Kyle Bryan Boller (born June 17, 1981) is a former American football quarterback. After playing college football for California, he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round (19th overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played for the Ravens from 2003 to 2008, the St. Louis Rams in 2009, and the Oakland Raiders from 2010 to 2011.
Early years
Boller was born in Burbank, California. He earned the 1998 California State Player of the Year honors after an outstanding senior season at William S. Hart High School in Santa Clarita, CA. He led Hart to the CIF Southern Section Division III title with a 13–1 record. He passed for California prep record of 4,838 yards and threw for 59 touchdowns, the 2nd-best mark in California prep history, and ended the season completing 290 of 454 passes (63.9%). Because of this, he was considered by many to be the best prospect to emerge from The Valley Region of Los Angeles since John Elway came out of Granada Hills High School in 1979. During the 1998 season, Boller also played the position of safety on defense, and intercepted a pass in the final minute of the sectional championship game. He was rated the number one quarterback prospect in the nation by PrepStar and was that publication's national Offensive Co-Player of the Year.
College career
In college, Boller was a starter for three and a half seasons at the University of California, Berkeley and graduated with several career and single season records. He is currently #3 for all-time career passing yards, #3 in total offense and #2 for all time touchdown passes.
College statistics
Professional career
Baltimore Ravens
Boller became the Ravens' first round draft pick in 2003 NFL Draft (19th overall pick). He was the second quarterback selected from the Pac-10 conference after the Cincinnati Bengals selected Carson Palmer from USC with the first overall pick. He started the first 9 games of the season, going 5–3, before being injured (thigh) in a game against the St. Louis Rams. He was inactive for most of the rest of the season, being replaced by backup Anthony Wright, as he also had to have surgery to repair a muscle in his quadriceps. Boller rushed 30 times for 62 yards, and completed 116 of 224 passes for 1,260 yards with 7 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.
Boller started all 16 games the only time in his career in 2004. He set career highs, completing 258-of-464 (55.6%) for 2,559 yards with 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also rushed 53 times for 189 yards and his 1st-career rushing touchdown. He had 4 games with QB ratings over 100, including a career-high 112.3 rating while going 18-of-34 for 219 yards, with a career-high four touchdowns and no interceptions against the Giants.
Despite not making the playoffs the previous year, the Baltimore Ravens were seen by the NFL and the sports media as being contenders for the Super Bowl, resulting in four primetime games: two Sunday night games, and two spots featured on Monday Night Football. A factor in this was Boller's perceived status of "coming into his own", and so the Ravens were poised to start what would be a great season by taking on the Indianapolis Colts on the first primetime Sunday Night game of the season. The Ravens held their own in the first half, limiting the Colts to only 3 points, and Boller looked solid in the pocket, leading the offense down the field to the red zone several times. But it did not last, as Boller was injured in the third quarter, suffering a bad case of "turf toe", that would wind up keeping him out of action for 7 games. The Ravens season went downhill after that, even going four games without a single passing touchdown. When Boller came back against the Bengals, after posting an 8.0 QB rating (4-of-12 [33%] for 37 yards and 1 interception) in the 1st half, he exploded in the 2nd half, going 14-of-20 [70%] for 174 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception for a 115.4 QB rating in the final 2 quarters. In back to back games, he (and the entire team) finally seemed to come alive and show the promise everyone had been expecting, as he completed 19-of-27 passes (70.4%) for 253 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions for a career-high 136.8 QB rating in the 48–3 victory in Week 14 vs. the Green Bay Packers. Then, against the Minnesota Vikings, he posted a career-high 70.6 completion percentage (24-of-34) for 289 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception for a 113.5 QB rating.
However, despite this, he still finished 2005 completing a career-high 58.4% of his passes (171-of-293) for 1,799 yards with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions despite missing almost 8 games due to injury.