Its been a rough last couple of days have been rough for former big name quarterbacks around the NFL. It just goes to prove that success in College, high draft picks, and even success early in your NFL career is not a guarantee of a long and productive NFL career.
In New England, the story is that former Florida Gators superstar Tim Tebow has been cut. After leading the Denver Broncos to the AFC West division title in 2011, its been nothing but downhill for Tebow. Given the amount of time he spent looking to even get a tryout this off-season, this may be in the end of the road for Tebow in the NFL. Luckily for Tebow, his CFL rights are owned by the Montreal Alouettes, who have star QB Anthony Cavillo sitting on the sidelines with a serious concussion. Would they be interested?
In Buffalo, the Bills have cut former Heisman Trophy winner and 10th overall draft pick Matt Leinart after just 5 days with the team. It says a lot about what they think of Leinart’s 3/10 with 2 interceptions performance against the Lions on Thursday Night when you consider that the Bills are planning on starting Jeff Teul at QB in the season opener. Teul will be the first undrafted rookie QB to start a week 1 opener in the NFL since the institution of the draft. The Bills also placed Kevin Kolb on season ending IR with a severe concussion. Luckily for Buffalo, first round pick E.J. Manuel doesn’t appear to be far off, and he’ll be the starter when healthy.
In Green Bay it looked like Vince Young would be the backup quarterback to Aaron Rodgers after the Packers cut Graham Harrell two weeks ago. However the Packers have decided to cut the man who led Texas to the 2005 National Championship, was the NFL Draft’s 2006 3rd overall pick, 2006 NFL Rookie of the Year, and a two-time Pro Bowler. Young didn’t play last season after being cut by the Buffalo Bills. Like Tebow and Leinart, the future chances of a continued NFL career are very much in doubt.
In Carolina, former Notre Dame Fighting Irish star quarterback Jimmy Clausen has been cut by the Panthers. Clausen never lived up to his status as a 2010 second round draft pick. Considered one of the top QBs coming out of college that year, he had a 58.4 QB Rating in 10 starts (13 games) as a rookie. The last two years he has not played despite being Cam Newton’s backup.
In New York, reports indicate that Geno Smith has won the New York Jets quarterback competition over incumbent starter Mark Sanchez. We already knew that Sanchez would miss at least week one with a shoulder injury, however it would appear that the Jets brass are prepared to have him on the bench even when healthy. With an $8 million due on Sanchez’s contract this season, the Jets must question if they are prepared to keep such an expensive backup. However with much of that being guaranteed, they may not have much choice. Its quite the fall for the only QB in NFL history to lead his team to a conference Championship game in each of his first two NFL seasons, but Sanchez is best known for last Thanksgiving’s Butt Fumble against the Patriots.
Also in New York, reports indicate that the Giants have cut David Carr. Carr was the first overall pick in the 2002 NFL draft, but is one of the biggest draft day busts in the last 20 years. After 5 disappointing seasons with the Houston Texans, he has bounced around the NFL as a journeyman backup with the Panthers, Giants, 49ers, and Giants again. He was Eli Manning’s backup and earned a ring as a member of the Giants Superbowl XLVI winning team.
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