9 of the worst quarterback seasons in the NFL since 2000

9. Matt Barkley, Chicago Bears | 2016

Stats
7 games, 6 games started, 1-5 record, 59.7 completion percentage, 1,611 yards, 8 TDs, 14 INTs, 4 fumbles, 6 times sacked, 5.3 adjusted yards per attempt, 68.3 passer rating

Committing 18 turnovers in six starts is a really tough look. Barkley's first start of the season, which came in Week 12 after Jay Cutler suffered an injury, was promising enough. He threw for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns and nearly led a late-game comeback, though he did throw two interceptions. His next two games, if less exciting, weren't terrible, as he avoided throwing any interceptions and went 1-1.

Week 15 was arguably the hardest game to evaluate. The bad? He threw three interceptions and lost a fumble against the Packers in a loss. But he did keep the game incredibly close, leading the Bears to a game-tying field goal with less than two minutes to go. It unfortunately wasn't enough to keep the Packers from kicking a game-winner as time expired.

With a 1-3 record under his belt, Barkley headed into the final two games of a lost season ... and the wheels came off. He had five interceptions in Week 16, then two more and a fumble in Week 17. Barkley has only played in three games since.

His career 6.14% interception percentage is far and away the worst in the NFL over the past decade, with Brett Favre (5.31%) in second and DeShone Kizer (4.63% -- see below) in third.

8. Brady Quinn, Kansas City Chiefs | 2012

Stats
10 games, 8 games started, 1-7 record, 56.9 completion percentage, 1,141 yards, 2 TDs, 8 INTs, 1 fumble, 21 times sacked, 4.2 adjusted yards per attempt, 60.1 passer rating

There's a reason Quinn didn't play in any more NFL games after 2012 despite being a member of the Seahawks, Jets, Rams and Dolphins in different capacities. The Notre Dame stud who threw 37 touchdowns and seven interceptions in his senior year of college had only 12 touchdowns in his entire NFL career. However, he easily hit the interception marker, including throwing eight in eight starts during the 2012 season.

Only one of those starts can be considered a good outing, in which he completed 19 of 23 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns while committing no turnovers. What's crazy to think about is that Quinn started seven other games and didn't throw a single touchdown in any of them. It doesn't come as a shock that the only game he won was in his two-touchdown contest against the Panthers, going 0-7 in the other games.

7. Jimmy Clausen, Carolina Panthers | 2010

Stats
13 games, 10 games started, 1-9 record, 52.5 completion percentage, 1,558 yards, 3 TDs, 9 INTs, 9 fumbles, 33 times sacked, 4.1 adjusted yards per attempt, 58.4 passer rating

This isn't how you want to start out your NFL career, especially as a second-round pick who was touted as a potential early first-rounder heading into the draft. Fumbled snaps, errant throws and bad interactions with teammates -- ahem, ahem, Steve Smith, ahem -- set the tone for what would be a brief NFL career for Clausen. It all started in his first career start.

He's one of only six quarterbacks in the history of the NFL to fumble three times in his first game, joining Blaine Gabbert, Gardner Minshew and Nick Foles. However, Clausen is the only one who lost more than one of those fumbles. He also threw an interception, took a sack for an eight-yard loss and was unable to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals, a 4-12 team in 2010. The Panthers were 1-9 in his Clausen's starts and 2-14 overall in this season.

6. DeShone Kizer, Cleveland Browns | 2017

Stats
15 games, 15 games started, 0-15 record, 53.6 completion percentage, 2,894 yards, 11 TDs, 22 INTs, 9 fumbles, 38 times sacked, 4.5 adjusted yards per attempt, 60.5 passer rating

Speaking of ways you don't want to start your career as a second-round draft pick, Kizer's start was pretty rough. But playing for Hue Jackson's 0-16 Browns didn't do him any favors either. Kizer was asked to boil the ocean, and it just wasn't going to happen.

Still, it's hard to justify a quarterback in any situation turning the ball over 31 times in 15 games, unless you're Jameis Winston and you're also scoring 31 times in that span. Kizer wasn't. His best attribute was his legs -- they better have been, considering he led the league in interceptions despite throwing the 19th-most passes in the NFL -- but he was a liability when it came to ball security as well.

Not great for a player who once called himself a blend of Tom Brady and Cam Newton.

