Tennessee Titans Volek was signed by the
Tennessee Titans in 2000 from free agency, after not being selected by any team in the
2000 NFL draft. He would see very little action during his rookie season, completing 0 of his 3 passes with no touchdowns and no interceptions. After such a small amount of play time, he would not be seen on the field again until the 2003 season, where he would make a name for himself as one of the
National Football League's more talented backup quarterbacks. In 2004, he became only the fourth quarterback in NFL history—along with
Dan Marino,
Dan Fouts, and
Phil Simms—to pass for over 400 yards in two consecutive games. It was announced on December 17, 2004, that he would be the
starting quarterback for the rest of the season for the Titans, replacing the injured
Steve McNair. McNair's injuries healed in time for the next season, and Volek backed him up once again, starting only one game. McNair was later traded to the
Baltimore Ravens during June 2006, allowing Volek the opportunity to truly earn the starting position. In late August 2006, coach
Jeff Fisher announced that the Titans intended to sign
Kerry Collins to compete with Volek for the starting quarterback job. In turn, it has been reported that Volek took issue with this decision and immediately asked to be considered for a trade.
San Diego Chargers On September 19, 2006, Volek was traded to the
San Diego Chargers for a conditional sixth round pick in the
2007 NFL draft after the Titans played the Chargers in their second game. Titans coach
Jeff Fisher has since publicly stated that Volek was untruthful with him and that this may have led to his eventual trade. Fisher was quoted as saying "He was untruthful with me, untruthful with his head coach, about where he was and what he was doing. So we started off on the wrong page there, and that did not sit well with me." The trade as a whole is considered to have been messy, and although he has criticized Volek for lying to him, Fisher has not revealed what the lie was, and instead also states that Volek never took advantage of his opportunities once told he was the starter. Many critics state that Volek took full advantage of his chances to become the starting quarterback, pointing towards the reasonably good preseason that the Titans had. Since the trade to San Diego in 2006, Volek saw spot duty behind
Philip Rivers. During the
AFC Divisional Playoff game against the
Indianapolis Colts on January 13, 2008, Volek replaced the injured Rivers and led a fourth-quarter comeback over the defending champions. He completed 3 of his 4 passes, including a 15-yard pass on his second pass attempt. He also scored his first touchdown of the year on a one-yard
quarterback sneak which allowed the Chargers to win the game, 28–24, and go to the 2007
AFC Championship Game against the
New England Patriots. On February 29, 2008, Volek signed a three-year contract with San Diego. On July 30, 2011, Volek signed a two-year contract with the Chargers. Volek was released on March 16, 2012. He announced his retirement on KMJNow News Talk Radio Show in May 2012. ==Career statistics==