Former Denver Broncos quarterback Craig Morton, who led the franchise to its first Super Bowl appearance in 1977, died Saturday at 83.
The Broncos announced Morton’s death on Monday in a post on X, but did not include a cause of death. The Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants also expressed condolences with posts on the platform.
A Flint, Mich. native, Morton first rose to fame as a collegiate star for the University of California in the mid-1960s. He led the nation in pass attempts, completions and passing yards in 1963 and 1964, the same year he recorded the most passing touchdowns in college football with 14.
We are saddened to learn of the passing of #BroncosROF quarterback Craig Morton, who died on Saturday at the age of 83.
Morton quarterbacked the Broncos from 1977-82 and led the team to its first playoff appearance and Super Bowl berth (XII vs. Dallas) in the 1977 season.
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— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) May 11, 2026
By the time he left school, he owned nearly every passing record in Cal history, and his success with the Golden Bears landed him All-American honors in 1964 and a College Football Hall of Fame induction in 1992.
Morton began his NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys, who selected him with the fifth pick of the 1965 NFL draft. For four seasons, he served as the backup and heir apparent for Don Meredith, playing on and off while Meredith weathered a series of injuries that ultimately ended his career in 1968.
Though Morton got the nod as Dallas’ starter once Meredith retired and had a promising start to 1969, a separated shoulder slowed him down and required offseason surgery. A year later, still recovering from the injury, Morton and legendary coach Tom Landry guided Dallas to the franchise’s first Super Bowl. The Cowboys would lose Super Bowl V, however, falling to the Baltimore Colts, 16-13, after the Colts hit a field goal with five seconds left.
Morton famously battled for starting duties against future Hall of Famer Roger Staubach throughout the 1971 season, but ended the year in his former role as Dallas’ backup. As somewhat of a consolation, Morton took home his first championship ring after Staubach dismantled the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI, 24-3.
Staubach suffered his own shoulder separation early in the 1972 campaign, and Morton again took the starting role. However, that run would prove brief, with Staubach claiming starting duties for good upon his return. Dallas traded Morton to the New York Giants, but his run from 1973 through 1976 never reached the heights of his Dallas tenure.
A resurgence was on the horizon. By 1977, the Denver Broncos had reached a plateau and were looking for new life. They found it with newly minted head coach Red Miller, a freshly dubbed “Orange Crush” defense and a 34-year-old Morton at quarterback. It would wind up being the crown jewel of Morton’s career.
The Broncos inducted Craig Morton, No. 7, into their Ring of Fame in 1988. (Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
Denver finished 12-2 that season, reaching its first playoff game since the franchise’s founding. Morton passed for 1,929 yards and 14 touchdowns, finishing second in MVP voting and winning Comeback Player of the Year. It culminated with the Broncos’ Super Bowl debut, making Morton the first quarterback to start in multiple teams’ first Super Bowl appearances.
Super Bowl XII pitted the Broncos and Morton against the Dallas Cowboys, the team that drafted him, and it was Staubach, the man who beat him for the starting job five years prior, who outplayed Morton on every front. The game ended in a 27-10 drubbing that saw a pummeled Morton throw four interceptions.
Morton recorded solid seasons from 1978 on, including a 1981 season in which he threw for a career-high 3,195 yards and 21 touchdowns, matching his career-best in that stat as well. Despite his efforts, the Broncos would not win another playoff game before Morton retired at 39 after the 1982 season. He suffered through knee injuries and started just three games that year. Then, for the second time in his career, Morton passed the torch to a future Hall of Famer, rookie quarterback John Elway.
“Just because the ending’s not a fairy tale doesn’t mean it’s sad,” Morton told UPI after announcing his retirement. “I’m certainly not sad about my football career.”
Morton’s 11,895 passing yards, 74 passing touchdowns, 1,594 pass attempts and 907 pass completions were all franchise records when he stepped away. Five years after he retired, the Broncos inducted him into their Ring of Fame in 1988.
The Broncos said Morton died “surrounded by his loved ones” in Mill Valley, Calif. He is survived by his wife, Kym, as well as their children and grandchildren.