seventh quarterback to be selected that year.[25]

On May 15, 2014, Savage signed a four-year contract with the Texans.[26]

During a Week 13 45–21 victory over the Tennessee Titans, Savage made his NFL debut and had two kneel-down plays.[27] Two weeks later, he had his first significant playing time after Ryan Fitzpatrick broke his leg against the Indianapolis Colts. Savage finished the 17–10 loss completing 10 of 19 pass attempts for 127 yards and an interception.[28]

2015 season

On September 5, 2015, Savage was placed on injured reserve by the Texans with a shoulder injury.[29] Due to his injury, Savage saw no playing time in 2015.

2016 season

On December 18, 2016, Savage entered the Week 15 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second quarter after starter Brock Osweiler was benched after throwing for 48 yards and back-to-back first-half interceptions. Savage brought the Texans back from a 13–0 deficit and completed 23-of-36 passes for 260 yards as he led the Texans to a narrow 21–20 comeback victory.[30][31] Savage was named the starter for the Week 16 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.[32] In that game, he completed 18 of 29 passes for 176 yards in the narrow 12–10 victory, clinching the AFC South title for the Texans.[33][34] During the regular-season finale against Titans, Savage completed five of eight passes for 25 yards before leaving the eventual 24–17 road loss in the second quarter with an apparent concussion, but later returned to the game for one play, which was a kneel down at the end of the half. During halftime, he was re-evaluated for a concussion and ruled out for the rest of the game.[35][36][37]

Savage finished the 2016 season with 461 passing yards and no touchdowns or interceptions in three games and two starts.[38] Due to his injury, Osweiler started in the Wild Card Round against the Oakland Raiders, which the Texans won by a score of 27–14.[39][40] Shortly after the game, head coach Bill O'Brien announced that Osweiler would remain the team's starter for the Divisional Round against the New England Patriots.[41] Savage then cleared concussion protocol and was Osweiler's backup in the Divisional Round.[42] The Texans lost on the road by a score of 34–16.[43]

2017 season

In 2017, Savage was competing for the Texans' starting job after the team drafted Deshaun Watson in the first round. After a strong preseason, Savage was named the starter to begin the season.[44] He started in the season-opening 29–7 loss to the Jaguars, but was benched at halftime in favor of Watson. Savage completed 7-of-13 passes for 62 yards, was sacked six times, and fumbled twice, including one that was returned for a touchdown by defensive end Dante Fowler, making the score 19–0 at halftime.[45][46] Watson then started the next six games for the Texans.

On November 2, Watson tore his ACL during practice, prematurely ending his season. This put Savage in line to be the starter.[47][48][49][50] Savage then started in the team's Week 9 20–14 loss to the Colts]], completing 19 of 44 passes for 219 yards and his first NFL touchdown, a 34-yard pass to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in the fourth quarter.[51][52][53] Two weeks later against the Arizona Cardinals, Savage had his first two-touchdown game. He finished the 31–21 victory completing 22 of 32 passes for 230 passing yards for the two aforementioned touchdowns and an interception.[54] During a Week 13 24–13 road loss to the Titans, he finished with a career-high 365 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception.[55] In the next game against the San Francisco 49ers, Savage completed six of 12 passes for 63 yards before leaving the eventual 26–16 loss late in the second quarter after suffering a concussion.[56][57] He was placed on injured reserve on December 23, 2017.[58] During the process, the Texans were suspected to have violated the concussion protocol policy but were not disciplined.[59]

Savage finished the 2017 season with 1,412 passing yards, five touchdowns, and six interceptions in eight games and seven starts.[60]

New Orleans Saints

On March 16, 2018, Savage signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the New Orleans Saints.[61][62] On September 1, 2018, he was released by the team after Teddy Bridgewater was named the backup quarterback.[63]

San Francisco 49ers

On October 16, 2018, Savage signed with the San Francisco 49ers.[64] He was released on October 20,[65] but was re-signed two days later.[66] Savage was released on November 1,[67] but was re-signed the next day.[68] He was waived again on November 24, 2018.[69]

Cincinnati Bengals

On November 26, 2018, Savage was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Bengals.[70]

Detroit Lions

On April 9, 2019, Savage signed with the Detroit Lions.[71] He was released on August 31, 2019.[72]

