Over the course of his NFL career, he played in 79 games, completed 891 of 1,707 passes for 10,760 yards, threw 59 touchdowns and 64 interceptions, and retired with a passer rating of 67.7.
7 A graduate of Boyd High School and Texas Tech University, Tolliver was selected in the second round of the 1989 NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers.
"[3] His fortunes continued to sink when in a game in late October against the Rice Owls, he was benched, and backup quarterback Monte McGuire rallied the team to a victory.
[4] However, Tolliver regained his starting job and brought his team to the 1986 Independence Bowl as Texas Tech won six games for the first time since 1978.
[6] Tolliver began his junior year facing Florida State, a game in which he suffered a hairline fracture in his foot, leaving him doubtful for the match.
[15] He was to compete with Mark Malone and David Archer for the starting job, a spot which eventually went to Jim McMahon after the Chargers traded for him.
As the 1989 season began with McMahon at the helm, Tolliver was slated to play the second half of the final preseason game against the Phoenix Cardinals.
Tolliver finished the season having played five games with 89 completions in 185 attempts, 1097 yards, five touchdowns, eight interceptions, and a 57.9 quarterback rating.
After training camp and a preseason in which Tolliver started and was relieved by quarterbacks Mark Vlasic and rookie John Friesz, Chargers head coach Dan Henning named Vlasic as the starting quarterback against the Dallas Cowboys in the season opener, saying that he was "steadier" than Tolliver.
"[22] Tolliver finished the season having completed 216 of 410 passes, thrown for 2,574 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions, and posting a QB rating of 68.9.
[19] Although Tolliver had the confidence of Dan Henning, Chargers general manager Bobby Beathard and owner Alex Spanos were unsatisfied with his production during the 1990 season, and were looking towards Friesz as the future quarterback.
[23] Tolliver was the leading man for the starting quarterback position as training camp for the 1991 season began, with Friesz battling Bob Gagliano for the backup spot.
[24] Just a few days after losing the starting job, Tolliver was traded to the Atlanta Falcons for a fifth-round draft pick.
[25] In Atlanta, Tolliver was the backup quarterback behind Chris Miller and alongside rookie Brett Favre, and played part of seven games throughout the season.
With one second left, he threw a 44-yard Hail Mary pass to Michael Haynes, which was caught for a touchdown and sealing a 17–14 upset victory.
Tolliver played two of the first eight games, then was named the starting quarterback when the Falcons lost Miller for the season as a result of reconstructive surgery on his left knee.
[36] He was originally the third-string quarterback, but ineffectiveness by Bucky Richardson led Tolliver to relieve him in a game against the Cleveland Browns.
[38] Tolliver signed a three-year contract worth about $1 million with the Shreveport Pirates of the Canadian Football League before the 1995 season began.
[39] Early in the season, Tolliver got to compete against former teammate David Archer in the San Antonio Texans' CFL debut.
In October 1996, Tolliver rejoined the Falcons as the third-string quarterback, this time sitting behind Bobby Hebert and Browning Nagle.
[43] Tolliver was slated to compete with Tommy Maddox for the backup quarterback spot at Atlanta as training camp rolled around.
[47] In early November, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Elvis Grbac was lost for the season due to a broken collarbone.
[55] A couple of weeks later, Tolliver had bounced back from his injury by "treating himself with some WD-40" and was named the starter in the December 12 game against the St. Louis Rams.
[56] Tolliver was again injured the following week against the Baltimore Ravens, putting an end to his season, which he finished with a 51.9 completion percentage, 1,916 yards, seven touchdowns, 16 interceptions, and a QB rating of 58.9.
On August 1, the Saints traded for quarterback Aaron Brooks, which left Tolliver to compete for the third-string spot alongside Jake Delhomme.
However, he was cut on August 21, 2001, when Doug Pederson won the backup job, and this stint marked the end of Tolliver's professional career.