It has been a long time since the glory days of Vince Young, but Cleveland is giving the former Texas QB a shot at making their team. Young was the star of one of the greatest college football title games in history. Unfortunately, that was the pinnacle of his football career. He did some good things in the NFL early on in Tennessee, but never got back to the level of his collegiate legend. Young has not been on an NFL roster since 2011 when he played for Philadelphia, and tossed nine interceptions compared to four touchdowns. That says a lot about his absence from the league since that time. But Cleveland must believe he has something left in his tank, and I would imagine he needs the paycheck.
Anyone that has romantic ideas about Vince Young reviving his football career, should squash those emotions before they get disappointed. The Browns need a backup QB, nothing more. And to be honest, Vince Young should count himself lucky to make the roster as a backup on any team. I realize that may be hard to hear for a Vince Young fan. Someone who may have been awed by what the quarterback did at Texas, likely finds it hard to believe their hero just fell off when it came to the pro league. But it happens all the time. His signal calling opponent in that BCS title game back in 2005, Matt Leinart, fared no better at becoming a professional quarterback. Some guys are just not cut out to make it in the NFL, no matter how talented they appeared to be at the college level.
In college, Young was surrounded by great players that were recruited to come to his school. They were the best of the best. So Young had all kinds of weapons at his disposal. When a quarterback gets to the NFL, he has to work with what he has on the roster. His coach cannot just go out and recruit a new offensive line for him. That is the big difference in thriving as a college quarterback and just surviving in the NFL.
It will take a big turnaround for Young to stick as a backup for the Browns. He has so much baggage, but if he has truly dedicated himself to his craft, he could make it. We all have seen backups that stay on NFL rosters for years. Most of those guys had about 20% of Young’s talent as a quarterback. But they did something right, because they managed to hang around on teams for a long time. Mark Brunell was older than dirt and managed to earn a check as a clipboard holder for years. Brady Quinn somehow keeps getting NFL jobs, and the list goes on and on.
These players are not the best that the world has ever seen, but they know how to keep their noses to the grindstones and offer value as a reserve. Vince Young was one of the best quarterbacks college football ever witnessed. That claim to fame is what made it hard for him to stay in the NFL. He was maybe too talented and did not work as hard as others. So once his starter status was ripped away, his pride would not let him accept being a backup. But now, being a reserve must seem like a dream job to the guy. Hopefully for him and his fans, he can hang on in Cleveland a while longer.
Thank you for reading. Ron Leyba is the lead editor of Fantasy Football Overdose, and a LastWordOnSports Analyst. For more of his NFL articles, follow his updates at NFL Fantasy Football Rankings Facebook or follow him on twitter @ronniedare. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
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