Atlanta Falcons (first stint) Schaub was selected by the
Atlanta Falcons in the third round of the
2004 NFL draft as the 90th overall pick. He was the fifth of seventeen quarterbacks taken in a quarterback-rich class, including
Eli Manning,
Philip Rivers, and
Ben Roethlisberger. In 2004, Schaub played in six games with the
Atlanta Falcons, including starting the Week 16 contest against the
New Orleans Saints, replacing the injured
Michael Vick. In 2005, Schaub was named the Most Valuable Player in the
American Bowl preseason game in
Tokyo, Japan. In front of 45,203 fans at the
Tokyo Dome, Schaub completed 11 of 13 passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns in a 27–21 comeback victory over the
Indianapolis Colts. During the regular season, he played quarterback in five games, starting one. His lone start came against the
New England Patriots in Week 5; Schaub threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns in the 31–28 loss. Schaub was the holder on extra points and field goals. In 2006, Schaub again was the holder on extra points and field goals. On the season, he finished with 208 passing yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
Houston Texans On March 8, 2007, the
Houston Texans acquired Schaub from the Falcons for second-round picks in
2007 and
2008. As part of the deal, the teams also swapped first-round picks in 2007, exchanging the Falcons'
10th pick with the Texans'
8th pick. Schaub was introduced to his new team at a press conference on March 22, 2007, and the same day, the Texans released
David Carr, opening the door for Schaub to become their long-term starter. quarterback
Kerry Collins.
2007 season In each of the first two games of the 2007 season, Schaub threw for over 220 yards, a 71% completion percentage, and attained a quarterback rating of over 100; both games were victories for the Texans, winning 20–3 over the
Kansas City Chiefs and 34–21 over the
Carolina Panthers. The second victory marked the first 2–0 start in franchise history. In Week 4, he started against his former team, the
Atlanta Falcons, in which he completed 28 of 40 attempts, with 317 yards and one touchdown in what would be his second loss of the 2007 season. Though Schaub was plagued with injuries throughout the 2007 season, he and backup quarterback
Sage Rosenfels improved on the team's 2006 record of 6–10, bringing the Texans to their first .500 season in franchise history with an 8–8 record in the team's short history.
2008 season Schaub returned as the starter for the 2008 season. He did not perform well in the first two games, losing to the
Pittsburgh Steelers and
Tennessee Titans but then had a great game against the
Jacksonville Jaguars despite another loss. He sat out the Week 5 loss to the
Indianapolis Colts. In Week 6, Schaub set the Texans franchise record for passing yards with 379 in a comeback win against the
Miami Dolphins in which Schaub scored the winning touchdown on a quarterback draw with 3 seconds left. Schaub helped teammate wide receiver
Andre Johnson lead the league in both receptions and receiving yards through Week 8 of the season, having 56 catches for 772 yards. The new quarterback-receiver tandem had their best day together through mid-season during the Week 8 matchup against the
Cincinnati Bengals where Schaub threw for 280 yards, completing over 85% of his passes (24 of 28), 10 of those going to Johnson for 143 yards in the 35–6 rout. Schaub's season was broken up however with a knee injury against the
Minnesota Vikings, which expected to keep him out for around four weeks, making Sage Rosenfels the new starter. Against the
Green Bay Packers in Week 14, Schaub recorded 414 yards and two touchdowns, also leading the Texans down the field to set up a
Kris Brown game-winning field goal. He earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his game against the Packers. He played well down the stretch and the team finished 8–8 for the second consecutive season despite starting 0–4.
2009 season In Week 2, against the
Tennessee Titans, Schaub had 357 passing yards and four touchdowns in a 34–31 victory. He earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his game against the Titans. On October 18, against the
Cincinnati Bengals, he had 392 passing yards, four touchdowns, and an interception in the 28–17 victory. During the
2009 NFL season, he led the Texans to a 9–7 record, the first winning record in team history. He led the league in passing yards (4,770), completions (396), yards per game (298), and passing attempts (583), while finishing fifth in touchdowns (29), compiling a quarterback rating of 98.6. He had nine games reaching at least 300 passing yards. He was selected to his first
Pro Bowl as an injury replacement to Patriots quarterback
Tom Brady, winning MVP honors.
