Top Players by Jersey

Greatest NFL Players Who Wore the Number 9 Jersey

By Pigskin Dispatch September 28, 2025 7 min read

Who Wore It Best? The Iconic Legacy of the NFL Jersey 9 🏈

Searching for the top NFL players ever to wear the Number 9 jersey? You’ve come to the right place! This single-digit number has been the uniform choice for some of the league’s most accurate passers, dominating punters, and even a few Hall of Fame quarterbacks whose careers defined their eras. The debate over who is the best to wear the NFL Jersey 9 is fierce, pitting an all-time yardage leader against a Super Bowl MVP and a legendary gunslinger.

Beyond the records, the players who wore NFL Jersey Number 9 embodied leadership and clutch performances. Ready to settle the argument and explore the incredible history behind this iconic number? Let’s find the best among the NFL Jersey 9 wearers.

List of the Best to wear the NFL Jersey 9

There have been some great player who have donned the number 9 on their backs. Here is a list of modern and past players who rocked the NFL Jersey 9, showcasing a selection of the best 9 jersey talents:

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees throws a pass during the fourth quarter of the National Football League Pro Bowl Feb. 8, 2009, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. VIRIN: 090208-N-9758L-549

Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael A. Lantron, USN

Drew Brees

2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinee, Super Bowl champion, one-time MVP, and one of the most prolific passers in league history.

Fritz Pollard

Hall of Fame Halfback – Akron Pros (1920-1921, 1925-1926), Milwaukee Badgers (1922), Hammond Pros (1923, 1925), Providence Steam Roller (1925) – 1x First-team All-Pro

Sonny Jurgensen

Hall of Fame quarterback, five-time Pro Bowler, and one of the 1960s’ most feared passers.

Matthew Stafford

A modern-day QB who has a Super Bowl Victory and a ton of accolades to his name.

Steve McNair

Co-MVP in 2003 and a dual-threat quarterback who led the Titans to the Super Bowl.

Joe Burrow

A current superstar quarterback who is already building a compelling case for the top spot.

Tony Romo

Quarterback – Dallas Cowboys (2003-2016) – 4x Pro Bowl

Tommy Kramer

Quarterback – Minnesota Vikings (1977-1989), New Orleans Saints (1990) – 1x Pro Bowl

Carson Palmer

Cincinnati Bengals (2003-2010), Oakland Raiders (2011-2012), Arizona Cardinals (2013-2017) – 3x Pro Bowl

Jim McMahon

Quarterback – Chicago Bears (1982-1988), San Diego Chargers (1989), Philadelphia Eagles (1990-1992), Minnesota Vikings (1993), Arizona Cardinals (1994), Cleveland Browns (1995), Green Bay Packers (1996) – 1x Pro Bowl

David Garrard

Quarterback – Jacksonville Jaguars (2002-2010), New York Jets (2013) – 1x Pro Bowl

Shane Lechler

Punter – Oakland Raiders (2000-2012), Houston Texans (2013-2017) – 7x Pro Bowl, 6x First-team All-Pro

Norm Johnson

Kicker – Seattle Seahawks (1982-1990), Atlanta Falcons (1991-1994), Pittsburgh Steelers (1995-1998), Philadelphia Eagles (1999) – 2x Pro Bowl, 1x First-team All-Pro

Bill Kenney

Quarterback – Kansas City Chiefs (1980-1988), Washington Redskins (1989) – 1x Pro Bowl

Rodney Peete

Quarterback – Detroit Lions (1989-1993), Dallas Cowboys (1994), Philadelphia Eagles (1995-1998), Washington Redskins (1999), Oakland Raiders (2000-2001), Carolina Panthers (2002-2004) – 0 Pro Bowl

Billy Wade

Quarterback – Los Angeles Rams (1954-1960), Chicago Bears (1961-1966) – 2x Pro Bowl

Robbie Gould

Kicker – Chicago Bears (2005-2015), New York Giants (2016), San Francisco 49ers (2017-2022) – 1x Pro Bowl, 1x First-team All-Pro

Justin Tucker

Kicker – Baltimore Ravens (2012-present) – 7x Pro Bowl, 5x First-team All-Pro

Rudy Comstock

A dominant, enduring offensive and defensive lineman of early professional football, securing four NFL championships across three separate franchises during an 11-year career.

