On the subject of Staubach, the Cowboys backtracked on a 1971 decision that produced their first Super Bowl title. Staubach had overtaken Craig Morton during a season that had featured Tom Landry alternating QBs — from game to game and, for a bit, play to play — but suffered a separated shoulder during the 1972 preseason. Morton stepped back in, and even after Staubach recovered, he kept the job going into the playoffs. Morton started all 14 Cowboys games in 1972, but after they fell behind in a divisional-round 49ers matchup, Landry reinserted Staubach. After a 15-point second-half comeback, Staubach did not cede the reins again. The Cowboys traded Morton to the Giants in 1974.

Dan Pastorini was at the controls for the Oiler teams that had revived the franchise, piloting Bum Phillips’ club from the wild-card round into back-to-back AFC championship games. The Steelers prevailed in both, and in an effort to shake up the AFC Central hierarchy, Houston swapped starting QBs with Oakland. The Raiders sent Ken Stabler to the Oilers straight up for Pastorini , the 1971 No. 3 pick who had started 107 games with the team. A declining Stabler, at 35, threw a career-high 28 INTs in 1980. The Oilers still made the playoffs but lost a one-sided wild-card game to the Raiders. A Pastorini injury had given way to Jim Plunkett by that point. Stabler lasted two years in Houston.

Not regarded as a top-tier quarterback, Doug Williams still led the Bucs to three playoff berths from 1979-82. The QB in place when the team made its leap after an infamous start, however, felt slighted due to his low salary. Attached to a deal worth less than some backup QBs at the time, Williams became embroiled in a dispute with the team. Williams sought a $600,000-per-year salary; Bucs ownership refused to move past $400,000. This impasse eventually led Williams to the USFL’s Oklahoma Outlaws, who had topped Tampa Bay’s offer. The Bucs had already sent the Bengals a first-round pick for former top-three draftee Jack Thompson.