At the conclusion of Stouffer's collegiate career, he gained notoriety when, after being selected by the
St. Louis Cardinals in the first round (sixth overall) of the
1987 NFL draft, he sat out what would have been his rookie year due to a contract dispute. The following April, the Cardinals traded Stouffer's rights to the
Seattle Seahawks for three draft picks, who listed Stouffer as third-string behind
starter Dave Krieg and veteran backup
Jeff Kemp in 1988. Krieg was sidelined in the third game with a
separated shoulder, and the following week Kemp was ineffective and was benched in favor of Stouffer by halftime. Stouffer endeared himself to Seattle fans in one play where, after stumbling and having his
nose broken when it collided with a teammate's elbow, he threw for a long gain resulting in a
touchdown against the
San Francisco 49ers. Stouffer filled in for nearly two months, until Krieg returned to the lineup in mid-November; Seattle won the division (
AFC West) with a 9–7 record, but lost in the divisional round of the
AFC playoffs to top-seeded
Cincinnati. Stouffer seemed to regress in the eyes of Seahawk coaches over the next couple of years, and fell back to third string, behind Kemp. Following the
1991 season,
head coach Chuck Knox was replaced by
Tom Flores and Krieg was released. Stouffer won the starting job in
1992, ahead of
Dan McGwire and
Stan Gelbaugh. Stouffer was injured in week 5, as the Seahawks started the season 1–4. After McGwire was quickly injured, journeyman Gelbaugh became the starter, yielding the job to Stouffer once Stouffer recovered. Stouffer, who seemed to have been showing a return to his rookie form just before his injury, was never the same, however, and Gelbaugh quickly became the established starter. The
following season, Stouffer was released; he was signed by the
Miami Dolphins to a
free agent contract in April 1994 but was released prior to the regular season. Two years later, Stouffer was signed by the
Carolina Panthers to a
free agent contract in March 1996 but was released prior to the regular season. ==After football==