Former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Turk Schonert died Thursday at the age of 62, the team confirmed.
Schonert reportedly died of a heart attack in South Carolina, where he lived.
Schonert played nine seasons in the NFL, eight with the Bengals where he backed up Ken Anderson and Boomer Esiason. Schonert appeared in 72 games with 12 starts for Cincinnati and Atlanta, and he threw for 3,788 yards with 11 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.
He was remembered by his former Bengals teammates on social media, including former wide receiver Cris Collinsworth.
Lost one of my best friends of all time, Bengals QB Turk Schonert, on the left. If fun had a King, he would wear the Crown. So have a fun day today in honor of my pal Turk. pic.twitter.com/DyRifQXrv3
— Cris Collinsworth (@CollinsworthPFF) January 18, 2019
Schonert's most memorable game came in Week 1 of the 1981 season, when he was called on to relieve Anderson with the Bengals down 21-0 to the Seattle Seahawks and rallied the team to a 27-21 victory. Anderson returned as starter the next week and went on to be named NFL MVP as the Bengals advanced to Super Bowl XVI, losing to the San Francisco 49ers.
Schonert was also the Bengals' backup in 1988 when Esiason went on to be named NFL MVP and Cincinnati advanced to Super Bowl XXIII, also losing to the 49ers.
He later coached in the NFL as a quarterbacks coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers and New York Giants. He was the Bills' offensive coordinator in 2008. He had been coaching in the Canadian Football League since 2014 as the Montreal Alouettes' receivers coach.