Gibran Hamdan

American gridiron football player (born 1981)

Gibran Latif Hamdan (born February 8, 1981) is a former professional American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and NFL Europa. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the seventh round of the 2003 NFL draft. He played college football at Indiana. Hamdan was also a member of the Amsterdam Admirals, Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, and Buffalo Bills. He is the first person of Pakistani descent to play in the NFL.

Hamdan's mother was a 16 year old from Pakistan when she married his father, a nuclear engineer of Palestinian descent who attended the University of Illinois met her on a business trip. Hamdan was born in San Diego, but his family moved to Kuwait when he was three. The family—which includes his younger brother, Bush—was on vacation back in San Diego when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991, destroying the family home and possessions. The Hamdans stayed in the U. S., and his mother took a job cutting hair until the family eventually settled in Potomac, Maryland.

Hamdan attended Indiana University where he posted 2,115 yards and nine touchdowns during his senior year for the Indiana Hoosiers. Though he was impressive in training camp, the team originally decided to keep just two quarterbacks entering the regular season. He was on the team's practice squad the first ten weeks of his rookie season before being signed to the active roster. He suited up for all five of the remaining games, and Hamdan finally made his NFL debut on December 27 during the last two minutes of the game against the Philadelphia Eagles, achieving one first down while going 1 for 2 for seven yards. Hamdan played in NFL Europe in the spring of 2004, where he was backup quarterback behind third year NFL Europe veteran Clint Stoerner. He was released by the Redskins in September following training camp.

Hamdan was out of the league until 2005 when he was signed by the Seattle Seahawks and once again allocated to NFL Europa. Though originally winning the starting quarterback job for the Amsterdam Admirals over Kurt Kittner, a broken collarbone cut short Hamdan's season. In the four games he started he posted 39 completions out of 75 attempts for a total of 556 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. He was once again released at the conclusion of training camp. of the season against Frankfurt Galaxy. He holds the record for average passer rating for the season in NFL Europe at 113.4. This would not be enough to make the Seahawks however, as he was waived on August 28, 2006. Hamdan suffered a concussion during the final preseason game against the Detroit Lions, a game in which he started. Hamdan was promoted backup quarterback for the last two games of the 2008 season pushing J. P. Losman back to third string, who had lost his starting role earlier that year to Trent Edwards. Hamdan was waived on November 19, 2009, in favor of Brian Brohm, who was signed off the Green Bay Packers' practice squad. The Bills re signed Hamdan on December 22, 2009, after injuries to Fitzpatrick and Edwards, with cornerback Terrence McGee going on injured reserve to make room for Hamdan on the roster.

On March 10, 2010, it was announced that Hamdan had signed a one year plus an option contract with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He retired from football on June 4, 2010.

Hamdan played youth international baseball for the United States U 15 national baseball team.

Hamdan is married to Jenny Grant, granddaughter of former head coach in the NFL and CFL Bud Grant. Hamdan's younger brother Bush is also a former quarterback who played at Boise State, and is currently the offensive coordinator at Kentucky. After football, Hamdan started his own fashion line.