NFL career statistics

Year Team Games Passing Rushing
GP GS Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg TD
2014 HOU 2 0 10 19 52.6 127 6.7 0 1 51.9 6 −6 −1.0 0
2015 HOU 0 0 did not play due to injury
2016 HOU 3 2 46 73 63.0 461 6.3 0 0 80.9 6 12 2.0 0
2017 HOU 8 7 125 223 56.1 1,412 6.3 5 6 71.4 4 2 0.5 0
Career 13 9 181 315 57.5 2,000 6.3 5 7 72.5 16 8 0.5 0

Personal life

Savage married Catie Varley in 2015.[73][74]

References

  1. ^ "Savage's football career has sudden end". Delco Times. June 14, 2000. Archived from the original on June 26, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  2. ^ Adams, Bruce (June 22, 2004). "Savage: destroyer of Inter-Ac passing records". Mainline Media News. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  3. ^ Ganguli, Tania (August 21, 2014). "Tom Savage soaks in advice from Manning". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  4. ^ Caldwell, Dave (February 4, 2009). "Quarterback Tom Savage Sticks to Game Plan and Signs With Rutgers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 21, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  5. ^ "Freshman QB Tom Savage ready for Rutgers opener". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 4, 2009. Archived from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  6. ^ "Rutgers Scarlet Knights Football Record By Year". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2010. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  7. ^ "Cincinnati at Rutgers Box Score, September 7, 2009". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  8. ^ "2009 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  9. ^ "Tom Savage 2009 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  10. ^ "St. Petersburg Bowl - Rutgers vs UCF Box Score, December 19, 2009". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  11. ^ Luicci, Tom (August 9, 2010). "Rutgers QB Tom Savage named to Maxwell Award watch list". NJ.com. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  12. ^ "Tom Savage 2010 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  13. ^ "2010 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  14. ^ "Connecticut at Rutgers Box Score, October 8, 2010". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  15. ^ "Quarterback Savage decides to leave Rutgers". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 8, 2011. Archived from the original on February 27, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  16. ^ Gimino, Anthony (February 7, 2011). "Former Rutgers QB Tom Savage plans transfer to Arizona". USATODAY.COM. Archived from the original on January 31, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  17. ^ Schad, Joe (November 21, 2011). "Arizona announces Rodriguez hire on Twitter". ESPN.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  18. ^ Hinnen, Jerry (June 25, 2012). "Former Rutgers quarterback Tom Savage transfers to Pitt". CBSSports.com. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  19. ^ Luicci, Tom (January 30, 2012). "Former Rutgers QB Tom Savage says he is 'disappointed' the NCAA denied his waiver". NJ.com. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  20. ^ Hinnen, Jerry (August 14, 2013). "Pitt officially names Tom Savage starting QB". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  21. ^ "Pitt at Duke Box Score, September 21, 2013". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  22. ^ "Tom Savage 2013 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  23. ^ "Historical NFL Wonderlic Scores". wonderlictestsample.com. Archived from the original on September 2, 2016. Retrieved October 1, 2016.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  24. ^ "Tom Savage". nfldraftscout.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  25. ^ "2014 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  26. ^ Rosenthal, Gregg (May 15, 2014). "Tom Savage, Houston Texans strike four-year deal". NFL.com. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  27. ^ "Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans – November 30th, 2014". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  28. ^ "Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts – December 14th, 2014". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  29. ^ D'Oliveira, Sean (September 5, 2015). "Report: Texans to place Tom Savage on IR". CBSSports.com. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  30. ^ Reyes, Lorenzo (December 18, 2016). "Brock Osweiler benched by Texans, replaced by Tom Savage". USA Today. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  31. ^ "Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans – December 18th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  32. ^ Patra, Kevin (December 19, 2016). "Texans name Tom Savage starting QB vs. Bengals". NFL.com. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  33. ^ "Cincinnati Bengals at Houston Texans – December 24th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2018. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
  34. ^ Barshop, Sarah (December 25, 2016). "AFC South champion Texans still don't know what they have in Tom Savage". espn.com. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  35. ^ Dougherty, Drew (January 1, 2017). "Brock Osweiler comes off bench to QB Texans". HoustonTexans.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2017. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  36. ^ Smith, Michael David (January 1, 2017). "Texans now say Tom Savage has a concussion after all". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  37. ^ "Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans – January 1st, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on February 19, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  38. ^ "Tom Savage 2016 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  39. ^ Orr, Conor (January 3, 2017). "Brock Osweiler starting for Texans vs. Raiders". NFL.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  40. ^ "Wild Card - Oakland Raiders at Houston Texans – January 7th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 15, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  41. ^ "Texans' O'Brien: Brock Osweiler to start next weekend". NFL.com. January 8, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  42. ^ "Texans' Tom Savage: Clears concussion protocol". CBSSports.com. January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