He wore the jersey number 9 for the New York Giants in 1930.

Steve Owen

Tackle/Guard – Kansas City Blues (1924), Hartford Blues (1925), Cleveland Bulldogs (1925), Kansas City Cowboys (1925), New York Giants (1926-1931, 1933) – 1x First-team All-Pro

Jay Fiedler

Quarterback – Philadelphia Eagles (1994-1995), Minnesota Vikings (1998), Jacksonville Jaguars (1999), Miami Dolphins (2000-2004), New York Jets (2005) – 0 Pro Bowl

Rian Lindell

Kicker – Seattle Seahawks (2000-2002), Buffalo Bills (2003-2012), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2013) – 0 Pro Bowl

Matt Bahr

Kicker – Pittsburgh Steelers (1979-1980), San Francisco 49ers (1981), Cleveland Browns (1981-1989), New York Giants (1990-1992), Philadelphia Eagles (1993), New England Patriots (1993-1995) – 0 Pro Bowl

Swede Youngstrom

Guard/Center – Buffalo All-Americans/Bisons (1920-1925), Canton Bulldogs (1921), Cleveland Bulldogs (1925), Frankford Yellow Jackets (1926-1927) – 3x First-team All-Pro

Nick Foles

Quarterback – Philadelphia Eagles (2012-2014, 2017-2018), St. Louis Rams (2015), Kansas City Chiefs (2016), Jacksonville Jaguars (2019), Chicago Bears (2020-2021), Indianapolis Colts (2022) – 1x Pro Bowl

Jon Ryan

Punter – Green Bay Packers (2006-2007), Seattle Seahawks (2008-2017) – 0 Pro Bowl

Greg Montgomery

Punter – Green Bay Packers (2006-2007), Seattle Seahawks (2008-2017) – 0 Pro Bowl
Greg Montgomery – Punter – Houston Oilers (1988-1993), Detroit Lions (1994), Baltimore Ravens (1996-1997) – 1x Pro Bowl, 1x First-team All-Pro

Graham Gano

Kicker – Washington Redskins (2009-2011), Carolina Panthers (2012-2019), New York Giants (2020-present) – 1x Pro Bowl

Kenneth Walker III

Running Back – Seattle Seahawks (2022-2025), Kansas City Chiefs (present) – 0 Pro Bowl

Josh Bidwell

Punter – Green Bay Packers (1999-2003), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2004-2009), Washington Redskins (2010) – 1x Pro Bowl

Doug Pelfrey

Kicker – Cincinnati Bengals (1993-1999) – 0 Pro Bowl

Chris Boswell

Kicker – Pittsburgh Steelers (2015-present) – 1x Pro Bowl

Russ Stein

Tackle/End/Center – Toledo Maroons (1922), Frankford Yellow Jackets (1924), Pottsville Maroons (1925), Canton Bulldogs (1926) – 0 Pro Bowl/All-Pro

Al Nesser

Guard/End – Akron Pros/Indians (1920-1925, 1926), Columbus Panhandles (1921), Cleveland Bulldogs (1925), New York Giants (1926-1928), Cleveland Indians (1931) – 1x First-team All-Pro

Earl Potteiger

Halfback – Buffalo All-Americans (1920), Chicago Cardinals (1921), Frankford Yellow Jackets (1921), Milwaukee Badgers (1922), Kenosha Maroons (1924), New York Giants (1925-1928) – 0 Pro Bowl/All-Pro

Christian Watson

Wide Receiver – Green Bay Packers (2022-present) – 0 Pro Bowl

Chris Mohr

Punter – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1989), Buffalo Bills (1991-2000), Atlanta Falcons (2001-2004), Washington Redskins (2005) – 0 Pro Bowl

Joe Pisarcik

Quarterback – New York Giants (1977-1979), Philadelphia Eagles (1980-1984) – 0 Pro Bowl

Frank Bucher

End – Pottsville Maroons (1925-1926) – 0 Pro Bowl/All-Pro

Jameson Williams

Wide Receiver – Detroit Lions (2022-present) – 0 Pro Bowl

Jeff Kemp

Quarterback – Los Angeles Rams (1981-1985), San Francisco 49ers (1986), Seattle Seahawks (1987-1991), Philadelphia Eagles (1991) – 0 Pro Bowl

