When the franchise used the seventh pick of the 2003 draft on Marshall’s broad-shouldered passer, the plan was to usher in a new era under center. Byron Leftwich didn't wait long to take the reins, inheriting the huddle four weeks into his rookie year when Mark Brunell went down and instantly giving fans a taste of his cannon arm and cool composure in a 2,819-yard introduction.

His sophomore season was defined by raw grit. Armed with a long, wind-up release and an ironclad pain threshold, Leftwich repeatedly stood tall against rushing defenders to feed Jimmy Smith down the seam. He directed four fourth-quarter comebacks in 2004, pushing the team to an 8–6 mark in his starts while compiling 2,941 passing yards and 15 touchdowns.

That trajectory hit its highest gear in 2005. Guiding an efficient attack to an 8–3 start, he protected the ball with precision—throwing 15 touchdowns against just five interceptions for an 89.3 passer rating. Yet, right as the offense hit its stride, a broken ankle in late November brought his regular season to an abrupt halt, setting off a string of health setbacks that altered his role in North Florida.

After ankle surgery limited his output to six games in 2006, a summer position battle in 2007 ended with David Garrard earning the nod, prompting the front office to cut ties with the former first-rounder before the regular season kicked off. Leftwich spent the second half of his playing career providing high-end backup insurance across stints in Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Pittsburgh—picking up a Super Bowl XLIII ring with the Steelers—before making a seamless leap into coaching, where he called plays for Tampa Bay's Super Bowl LV championship run.

His run in Jacksonville yielded a 24–20 record, 9,042 passing yards, 51 touchdown passes, and eight rushing touchdowns.