[1] Huard was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 1996, and played twelve seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, and Kansas City Chiefs.

[1] Born in Yakima, Washington, Huard was raised southeast of Tacoma in Puyallup, where his father Mike was a high school teacher and head football coach.

After graduation from high school, Huard attended the University of Washington in Seattle, where he redshirted in 1991, the Huskies' national championship season.

Wearing jersey number 7, he started for the first time in 1993 under first-year head coach Jim Lambright, and continued as a starter through 1995.

As a junior in 1994, Huard led the Dawgs to an 18-point victory over the Miami Hurricanes at the Orange Bowl, halting their nine-year home winning streak at 58 games.

Huard posted a 4–1 record before Marino returned in November, finishing the regular season with eight touchdowns, four interceptions, and 1,288 passing yards.

Huard appeared in his first game as a Patriot in 2002, leading a touchdown drive in a blowout win over the New York Jets on September 15.

[8] In the Chiefs' 2007 training camp, Huard competed with second-year Brodie Croyle, the team's third-round draft choice in 2006.

Following the season, Scott Pioli, the Patriots' director of player personnel during Huard's tenure in New England, was hired to be the Chiefs' general manager.

Huard signed with the San Francisco 49ers on March 4, 2009, and competed for a job behind Alex Smith with Shaun Hill and 2009 fifth-round pick Nate Davis; he was released on September 1,[9] and retired.

The University of Washington announced in June 2013 that former Husky quarterback Damon Huard had taken a new role as Chief Administrative Officer of the football program.

[11] His younger brothers were also quarterbacks at Puyallup: Brock also started at Washington and in the NFL, and Luke played at North Carolina.

[1][3][17] His son, Sam Huard, plays quarterback at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo after starting his college football career at Washington.