The Career of Quinn Early

Photo Credit: Getty Images

By Zane Miller

Born on April 13^th, 1965, wide receiver Quinn Early parlayed a successful high school career in his hometown of Great Neck, New York into a football scholarship to the University of Iowa. He saw limited playing time during his freshman season with the Hawkeyes in 1984, making just three receptions for 57 yards. Even so, the Hawkeyes finished with a winning record inside the Big Ten Conference, going 5-3-1 to qualify for the Freedom Bowl. In the bowl game, Iowa demolished the Texas Longhorns 55-17, with quarterback Chuck Long setting a new NCAA bowl game record with six passing touchdowns for 461 yards. Although Early didn’t get into the action until the game was already out of hand, he still made a couple of catches in the victory.

Starting with his sophomore season in 1985, Early was eased into the offense more and more, as he picked up 16 receptions for 281 yards. The Hawkeyes nearly went undefeated in the Big Ten, their only blemish being a 22-13 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes, but it was still just enough to take sole possession of the conference championship for the first time since 1958. They would have a de facto road game against the UCLA Bruins in the Rose Bowl, which they lost 45-28 as Early was held to just one catch for six yards. However, he improved further in 1986, getting 433 receiving yards on 19 catches. Iowa fell back to 5-3 in the Big Ten, but went on to beat the San Diego State Aztecs at home in the Holiday Bowl. For the first time in his career, Early played a major role in the outcome of a bowl game, catching back-to-back passes for a total of 38 yards in the fourth quarter with Iowa trailing 35-29. This set up the go-ahead touchdown, but San Diego State went back up in front on a field goal with 47 seconds remaining. However, the Hawkeyes got a huge kick return by Kevin Harmon as he brought it back inside Aztec territory, enough for a game-winning field goal from kicker Rob Houghtlin.

After securing yet another bowl game win, Early was poised to close out his college career on a high note in 1987. Not only would he accomplish this, but his senior year would dwarf all of his previous seasons by a long shot. Playing in all 12 games, Early led all Big Ten receivers in catches with 61, hauling in 10 touchdowns and 978 yards. This included a masterful four-touchdown game against the Northwestern Wildcats, where he also set a then-conference record of 256 receiving yards. The Hawkeyes went 6-2 in the Big Ten to earn another appearance in the Holiday Bowl, this time going up against the Wyoming Cowboys. Although Wyoming was ahead 19-7 through three quarters, the Hawkeyes fought back thanks an interception return for a touchdown and a later scoring drive to win it 20-19. Early was held to just two catches for 27 yards in the victory, but still had attention from NFL scouts going into the 1988 draft.

With the 60^th overall pick of the draft, Early was picked up by the San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers. Despite not being drafted until the third round, he was nonetheless named a week one starter at wide receiver. His first career touchdown grab came in their September 25^th matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, as Chargers quarterback Babe Laufenberg found Early from 38 yards out in the first quarter. Although the Chargers won this one to improve to a 2-2 record, the middle part of the season would not be so kind as they hit a brutal six-game losing streak afterward. Horrendous quarterback play was a major part of the Chargers’ downfall, as Laufenberg was benched and replaced by Mark Malone and later Mark Vlasic, neither of whom did much better. San Diego was somewhat able to right the ship in the final third of the year, but the losing skid proved too much to overcome as they missed the playoffs with a 6-10 record. Thanks to the revolving door of quarterbacks, Early struggled in his rookie season, managing just 375 receiving yards with four touchdowns. He was largely left out of the offense in both his second and third seasons in the league, despite the Chargers finally settling on a quarterback in 1989 second-round pick Billy Joe Tolliver. In the limited games he did play in, Early still struggled to find a rhythm, with three of his six starts during this time resulting in zero catches. On the flipside, the team’s wide receiving room was a mess in general, as other than #1 target Anthony Miller, no Chargers wideout managed to score more than one touchdown in either 1989 or 1990. With the Chargers seemingly not knowing what to do with him, Early left as a free agent before the 1991 season and joined up with the New Orleans Saints. Fortunately for him, this proved to be a much more stable environment.

