He was the first Pro Bowl quarterback in franchise history.

He also made one of the first, great memorable plays in franchise history.

Mark Brunell arrived in Jacksonville via trade. By the end of the Jaguars' first season, 1995, he was the starting quarterback – and after a memorable career that included some of the signature moments in franchise history, he was inducted into the Pride of the Jaguars.

Brunell, the first player acquired in a trade by the Jaguars, played for the franchise from 1995-2003, and made three Pro Bowls. He moved into the starting lineup in 1995, quarterbacked the Jaguars to four playoff appearances, two AFC Championship Games and two AFC Central titles and was the standout player in one of the most memorable games in franchise history.

That was the AFC Divisional Playoff victory over the Denver Broncos in the 1996 postseason, a game the Jaguars won, 30-27, at Mile High Stadium in Denver and the signature game in the team's run that season from 4-7 to an AFC Championship Game loss in New England.

The Jaguars, after qualifying for the postseason with victories in their last five regular-season games, rallied from a 12-0 deficit to upset the No. 1-seeded Broncos in an AFC Divisional Playoff game.

Brunell threw for 245 yards and two touchdowns in the game, rushing for 44 yards – with his 29-yard scramble in the fourth quarter leading to a 16-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jimmy Smith that clinched what at the time was the biggest postseason upset in NFL history.

Brunell, a fifth-round selection in the 1993 NFL Draft by Green Bay, was traded to the Jaguars in the spring of 1995 for a third- and a fifth-round selection in that year's draft. He began as the backup to veteran Steve Beuerlein, but took over as the starter by the end of the team's expansion season that year.

"I thought he (Beuerlein) would be the starter for '95, maybe '96 and '97 – you don't know," Brunell said. "I was a young player. I didn't know how good I could be. I wanted it, but that doesn't get you very far. You have no idea where it will go. All you're thinking about is, 'I want to get my shot.' I got my shot honestly a lot earlier than I expected to."

Brunell, the Pro Bowl Most Valuable Player in 1997, owns nearly every Jaguars passing record as of 2024. He started 117 of 120 games played, completing 2,184 of 3,616 passes for 25,698 yards with 144 touchdowns and 86 interceptions – all of which remain team records.

Brunell, who started for the Jaguars from 1995-2003, was traded to Washington in 2004. He spent four seasons with that franchise, three more as a backup with the New Orleans Saints and his final two seasons as a backup with the New York Jets. He finished his 17-year career with 32,072 yards and 184 touchdowns with 108 interceptions.

Brunell said in a very real sense he grew up in his early years in Jacksonville not only as a player, but as a person.