Beuerlein was drafted by the Los Angeles Raiders in the fourth round of the 1987 NFL Draft, but suffered a season-ending injury in preseason play. He played college football at Notre Dame prior to the NFL. In 2004, Beuerlein joined CBS Sports as a game analyst for The NFL on CBS, where he travels each week during the season to NFL venues in order to provide color commentary for games. Beuerlein also occasionally calls college football games for CBS.

He made his NFL debut in 1988 under new head coach Mike Shanahan, starting and winning the season opener against the San Diego Chargers 24-13, his first game in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum since upsetting USC in college two years prior. The Raiders would lose Beuerlein's next two starts in close games, including a loss to the crosstown Los Angeles Rams, where Beuerlein threw for 375 yards, then the third-highest total in Raiders history.

In July 2004, Beuerlein signed a one-day contract with the Panthers to retire as a member of the team. Commenting on the decision to retire with the team, Beuerlein stated "This in my mind was the way it was meant to be. I couldn't think of a better way to bring this 17-year run to an end. My heart has always been here with this organization and when I sat back and decided I wanted to step down, there was no doubt I wanted to do it as a Carolina Panther.