In his first season as a Saint, Early got off to a modest start statistically as the team went undefeated through the first half of the year. Fellow wide receivers Floyd Turner and Eric Martin saw the bulk of the receptions from veteran quarterback Bobby Hebert, but Early still contributed as the passing game’s third option. Despite slowing down a bit after the winning streak came to an end, Early saved his best game for the penultimate week of the regular season. On December 16^th in a home Monday Night Football matchup against the Los Angeles (now Las Vegas) Raiders, Early led the team with 127 yards on four catches, his biggest play being a 52-yarder early in the first quarter. Although the Saints held a scant 3-0 lead at halftime, their #1-ranked defense held firm while the offense did the rest, leading to a 27-0 triumph. The Saints won the NFC West division with an 11-5 record, but were promptly knocked out of the playoffs in the first round by the Atlanta Falcons. Early made five catches for 41 yards in the 27-20 loss.

In year two in New Orleans, Early started all 16 contests for the first time, enabling him to set career high totals with five touchdowns and 566 yards through the air. Although he failed to have a 100-yard game in 1992, he had his first multi-touchdown performance as a pro on November 8^th, getting two TD grabs as they took down the hapless New England Patriots 31-14. Despite the Saints improving slightly for a 12-4 record to reach the playoffs again, they had to settle for second in the NFC West as they had the misfortune of sharing the division with the vaunted San Francisco 49ers. In the first round contest against the Philadelphia Eagles, Early jumped out as Saints’ best receiving threat, collecting seven catches for 93 yards, including a second quarter touchdown. This helped provide a moderate 20-10 lead through three quarters, but the Eagles came out firing in the fourth. Hebert, who had been playing well throughout the afternoon, threw three interceptions in the final frame, two of which directly leading to Philadelphia touchdowns. This doesn’t even include Hebert getting sacked for a safety, which the Eagles capitalized on for a field goal. After the chaos concluded, the Saints were handed another early exit with the 36-20 loss, though their fourth quarter meltdown was overshadowed by the Houston Oilers’ (now Tennessee Titans) historical collapse earlier in the day as they blew a 35-3 lead against the Buffalo Bills.

Early continued to embrace his role as the second wide receiver opposite Martin in 1993, nabbing six touchdown grabs and 680 yards. This didn’t come without adversity as Hebert left during the offseason to join the division rival Falcons, to which the Saints responded by signing the Falcons’ previous backup signal caller in Wade Wilson. On September 12^th, the teams met for the first time since the quarterback swap, though Wilson won the battle with 341 passing yards and three touchdowns, two of which going to Early. Despite a hot 5-0 start, the Saints stumbled down the stretch and missed the playoffs with an 8-8 record.

With Martin leaving via free agency in 1994, Early would see even more targets as new receiver Michael Haynes adapted to the offense. The duo would also need to deal with another quarterback change, as Wilson was relegated to backup with longtime Los Angeles Ram Jim Everett being brought in. Despite catching two less touchdowns than the year before, Early’s receiving yards spiked up to 894 on the season. His best showing came in the September 4^th season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs (coincidentally the team that Martin eventually signed with), where he crossed the 100-yard barrier with 101 in a 30-17 loss. This unfortunately set the tone for the rest of the season, as New Orleans posted a losing record for the first time since 1986 with a 7-9 finish.

By 1995, Early was officially an established NFL veteran and continued his role alongside Haynes. However, the start to 1995 became an inverse to the 1993 season, as the Saints lost the first five games of the year as their playoff chances were essentially toast before the halfway point. Despite this, Early put up the best stats of his career, the crowning achievement being a November 19^th game against the Minnesota Vikings. Early caught two touchdowns and a career-best 150 yards, though it ended with a sour taste as the Vikings won the game handily 43-24. He would contribute another triple-digit yardage performance on December 16^th versus the Green Bay Packers, with his 117 yards being enough to earn 1,000 receiving yards on the season. As the regular season came to a close, Early led the team with eight receiving touchdowns and 1,087 yards. The Saints had a strong second half of the year, but were only able to take a 7-9 record.

