Jesse Palmer

Jesse Palmer in November 2010.
No. 3
Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth: (1978-10-05) October 5, 1978 (age 34)
Place of birth: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight: 219 lb (99 kg)
Career information
High school: St. Pius X High School Ottawa, Ontario
College: Florida
NFL Draft: 2001 / Round: 4 / Pick: 125
Debuted in 2001 for the New York Giants
Last played in 2003 for the New York Giants
Career history
New York Giants (2001–2004) San Francisco 49ers (2005)* Montreal Alouettes (2006)* *Inactive, preseason and/or practice squad member only.
Career highlights and awards
SEC Championship (2000)
Career NFL statistics as of 2004
Pass attempts 120 Pass completions 63 Passing yards 562 Touchdowns 3 Interceptions 4 QB Rating 59.8 Stats at NFL.com
Stats at pro-football-reference.com
Stats at DatabaseFootball.com

Jesse James Palmer (born October 5, 1978) is a Canadian sports commentator and former college and professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons in the early 2000s. Palmer played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the New York Giants of the NFL before spending half of the 2006 season with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Palmer was cast in 2004 as the bachelor on the fifth season of the reality television series The Bachelor. He is now a college football analyst for ESPN/ABC in the U.S. and a football analyst for TSN in Canada.^[1][2]

Early years [edit]

Palmer was born in Toronto, Ontario,^[3] and raised in the city of Nepean, Ontario, a suburb of Ottawa. He attended St. Pius X High School in Ottawa.^[4] His father, Bill Palmer, played for the Ottawa Rough Riders. His mother, Susan Palmer, was a prominent fashion and print model, and former owner of the original ITM International Top Models a modeling agency and training centre located in Ottawa ON Canada, the agency eventually became IMM International Model Management.

College career [edit]

Palmer received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators football team from 1997 to 2000.^[5] Palmer often alternated playing time with quarterback Doug Johnson, and later, with quarterback Rex Grossman. Memorably, he connected with Bo Carroll on a 75-yard touchdown pass play, and rushed for four touchdowns against the Kentucky Wildcats in 2000.^[5] As a senior, he was selected as one of the team captains and received the Gators' Fergie Ferguson Award, recognizing the "senior football player who displays outstanding leadership, character and courage."^[5] He finished his four-year college career with 3,755 passing yards.^[5]

Palmer graduated from the University of Florida in 2001 with two undergraduate degrees: a bachelor of arts in political science from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and a bachelor of science in marketing from the College of Business Administration.

Professional football career [edit]

NFL [edit]

Palmer was chosen by the New York Giants in the fourth round (125th overall pick) of the 2001 NFL Draft,^[6] and he played for the Giants for four seasons from 2001 to 2004.^[7] As a Giants quarterback, he spent most of his NFL career as a backup behind starter Kerry Collins. After a four-year stint as a backup quarterback, Palmer was cut on September 2, 2005 by the Giants. Jesse Palmer was the second Canadian (behind Mark Rypien of the Washington Redskins) to start at the quarterback position in the NFL.^[8]

CFL [edit]

At first, wanting to stay in the game, he looked to the Canadian Football League for employment. His rights were held by the Montreal Alouettes; however, the Ottawa Renegades tried to acquire the Ottawa native as their top quarterback, and Palmer expressed interest in playing for his home town. Palmer's agent reportedly asked for a three year contract in the neighborhood of $660,000 per year, which would have made Jesse the highest paid player in the league.^{[citation needed]} Attempting to locate another opportunity to stay in the NFL, Palmer worked out with the Minnesota Vikings and Oakland Raiders and was temporarily signed by the San Francisco 49ers on November 1, 2005 as injuries plagued their quarterbacks Alex Smith and Ken Dorsey. Shortly after Dorsey and then Smith returned from injury Palmer was released, without playing a down.^{[citation needed]}

Palmer was re-signed a few months later by the 49ers during the 2006 off-season but was later released on August 29, 2006 toward the end of training camp. On September 11, 2006, the Montreal Alouettes signed him to their developmental roster. Palmer did not dress for a game with Montreal. He retired from the CFL before the start of the 2007 season to pursue a broadcasting career.

The Bachelor [edit]

In the spring of 2004, Palmer appeared on The Bachelor television program and he made himself the first non-American bachelor, in which he was given his choice of eligible single women. He accidentally forgot one woman's name during the first rose ceremony. He eventually selected Jessica Bowlin, but their courtship lasted for only a few months after the end of the show.

Broadcasting career [edit]

Palmer was a color commentator for Fox for two games late in the 2005 season, and returned to the booth on November 26, 2006. On April 25, 2007, Palmer appeared on the NFL Network as an analyst and commentator for the weekend's NFL Draft.

On May 24, 2007, Palmer announced his retirement from the Canadian Football League to pursue a broadcasting career with Fox.^[9] Palmer works for ESPN as a studio analyst on College Football Live and ABC telecasts, usually appearing with fellow Canadian John Saunders. He is a game analyst on ESPN Thursday Night College football games. He is also co-host on The Palmer and Pollack Show on ESPNU with former Georgia defensive end, David Pollack.

Palmer is also New York correspondent for CTV's entertainment news program, eTalk, covering both sports and entertainment events, including the Super Bowl and the 79th and 80th Academy Awards.^[10]

Palmer was a studio analyst for ESPN's broadcast of the 2012 Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, the 2010 Fiesta Bowl in Glendale Arizona, and the 2009 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.^{[citation needed]} he is also an NFL analyst for TSN's "Monday Morning Quarterback" segment.^{[citation needed]}

Palmer guest starred in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 7 episode "Design," portraying professional baseball player Don Lacey.^{[citation needed]}

He also is the host of the food competition show Recipe To Riches entering its second season on Food Network Canada in October 2012.^{[citation needed]}

Personal [edit]

Palmer has lived in Hoboken, New Jersey since 2005.^[11]

See also [edit]

	American football portal
	Biography portal
	College football portal

• Florida Gators
• Florida Gators football, 1990–99
• List of Florida Gators football players
• List of New York Giants players
• List of University of Florida alumni

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Jesse Palmer – Florida Gators player profile
• Jesse Palmer – National Football League player profile