Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater goes through four pairs of gloves a game. He wears them for early warm-up and then another pair during the pregame warm-up. After halftime he gives away a pair to a fan and he does the same after the game.
That gloves have become such a part of Bridgewater's NFL gameday routine should not come as a surprise.
Bridgewater, who grew up in Miami, has worn gloves on both hands since enrolling early at Louisville in 2011.
"He's been playing with gloves for a while," Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor said. "It's something that he's used to."
But Bridgewater shed them for his Louisville pro day before the 2014 NFL draft, and the results were disastrous. Considered by many as that year's best quarterback prospect, Bridgewater threw so many ducks that he nearly dropped out of the first round.
Bridgewater, though, is not the only quarterback who swears by them. Whether it's because of their smaller hands, various injuries or cold or wet conditions, some passers depend on the better grip provided by the gloves.
As far back as 1985, Jim McMahon wore gloves on both hands during the Bears' memorable Super Bowl run, though he was rebelling against popular trends rather than setting them.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who is obviously particular about his grip on the football -- perhaps you've heard of Deflategate -- wears a glove on his non-throwing hand and also has occasionally worn one on his right throwing hand during cold weather. Ditto for Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
"Certainly a lot of guys are going to them," Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith said, "especially in cold weather."
Taylor plays his home games in frigid Buffalo. Like several quarterbacks he adopts the Michael Jackson method, wearing a glove on only one hand. Taylor uses one on his left (non-throwing hand) -- regardless of whether it's a warm or cold day.
The extra grip of the tackified glove on his off hand makes it easier to catch a shotgun snap for Taylor, who rarely lined up under center in Week 17, but he said wearing one on his throwing hand would feel uncomfortable and is unnecessary.
"My hands are big enough where I can grip the ball," he said. "I don't really have a problem."
Bridgewater, though, does have small hands for a quarterback, so the gloves can provide better grip. Former CFL and NFL quarterback Doug Flutie, who was listed at 5-10 during his playing days, had similar issues.
During a bitter cold day in Calgary, he tried the gloves. He said it helped him throw about five yards farther and with a tighter spiral.
The Bills brought Flutie back to the NFL in 1998, and he led them to the playoffs while earning Pro Bowl honors.
Flutie was not the only player to wear gloves on both hands as part of his comeback.
When quarterback Kurt Warner replaced an injured Matt Leinart late in the 2006 season for the Cardinals, the veteran, who some considered washed up, tried gloves on both hands and threw the ball so well that he wore them the rest of his career, passing for 11,753 yards, 83 touchdowns and 45 interceptions during his final three years in the NFL.
During the middle of Arizona's 2008 Super Bowl season, Warner broke his index finger. He tried tossing the football once without the glove and could barely throw it.
Peyton Manning never wore gloves during the first 14 years of his career regardless of the weather. After undergoing four neck surgeries, however, he experienced numbness in his fingertips and needed gloves to improve his grip.
He went with gloves during his spectacular, MVP-winning 2013 season when he set NFL records for passing yards (5,477) and touchdown passes (55).
So if they have helped Flutie, Warner and Manning experience career resurgences, why don't all quarterbacks wear them?
Doing so can mess with a quarterback's delivery. The gloves are now designed with such good grip that they can almost stick to the ball, potentially forcing the passer to hold the ball longer and alter the release point.
"You kind of have to change your throwing motion up a little bit 'cause you do grip the ball longer than what you're used to," said Aaron Murray, the SEC's career leader in passing yards and touchdown passes. "You can't release it the same way. You have to adjust it a little bit."
The former Georgia star wore gloves only once, when he was playing in an unseasonably cold Liberty Bowl in Memphis during his freshman season in 2010.
Now with the Chiefs, Murray is the No. 3 quarterback behind the starter, Smith, who had never practiced or played with gloves until facing the Chargers during a Dec. 13 downpour at Arrowhead Stadium, which Kansas City won 10-3.
"I tried them out in pregame and felt OK with it. I felt like I could get a decent grip on the ball so I just went with it," Smith said. "I knew we had some of that ballhandling stuff in the shotgun and I just felt good with it."
As the weather turns to snow and conditions becomes blustery during January playoff games, look for more quarterbacks to wear gloves on their off hand or both hands.
"It's cold, hands are dry, balls are a little bit harder to grip," Murray said, "so you want that extra little tackiness."
-- Follow Jeff Fedotin on Twitter @JFedotin.