Bryce Young

Quarterback – Carolina Panthers (2023-present) – 0 Pro Bowl

John Hall

Kicker – New York Jets (1997-2002), Washington Redskins (2003-2006) – 0 Pro Bowl

Michael Koenen

Punter – Atlanta Falcons (2005-2010), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2011-2014) – 0 Pro Bowl

Nick Novak

Kicker – Washington Redskins (2005-2006), Arizona Cardinals (2005), Kansas City Chiefs (2008), San Diego Chargers (2011-2014), Houston Texans (2015-2016), Los Angeles Chargers (2017) – 0 Pro Bowl

Lawrence Tynes

Kicker – Kansas City Chiefs (2004-2006), New York Giants (2007-2012) – 0 Pro Bowl

Jim Nettles

Defensive Back – Philadelphia Eagles (1965-1968), Los Angeles Rams (1969-1972) – 0 Pro Bowl

Jaquan Brisker

Safety – Chicago Bears (2022-2025), Pittsburgh Steelers (present) – 0 Pro Bowl

JuJu Smith-Schuster

Wide Receiver – Pittsburgh Steelers (2017-2021), Kansas City Chiefs (2022, 2024), New England Patriots (2023) – 1x Pro Bowl

Phil Dawson

Kicker – Cleveland Browns (1999-2012), San Francisco 49ers (2013-2016), Arizona Cardinals (2017-2018) – 1x Pro Bowl

David Treadwell

Kicker – Denver Broncos (1989-1992), New York Giants (1993-1994) – 1x Pro Bowl

Riley Dixon

Punter – Denver Broncos (2016-2017, 2023-present), New York Giants (2018-2021), Los Angeles Rams (2022) – 0 Pro Bowl

Mark Herrmann

Quarterback – Denver Broncos (1981-1982), Baltimore Colts (1983), Indianapolis Colts (1984, 1990-1992), San Diego Chargers (1985-1987), Los Angeles Rams (1988-1989) – 0 Pro Bowl

Bryan Anger

Punter – Jacksonville Jaguars (2012-2015), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2016-2018), Houston Texans (2019-2020), Dallas Cowboys (2021-present) – 2x Pro Bowl

Jeff Blake

Quarterback – New York Jets (1992-1993), Cincinnati Bengals (1994-1999), New Orleans Saints (2000-2001), Baltimore Ravens (2002), Arizona Cardinals (2003), Philadelphia Eagles (2004), Chicago Bears (2005) – 1x Pro Bowl

Lorenzo Carter

Linebacker – New York Giants (2018-2021), Atlanta Falcons (2022-present) – 0 Pro Bowl

KaVontae Turpin

Wide Receiver / Return Specialist – Dallas Cowboys (2022-present) – 1x Pro Bowl

Brad Maynard

Punter – New York Giants (1997-2000), Chicago Bears (2001-2010), Cleveland Browns (2011) – 0 Pro Bowl

Brad Wing

Punter – Pittsburgh Steelers (2014, 2023), New York Giants (2015-2017) – 0 Pro Bowl

Dave Zastudil

Punter – Baltimore Ravens (2002-2005), Cleveland Browns (2006-2010), Arizona Cardinals (2011-2014) – 0 Pro Bowl

Logan Cooke

Punter – Jacksonville Jaguars (2018-present) – 0 Pro Bowl

Charlie Frye

Quarterback – Cleveland Browns (2005-2007), Seattle Seahawks (2007-2008), Oakland Raiders (2009) – 0 Pro Bowl

Conclusion

The above list is dynamic and ever-changing; that is the beauty of the game, as new stars break through the barriers set by those before them. Did we miss anyone? Let us know at Pi*************@***il.com.

You might want to check out more of our jersey lists like this one: Top NFL Players Who Wore Number 8.

Big Thanks to the above-noted sources and to Pro-Football-Reference.com and Newspapers.com for helping fill in the blanks. Our goal is to keep making this page better, so if you feel we are missing someone you feel should be added, please let us know at Pi*************@***il.com.

Find more on our legends of the NFL jersey series here.

Here are some posts on Pigskin Dispatch that take you further into some legendary players who wore jersey number 9:

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