NFL
Brian Griese Might Have the Lamest Excuse for How He Injured Himself
Mike Thomas spent 23 years on staff and 16 years as the sports editor at The Herald News in Fall River, Mass., before joining Sports7 in 2020. Mike has a deep knowledge of and passion for the NFL and NBA, and he excels at interviewing sports celebrities to find out their Super Bowl picks. A New England Newspaper and Press Association award-winning columnist and an avid sports memorabilia collector, Mike enjoys keeping up with all the sports news and the works of former Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly. You can find more of Mike's work on Muck Rack.
Get to know Mike Thomas betterUpdated14 Sep 2020
Brian Griese made some history when he and his father, Bob, became the first father-son duo to win a Super Bowl. Bob Griese won two Super Bowls as a quarterback with the Miami Dolphins, while Brian got his as a backup quarterback with the Denver Broncos. Brian Griese may have also made some undocumented history for having the strangest excuse for how he once got injured with the Broncos.
Brian Griese's NFL career
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Brian Griese played his college football at the University of Michigan. He was a quarterback for the Wolverines and was selected by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 1998 NFL draft. Griese had to be patient with the Broncos as he was sitting behind both John Elway and Bubby Brister.
Griese, now an analyst on Monday Night Football, started 13 games in 1999, going 4-9 in those games. He threw for 3,032 yards and 14 touchdowns in his second season in the NFL. The following season, Griese made an impact as he went 7-3 in his 10 games as a starter. He compiled 2,688 passing yards and threw 19 touchdown passes against four interceptions. He made his lone Pro Bowl that season.
Griese spent five years with the Broncos, going 27-24 as a starter. Following the 2002 season, Griese was released and replaced by Jake Plummer. Griese signed a deal with the Miami Dolphins, where he spent one season. He then spent time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Chicago Bears.
Griese's injury excuse ranks up there with the weirdest
When Brian Griese was with the Denver Broncos, Griese missed some practice time with one of the strangest excuses for an injury. Griese sprained his ankle when, according to ESPN, his dog knocked him down the stairs.
“I was walking down the stairs, and my dog came barreling down the stairs after me and clipped me, and I kind of twisted my ankle on the stairs,” Griese said. “These things happen. Unfortunately, it happened to me. I'm getting treatment. I'm going to ice it and hope the swelling goes down.”
Denver coach Mike Shanahan was asked about his initial thoughts when told of Griese's injury. “I said, ‘Oh, no.' I thought, What's going to start from here, rumors and speculation of what happened? Did he really trip over the dog? That's what I was thinking.” Earlier that year, Griese tripped on a steep driveway at teammate Terrell Davis' house and was knocked unconscious, bruising his face. The injury fueled speculation that Griese was intoxicated.
Shannon Sharpe's hilarious reaction to how Griese got hurt
Shannon Sharpe was a teammate of Brian Griese when the quarterback injured himself tripping over his dog. Sharpe had a hard time believing that actually happened. “Are you jiving?” he said, according to ESPN. “I know you're all joking.”
Sharpe continued. “I don't believe I'd have told that one,” he said. “I'm not a very good storyteller, but I think I could have come up with a better one than that. I've heard that ‘I stepped out of my car at work,' or, ‘I went back for a pass and all of a sudden I stepped on someone's foot.' But a dog pushing me down the stairs? Oh, my goodness. I'm going to have to let Mike handle that one.
“So the dog stood up on his hind legs and gave him a push? You might want to get rid of that dog or put him in the circus, one of the two.”
