Rest in Peace, Sonny

February 9, 2026

by Steve Thomas

Washington Redskins legend Sonny Jurgensen passed away last week at the age of 91 due to unknown causes that were not made public.

Jurgensen played for Duke University from 1953 to 1956 and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 1957 NFL draft.  He spent four years with Philadelphia where he was a backup before assuming the starting role in 1961.  The Eagles traded him to Washington in the 1964 offseason, where he remained throughout the rest of his career.  Jurgensen played for Washington until he retired after the 1974 season.  In total, he played in 218 games, starting 147, and 2433 passes in 4262 attempts, for 32,224 yards and a 57.1% completion percentage, 255 touchdowns, and 189 interceptions, for a career quarterback rating of 82.6.

As a Redskin, he played in a total of 108 games, with 135 starts, and completed 1831 passes in 3155 attempts, for a 58.0% completion percentage, 22,585 yards, 179 touchdowns, and 116 interceptions, for an 83.9 quarterback rating.  Statistically, his overall best season as a Redskin was 1967, in which he completed 288 passes in 508 attempts, for 3747 yards, all career highs, for a 56.7% completion percentage, 31 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions, for a quarterback rating of 87.3, also his career high.  The Redskins qualified for the playoffs in four seasons during his tenure, including 1971, 1972, 1973, and 1974.  The high water mark came in 1972 when the team made Super Bowl VII, played on January 14, 1973, in which Washington lost to the Miami Dolphins.

Jurgensen was a 2x First-team All-Pro, in 1961 and 1969, and 2x Second-team All Pro in 1964 and 1967.  He was also selected to 5 Pro Bowls, in 1961, 1964, 1966, 1967, and 1969.  He led the NFL in passing yards in the 1961, 1964, 1966, 1967, and 1969 seasons, and was the league-leader in passer rating in 1967, with 87.3.  He was a member of the 1960s All-Decade Team, and was selecte to both the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame and the Washington Ring of Fame.  Jurgensen was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983.

He is also a member of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame and the Duke University Sports Hall of Fame.

After his playing career ended, Jurgensen started a new career as a broadcaster, first for CBS before memorably pairing with fellow Redskins legend Sam Huff in 1981.  He and Huff were the voice of the Redskins on the radio for 32 years, until Huff retired after the 2012 season.  Jurgensen continued on with the team’s broadcast until he retired in 2019.

Sonny Jurgensen is undeniably one of the greatest quarterbacks to have ever played the game.  His raw stats can’t compare to the quarterbacks of the modern era due to the changes in officiating and the rules of the game, but Jurgensen was the top of his class for his time, and I have no doubt that with the benefit of today’s game, he would’ve posted numbers comparable to or higher than the best of recent times.

I’m too young to have seen Jurgensen play live, so my primary memories are of him being the voice of the Redskins on gamedays.   For me, he initially was a staple of my Redskins gameday experience, and it wasn’t until later that I learned what a great quarterback he truly was.  I think it’s clear that Sonny and Sammy Baugh are the two best quarterbacks in team history, and likely numbers 1 and 2 for players at any position.  I suspect that those of us who didn’t live through his playing career will never fully appreciate just how respected he was by the rest of the NFL and how well he compared to other quarterbacks of his era.

Thanks to my work here at The Hog Sty, I’ve analyzed many aspects of the team’s performance throughout its history.  I published a column on July 14, 2025, called “The best seasons by a Washington quarterback in team history” (you can read it by clicking here) in which I tried to compare seasons throughout team history while accounting for the differences in era.  I’m not going to repeat the analysis here, but suffice to say that Jurgensen and Baugh dominated in essentially every statistical category when adjusted for era.  Statistically, Jurgensen’s 1967 season was probably the second-best in franchise history, as adjusted, behind Baugh’s 1945.

In other words, the numbers back up the claims for Jurgensen’s greatness and impact on the game.  His second career as the voice of the Washington Redskins on both the radio and on some television broadcasts were one of the primary reasons for the development of our love for this franchise for those of us of my generation and younger who were unable to watch him play.  With his passing, I just hope that everyone remembers what a special player he was, and how much of a pillar of the Redskins franchise he remained for more than 55 years.

Rest in peace, Sonny.  We’ll never forgot you.  Leave your memories and thoughts of Sonny in the comment section below.