5. Andrew Walter, Oakland Raiders | 2006

Stats
12 games, 8 games started, 2-6 record, 53.3 completion percentage, 1,677 yards, 3 TDs, 13 INTs, 13 fumbles, 46 times sacked, 4.2 adjusted yards per attempt, 55.8 passer rating

I was just pegging Barkley's 18 turnovers in six starts as a rough look. So, what about 23 in eight starts? That's what Walter did in 2006. But while Barkley also threw for eight touchdowns across those appearances, Walter only mustered up a pathetic trio of scores, accounting for a touchdown percentage of 1.1%. Only two rookies with more than 200 passing attempts have ever had a lower figure (Ryan Leaf and Clausen).

What Leaf and Clausen didn't do was get sacked 46 times and fumble the ball 13 times, losing 10 of them. Walter started in only one more game after the 2006 season.

4. Doug Pederson, Cleveland Browns | 2000

Stats
11 games, 8 games started, 1-7 record, 55.7 completion percentage, 1,047 yards, 2 TDs, 8 INTs, 4 fumbles, 17 times sacked, 3.5 adjusted yards per attempt, 56.6 passer rating

I'm not sure what inspired so much confidence in the Browns after seeing what Pederson, then 32 years old, had done for the Eagles in the season prior in 1999, his first year with starting responsibilities. He went 2-7 in his starts, tossing seven touchdowns and nine interceptions with a low completion percentage (52.4%).

Somehow, it got worse in Cleveland to start the new millennium. Pederson averaged 95 yards gained per game -- yes, really -- and had only one win at the helm for the Browns.

And NFL's Research Twitter page didn't let him forget about it in since-deleted tweets.

3. JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raiders | 2009

Stats
12 games, 9 games started, 2-7 record, 48.8 completion percentage, 1,287 yards, 3 TDs, 11 INTs, 9 fumbles, 33 times sacked, 3.5 adjusted yards per attempt, 50.0 passer rating

The bust of all busts after being selected No. 1 overall in the 2007 draft, Russell certainly wasn't what the doctor ordered in his first year as a starter for the Raiders in 2008, when he led them to a 5-10 record.

But that wasn't the worst of what the Raiders would see from Russell. That's what next season was for. He went 2-7 in his starts in 2009, proving to be much slower and clumsier (from 7.5 yards per carry in 2008 to 2.4 yards per carry in 2009) than initially expected -- not to mention heavier -- and not doing much to inspire confidence with his arm.

2009 would be the last year in which Russell played an NFL game.

2. Derek Anderson, Cleveland Browns | 2009

Stats
8 games, 7 games started, 3-4 record, 44.5 completion percentage, 888 yards, 3 TDs, 10 INTs, 5 fumbles, 11 times sacked, 2.7 adjusted yards per attempt, 42.1 passer rating

From leading the Browns to a 10-5 record in a Pro Bowl campaign in 2007 to being the least valuable quarterback in the entire NFL by using Pro Football Reference's approximate value metric, Anderson had quite the transformation.

Anderson's passer rating in 2007 (82.5) nearly double what he achieved in 2009 (42.1). His adjusted air yards per attempt -- a passing statistic that incorporates passing yardage, sacks, touchdowns and interceptions -- plummeted from 6.7 to 2.7, ranking among the worst we've ever seen.

It would be his last season in Cleveland -- a stint he ended with a bad taste in his mouth. Anderson experienced a slight bounce back with the Cardinals in 2010 and then spent the bulk of his remaining career as a backup to Cam Newton.

1. Alex Smith, San Francisco 49ers | 2005

Stats
9 games, 7 games started, 2-5 record, 50.9 completion percentage, 875 yards, 1 TD, 11 INTs, 11 fumbles, 29 times sacked, 2.4 adjusted yards per attempt, 40.8 passer rating

Throughout the 2010s, there were few quarterbacks better at limiting interceptions than Smith, whose interception percentage of 1.5% was the fifth-best figure out of 52 quarterbacks who threw at least 1,000 passes in the decade. Smith's mark trailed only Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Tyrod Taylor and Patrick Mahomes.

That's part of why it's so crazy that no rookie quarterback in the past 40 years has had a higher interception percentage than Smith did in 2005, when he was drafted No. 1 overall. His 0.6% touchdown percentage was pathetic. In his first start, we went 9-of-23 for 74 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions. The game in which he threw for the most yards -- 185 against the Cardinals in Week 13 -- also featured him throwing three interceptions. In fact, Smith had zero touchdowns and 10 interceptions after six starts, though he finally tallied a score in the final game of an abysmal season.

However, the 49ers knew that he was going through some injuries and that they had just passed up Rodgers, so they decided to ride it out a little longer. Luckily, Smith didn't make them regret that decision. His performance throughout his career has nearly made us forget about his horrid debut campaign, and his most recent display of bravery, resilience and perseverance makes it hard for us to criticize him at all.