2010 season There were high hopes for the Texans with the league's passing yards leader coming back for the
2010 year, but with the development of the running game, Schaub passed for 107 yards for a touchdown and an interception in a Week 1 victory against the
Indianapolis Colts. Hopes for strong start to the season were rejuvenated when Schaub threw for 497 yards in an overtime victory over the
Washington Redskins on September 19, 2010. In Week 6, Schaub earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his efficient game against the
Kansas City Chiefs in a 35–31 victory. Schaub finished the season with 4,370 passing yards, good for fourth in the league, but the team finished 6–10 and missed the playoffs.
2011 season In 2011, the Texans made numerous defensive improvements as Schaub led the Texans to its most successful season to date, helping guide his team part of the way to their first ever playoff appearance and clinching the first division title in Texans franchise history. Schaub started all 10 of the first regular season games, and while not on pace for one of his better seasons statistically, he helped his team reach a 7–3 record, the best start after 10 weeks in franchise history. After a Week 10 game versus the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Schaub was placed on IR with a
Lisfranc injury to his right foot after a quarterback sneak. Schaub was initially replaced by
Matt Leinart, who would go on to get knocked out for the season as well, leading to the eventual replacement by rookie
T. J. Yates. The team finished 4–4 (including their playoff games) without Schaub as the starting quarterback.
2012 season Schaub entered the 2012 season in the final year of the contract he signed when he initially joined the Texans back in 2007. After the season opening 30–10 win against the
Miami Dolphins, Schaub signed a four-year, $62 million extension with the Texans, keeping him under contract through 2016. During the Week 3 game against the
Denver Broncos, Schaub was illegally hit by Broncos defender
Joe Mays and was thought to have lost part of his earlobe on the play, however he suffered only a laceration. In Week 11 against the
Jacksonville Jaguars, Schaub threw for a career-high 527 yards and a career-high five touchdown passes in a 43–37 overtime victory for the Texans. Schaub's 527 yards is tied with Hall of Famer and former
Houston Oilers quarterback
Warren Moon for the second-most passing yards in a single game in NFL history, only behind Norm Van Brocklin's 554 yards passing in 1951 against the already defunct Boston Yanks. He earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his game against the Jaguars. In Week 12, during the
Thanksgiving game against the
Detroit Lions, Schaub was kicked in the groin by
Ndamukong Suh. Schaub rallied the Texans from a 10-point deficit to win once again in overtime, 34–31. After the game, Schaub said that he wouldn't want Suh on his team, calling him "not Houston Texan-worthy." Schaub finished the 2012 season with 4,008 passing yards, 22 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. Schaub was invited to the 2013 Pro Bowl. The Texans were tied with the
San Francisco 49ers for most players invited. Schaub helped lead the Texans to a 12–4 record and a spot in the postseason. In the
Wild Card Round against the
Cincinnati Bengals, Schaub had 262 passing yards and an interception in the 19–13 victory. In the
Divisional Round against the New England Patriots, he had 343 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in the 41–28 loss.
