He played in the NFL for the Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders, and Carolina Panthers.

Peete accepted a football scholarship from the University of Southern California, because head coach Ted Tollner had given him an opportunity to play quarterback.

In the fifth game against Stanford University, Peete replaced Salisbury in the fourth quarter and led USC to its only touchdown in the second half, sealing a 30–6 win.

Salisbury would struggle to a 4–4 record and was replaced with Peete as the starter in the ninth game, against the University of Washington, which was a 20–17 loss.

[3] For his efforts, he was the second player ever and the first Trojan to win the Johnny Unitas Award as the nation's best senior quarterback (since earned by Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart as well).

In baseball, Peete played second base and shortstop as a freshman; although he was limited with a strained hamstring, he batted around .260 as part of a losing team.

He suffered a pulled hamstring in the fourth game against the Green Bay Packers, which forced him to miss the next two contests.

He suffered a left pulled hamstring in the next game against the Washington Redskins, leaving with a 35–21 lead that the team could not hold, losing 38–41 in overtime.

Peete missed the next three contests and returned to action in the fourteenth game, against the Chicago Bears, helping the team score 21 first quarter points (franchise record), while throwing a career-high four touchdowns.

In 1991, Peete started the first eight games, before suffering a season ending Achilles tendon injury against the Dallas Cowboys.

In the fourth game, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he had 20-of-31 completions for 323 yards (career high) and one 78-yard touchdown pass.

He was the team's third-string quarterback behind Kramer and former Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware for the last four regular season games.

On May 3, 1994, Peete signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys, to replace Bernie Kosar as Troy Aikman's backup.

[10] In the seventh game, against the Arizona Cardinals, Aikman suffered a concussion on the first possession and Peete replaced him, throwing two touchdown passes in a 28–21 victory.

In the thirteenth game, against the Philadelphia Eagles, Peete started in place of an injured Aikman, tallying 172 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception in a 31–19 win.

In the season finale against the New York Giants, he entered the game with 4:49 minutes left in the first half, making 6-of-8 completions for 50 yards and no touchdowns in a 15–10 loss.

[11] New head coach Ray Rhodes, implemented the West Coast offense and named Peete the starter over quarterback Randall Cunningham, after the team got off to a 1–3 start.

On July 13, 2000, Peete was signed by the Oakland Raiders, reuniting with head coach Jon Gruden, who was his offensive coordinator with the Eagles.

[18] In 2003, after a weak showing in the first half of the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, head coach John Fox replaced Peete in the third quarter with Jake Delhomme, who then led the Panthers to a comeback victory.

Delhomme replaced Peete as starting quarterback for the rest of the season, leading the team to an 11–5 record and the Super Bowl XXXVIII game against the New England Patriots.

[citation needed] Rodney Peete currently serves as co-host (alongside former KNBC sportscaster Fred Roggin) of Roggin and Rodney, on Los Angeles sports radio station KLAC radio (570AM), focusing on Southern California sports.