Aaron Brooks

Aaron Lafette Brooks (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the New Orleans Saints.

He was a member of the Saints for six seasons, where he set the franchise records for regular season and career touchdown passes.

Brooks enrolled at the University of Virginia in the fall of 1994 and was a redshirt as a true freshman.

He was a backup to Mike Groh in 1995.

The coaching staff made Sherman, who had played well against Michigan and Virginia Tech in 1995 after starter Mike Groh went down to injury, the primary quarterback instead of the inexperienced Brooks.

Nonetheless, Brooks received playing time in nearly all games and was the primary quarterback in a few.

He competed with fifth year senior Tim Sherman, whose father Tom was the wide receivers coach, for the starting quarterback job in 1996.

The Cavaliers were returning defensive players such as Jamie Sharper, James Farrior, and Ronde Barber.

The offense was led by running back Tiki Barber.

Inconsistent quarterback play by both Brooks and Sherman led to an underachieving season, and Virginia fans still debate the quarterback play of the 1996 season.

Brooks was the starter in 1997.

Both Brooks and the team struggled in the early part of the season but surged late to finish the season with a 7–4 record.

In 1998, the team got off to a strong start and was briefly in the top ten.

The highlight of the year, and Brooks' career, was the season finale at Virginia Tech.

The Cavaliers were down 29–7 at halftime, but Brooks led the biggest comeback in school history in the 36–32 victory.

The Cavaliers finished the regular season with a 9–2 record, which earned them an invitation to the Peach Bowl where they suffered a 35–33 defeat at the hands of Georgia.

In between his New Orleans tenure, Brooks spent his first season with the Green Bay Packers, who selected him in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft, and his final season with the Oakland Raiders.

He was awarded a scholarship to attend the University of Virginia (UVA), from which he graduated in 1999.

In 1999, Brooks began his career as a third-string backup to Brett Favre behind second-string quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, taking no snaps during the regular season.

Brooks' most successful season was in 2000 when he led the Saints to their first playoff victory in franchise history.

The Packers traded Brooks and tight end Lamont Hall to the New Orleans Saints for linebacker K. D. Williams and the Saints' third round pick in the 2001 draft ahead of the 2000 season.

In 2001, the Saints went 7–9, ending on a four-game losing streak.

In those last four games of the season, the Saints would be outscored by more than 100 points, 160–52.

Brooks threw a then franchise record-tying 26 touchdowns and a career best 3,832 passing yards in his first full season as a starting quarterback; he also threw a then-franchise record 22 interceptions.

In 2002, Brooks lead the Saints to a 6–2 record and guided an offense that averaged 32 points a game through the first half of the season before the team imploded in the second half.

The Saints went 3–5 to finish the season, losing their last three games to teams eliminated from playoff contention.

2003 was Brooks' most efficient year, compiling an 88.8 passer rating, a 3:1 touchdown to interception ratio, and a 59.1% completion rate, all career bests.

However, the Saints finished 8–8 and did not make the playoffs.

In 2004, the Saints started 4–8, but finished the season with a four-game winning streak.

The Saints almost made the playoffs but lost out on tiebreakers.

In his first season with the Saints, Brooks took over as starting quarterback after Jeff Blake was sidelined with a broken foot in the team's 11th game of the season.

In his first NFL start, Brooks led the Saints to a 31–24 victory over the St. Louis Rams, becoming the first QB in NFL history to defeat the defending Super Bowl champions on the road in his first career start.

Brooks led the team to a 3–2 record in his five starts for an overall 10–6 record, winning the NFC West.

In the playoffs, the Saints defeated the Rams, 31–28.

The Saints were without their starting running back, Ricky Williams, and lost their best receiver, Joe Horn, early in the game.

Brooks threw four touchdown passes to lead the Saints to their first playoff win in franchise history, becoming the first QB in NFL history to eliminate the defending Super Bowl champions in his first career postseason start.

The Saints then lost their Divisional Playoff game to the Minnesota Vikings, 34–16.

For his accomplishments with the franchise, he was inducted to the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame in 2014.

Brooks lived in a public housing project in the East End area of Newport News.

Mentored by Coach Tommy Reamon, Brooks played high school football and graduated from Homer L. Ferguson High School in Newport News.