2013 season During the
2013 NFL draft, the Texans upgraded Schaub's receiving weapons with the selection of
DeAndre Hopkins in the first round. Schaub began the season against the
San Diego Chargers. Down 28–7 early in the 3rd quarter, Schaub led the largest comeback in Texans' franchise history with a 31–28 victory. Schaub finished the game with 346 passing yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. The next week against the
Tennessee Titans, Schaub again had to rally the Texans to a comeback victory. He finished the day with 298 passing yards, three touchdowns (including the game-winner to rookie
DeAndre Hopkins) and two interceptions in the Texans' 30–24 overtime victory. The next two weeks saw Schaub throw three interceptions, including two interceptions returned for touchdowns. In the following week against the
San Francisco 49ers, Schaub threw three interceptions, including a pick-six on his first pass attempt of the game. With that pick-six, Schaub had thrown a pick-six in four consecutive games, an NFL record. Local social media began tag lines such as, "Houston, we have a Schaublem!" In Week 6 against the
St. Louis Rams, Schaub was injured during the game, but his replacement
T. J. Yates threw another pick-6 to stretch the team total to five games. Despite recovering from an injured ankle, Schaub was benched in Week 7 in favor of
Case Keenum. Keenum started for the remainder of the season until he suffered a thumb injury, and Schaub became the starter in Weeks 16 and 17. For the 2013 season, Schaub played in 10 games with 2,310 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.
Oakland Raiders On March 21, 2014, the
Oakland Raiders traded their 2014 sixth round draft pick to the Texans in exchange for Schaub. He was benched to start the season in favor of rookie quarterback
Derek Carr. On October 26, 2014, Schaub made his first pass attempt as a Raider in the regular season against the
Cleveland Browns. It was a botched fake field goal that ended in an interception. Schaub was released by the team on March 16, 2015.
Baltimore Ravens On March 31, 2015, Schaub signed with the
Baltimore Ravens to be the back-up quarterback. His contract was for one-year, $2 million guaranteed and a $1 million signing bonus. Schaub was named the Ravens' starting quarterback for the rest of the 2015 season after
Joe Flacco suffered a season-ending injury by tearing his ACL and MCL during a Week 11 victory over the
St. Louis Rams. On November 30 against the
Cleveland Browns, Schaub started his first game since his tenure with Houston. He had a relatively good performance, throwing for 232 yards and two touchdowns, with ten yards rushing, despite another pick-six and a second interception with 56 seconds left in the game. The Ravens ended up winning after defensive end
Brent Urban blocked
Travis Coons's attempt at the game winning field goal and it was returned by safety
Will Hill for a walk-off touchdown, giving Schaub his first win in over two years. Schaub threw for 308 yards and a 41-yard touchdown the following week, but also had another pair of interceptions, one of which was again returned for a touchdown, in the 15–13 loss to
Miami. On December 13, after battling a chest injury, Schaub was replaced by
Jimmy Clausen as the starter. Schaub finished his stint with the Ravens starting only two games with a 1–1 record, throwing 540 yards, three touchdowns, and four interceptions.
Atlanta Falcons (second stint) On March 8, 2016, Schaub signed a one-year contract with the
Atlanta Falcons worth $2,750,000 with $500,000 guaranteed. Schaub backed up
Matt Ryan in Atlanta's successful season. The Falcons won the
NFC Championship, and earned a trip to
Super Bowl LI. Schaub appeared in four games in 2016, with a total of 16 passing yards. On March 8, 2017, Schaub signed a two-year, $9 million contract extension with the Falcons. He did not appear in any games in the 2017 season. In the 2018 season, he remained as the Falcons' main backup quarterback. In Week 5, a 41–17 loss to the
Pittsburgh Steelers, he was 5-of-7 for 20 yards in relief of Matt Ryan. On October 27, 2019, Schaub made his first start as a Falcon since 2005, due to Ryan being inactive with an ankle injury. Schaub finished the Week 8 contest with 460 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception as the Falcons lost, 27–20, to the
Seattle Seahawks. Despite the loss, Schaub's 460 yards passing were the second most passing yards in a single game by a Falcon all-time, the most ever allowed by the Seahawks against an opposing quarterback, and his 39 pass completions set a Falcons franchise record. On January 4, 2021, Falcons owner
Arthur Blank announced that Schaub was retiring from the NFL after 17 seasons, eight of them having been with the Falcons. == Career statistics ==