Ray Lucas

Early life

Lucas was born out of wedlock, while his father, Tom, was serving in Vietnam. His mother became pregnant by another man. Later, Tom married Ray's mother and raised him as his own. Lucas is a graduate of Harrison High School. He played college football at Rutgers University.

Early career

Lucas spent most of his career in the NFL in a backup role. During the 1999 NFL season, after quarterback Vinny Testaverde was injured in the first game of the season, Rick Mirer took the helm, winning four of ten games. Lucas took over afterward and lost his first two starts but won his next four games to give the Jets an 8–8 record for the season.

Lucas was a favorite player of Bill Parcells during Parcells' time in New England and with the Jets, and was one of the players Parcells eventually brought over from the Patriots to the Jets. Parcells introduced Lucas in 1997 by putting him in at quarterback with second string QB Neil O'Donnell lined up at wide receiver. Lucas set up in a shotgun formation and ran the ball himself for 15 yards, befuddling the Vikings defense in a play that eventually led to a Jets victory. He attempted his first NFL pass in Week 17 of 1997 against the Detroit Lions. Lucas went 3 of 3 for 28 yards before throwing an interception. He was also called for a personal foul when making the tackle on the interception return. Lucas started in the Jets' 1999 preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers, and Parcells had him in the running for the starting and second-string quarterback role during that season. After starting QB Vinny Testaverde was injured later that season, Lucas started several games.

Later career

Following his success with the Jets, Ray Lucas spent the 2001 and 2002 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. As the team's backup quarterback, he didn't see much playing time during the 2001 season (only having three pass attempts), but during the 2002 season Lucas got an opportunity to start six games. Due to his large size, he was also the quarterback of choice during goal-line and some red zone situations. The Dolphins began the 2002 season 5-1, but after then starting quarterback Jay Fiedler broke his thumb during a Monday night game against Denver, Lucas was trusted to quarterback the Dolphins for the next six games. During those games, Lucas amassed 4 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, and a 69.9 QB rating.

Ray Lucas holds the unenviable distinction of worst single game quarterback performance by any Dolphin. On October 20, 2002, in one game against the Buffalo Bills, Lucas was responsible for 6 turnovers: 4 interceptions and 2 fumbles. He completed only 13 passes to Dolphin receivers. The player that caught the most passes from Lucas was Buffalo Cornerback Nate Clements.

Post-career

On March 28, 2008, Lucas was named to the Hudson County Sports Hall of Fame.

In 2014, Lucas co-wrote the book "Under Pressure: How Playing Football Almost Cost Me Everything and Why'd I'd Do It All Again"

Broadcasting career

Lucas currently works for SportsNet New York as an analyst to Jets programs such as pre-game and post-game shows and weekly updates.

In 2009 Lucas joined the Rutgers Football Radio Network as a color analyst, a role he still has.