  43. ^ "Divisional Round - Houston Texans at New England Patriots – January 14th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  44. ^ Orr, Conor (August 22, 2017). "Bill O'Brien: Tom Savage is Texans' starting QB". NFL.com. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  45. ^ Conway, Tyler (September 10, 2017). "Deshaun Watson's 2017 Fantasy Outlook After Tom Savage Is Benched". bleacherreport.com. Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  46. ^ Greene, Nick (September 10, 2017). "An Ode to Texans QB Tom Savage, Who Lost His Starting Job a Few Minutes After Lunch". slate.com. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  47. ^ Knoblauch, Austin (November 2, 2017). "Texans QB Deshaun Watson tears ACL in practice". NFL.com. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  48. ^ Breech, John (November 2, 2017). "Deshaun Watson done for season after suffering torn ACL in Texans practice". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  49. ^ Patra, Kevin (November 2, 2017). "Tom Savage: You can't replace Deshaun Watson". NFL.com. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  50. ^ Dubin, Jared (November 3, 2017). "Tom Savage on Deshaun Watson: 'There's things he can do that I can't do'". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  51. ^ "Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans – November 5th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  52. ^ Patra, Kevin (November 6, 2017). "Tom Savage on Texans' loss to Colts: 'I played like crap'". NFL.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  53. ^ Sidhu, Deepi (November 5, 2017). "Tom Savage throws TD in "frustrating" loss". Houston Texans. Archived from the original on November 6, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  54. ^ Barshop, Sarah (November 19, 2017). "Tom Savage 'gets going' to beat Cards, keep playoff hopes alive – NFL Nation". ESPN. Archived from the original on November 22, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  55. ^ "Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans – December 3rd, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  56. ^ "San Francisco 49ers at Houston Texans – December 10th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  57. ^ Robertson, Dale (December 10, 2017). "49ers send Texans to sixth loss in past seven games". Chron.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  58. ^ Williams, Charean (December 23, 2017). "Texans place Tom Savage on injured reserve". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  59. ^ Patra, Kevin (December 29, 2017). "Texans won't be disciplined for Tom Savage concussion". NFL.com. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  60. ^ "Tom Savage 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  61. ^ Sessler, Marc (March 16, 2018). "Saints signing backup quarterback Tom Savage". NFL.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  62. ^ "Quotes from Tom Savage's Conference Call on March 16, 2018". NewOrleansSaints.com. March 16, 2018. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  63. ^ "New Orleans Saints make roster reductions to 53". NewOrleansSaints.com. September 1, 2018.
  64. ^ Fann, Joe (October 16, 2018). "49ers Sign QB Tom Savage, Announce Other Roster Moves". 49ers.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  65. ^ "49ers Promote DB Tyvis Powell, Waive QB Tom Savage". 49ers.com. October 20, 2018. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  66. ^ "2018 Transactions". 49ers.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  67. ^ Knoblauch, Austin (November 1, 2018). "San Francisco 49ers part ways with Tom Savage". NFL.com. Archived from the original on May 3, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  68. ^ "49ers Place Mostert and Moseley on IR, Sign QB Tom Savage". 49ers.com. November 2, 2018. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  69. ^ "49ers Announce Roster Moves". 49ers.com. November 24, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  70. ^ Marcum, Jason (November 26, 2018). "Bengals place Andy Dalton on injured reserve; claim QB Tom Savage off waivers". CincyJungle.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  71. ^ "Lions sign free agent QB Tom Savage". DetroitLions.com. April 9, 2019. Archived from the original on June 18, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  72. ^ "Detroit Lions establish 53-man roster". DetroitLions.com. August 31, 2019. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  73. ^ Baldwin, Chris (December 19, 2016). "Tom Savage Honors His Young Wife as the Texans' New QB Hope: The Ring Man Now Rules". PaperCity Magazine. Archived from the original on September 13, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  74. ^ "Tom Savage and wife welcome first child". ABC13 Houston. January 20, 2017. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2023.

External links

Rutgers Scarlet Knights starting quarterbacks
Pittsburgh Panthers starting quarterbacks
Houston Texans 2014 NFL draft selections
Houston Texans starting quarterbacks
Categories