Despite Early having a career year, the Saints opted not to renew his contract for the 1996 season. Instead, Early bolted to the AFC and joined the Bills, who were not far removed from making it to four straight Super Bowls. The receiver situation was much different in Buffalo than New Orleans, as he entered an already crowded unit which included the likes of future Hall of Famer Andre Reed, exciting rookie Eric Moulds and special teams weapon Steve Tasker, who had become more included in the offense around this time. Even with many passing options available for longtime quarterback Jim Kelly, Early picked up four touchdowns and 798 receiving yards. This included possibly his most well-known single play at the NFL level, a 95-yard touchdown catch on December 1^st against the Indianapolis Colts. Hauling in a bomb from backup quarterback Todd Collins at midfield, Early initially slipped but was quickly able to regain his footing, running it into the end zone just in time ahead of the pursuing Colts defenders. This stood as the longest passing touchdown in Bills history for the next 13 years, though they ultimately lost in overtime 13-10. Buffalo finished with a 10-6 record to squeak into the postseason, setting up a first round date against the second-year expansion Jacksonville Jaguars. Early went off for arguably the best postseason performance of his career, catching nine passes for 122 yards. However, it wouldn’t be enough to keep pace with the Jaguars, who held on in a nailbiter 30-27. Unfortunately for Early, this would be his final playoff appearance.

As 1997 rolled around, the Bills would have a Collins under center full-time as Kelly wrapped up his Hall of Fame career. Nonetheless, Early added similar numbers to the year before, getting five touchdown receptions and 853 yards. He was one of the lone bright spots for the otherwise anemic Bills offense, which finished second-to-last in total points. Even though the defense wasn’t much better than the offense, Buffalo somehow scratched out a somewhat respectable 6-10 record, but this obviously wasn’t enough to make the playoffs. In 1998, Early was largely phased out of the offense, due to Moulds having his breakout campaign behind an out-of-nowhere comeback from quarterback Doug Flutie. In addition, former Cowboys speedster Kevin Williams also entered the fray, culminating in Early getting just two starts during the season. The Bills made the playoffs at 10-6, but Early was left off the active roster as they were knocked out in the first round by the Miami Dolphins. After a disappointing season with just one touchdown catch and 217 receiving yards, Early signed with the AFC East rival New York Jets for 1999.

Early got the start for the Jets in their opening day game against the Patriots, but did not get a single catch from either of the three quarterbacks that New York brought into the game (the intended starting quarterback, Vinny Testaverde, suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in the second quarter). He got another pair of starts in weeks four and five, but the two games only resulted in one catch for 17 yards. Even after being forced to use backups Ray Lucas and Rick Mirer after Testaverde’s injury, the Jets avoided a losing season at 8-8, but Early was a non-factor for most of them as he spent most of 1999 as a second-stringer. With just 83 yards and no touchdowns on the year, Early likely saw the writing on the wall and announced his retirement after the season.

After hanging up the cleats, Early has definitely not slowed down much post-football, most notably by starting a new career in Hollywood as a stunt double. As of this writing, Early has credits for just over 60 movies and TV shows, as well as serving as a writer for several other productions. In 2019, the TV series “SEAL Team”, which Early did stunts for, was nominated for the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Stunt Coordination, with another one of his shows, “S.W.A.T”, also being nominated for the award three years in a row from 2019 to 2021. Although Early probably isn’t the first player that comes to mind when thinking about the top receivers of the 90’s, he more than held his own with a decade-long career in the NFL and is still building a successful career in the entertainment business.