You all know where I am going with this, don’t you? Read on for more….
With news coming late yesterday that JaMarcus Russell was released by the Oakland Raiders, I would have to imagine our own Ryan Leaf has to be smiling just a little bit. Hell, it was less than three weeks ago, in an LA Times article, Leaf was quoted as saying:
“I used to go to bed at night hoping somebody else like Heath Shuler might magically leapfrog me on those all-time bust lists…I can’t even think of anyone else in the ballpark that might be close to my combination of disappointment and failed expectations.”
Well Ryan, it’s very possible that dream of yours might come true, in the form of the 2007 #1 pick. Now, JaMarcus is still only 24 years old, so it isn’t like his career is necessarily over, at least not yet. But he is going to be starting over, elsewhere, and will likely only be holding a clipboard from now on every Sunday.
Who else out there needs a starting QB? Arizona doesn’t know what they have in Matt Leinart, do they? And speaking of busts at #1, the 49ers have unproven commodities in Alex Smith and David Carr. Maybe Minnesota, if #4 hangs it up for good (yeah, right!)? For the money, my pick is Russell is going to wind up in the arms of our old pal Mike Holmgren in Cleveland, backing up Seneca Wallace or Jake Delhomme for at least a few seasons.
Since the inception of the common NFL draft in 1967, the only other #1 pick to be released three years into his career is, you guessed it – the University of Washington’s Steve Emtman (although it was more due to injuries than ability). But the debate is officially here as to who is the Biggest QB Bust in NFL Draft History. Let’s take a look at some others and then cast a vote, shall we?
JaMarcus Russell: 7-18 as Starting QB. 52% Pass Completion. 18 TDs, 23 INT, 15 lost Fumbles, 65.2 Passer Rating.
Russell has been paid more than $5 million per win, more than $2 million per touchdown pass and more than $100,000 per completion. According to ESPN, he was fined for being overweight when he showed up at training camp. In 2009 he put together one of the worst seasons in recent memory for an NFL quarterback; completing 48.8 percent of his passes, with three touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a 50.0 passer rating that was the lowest since Leaf, Bobby Hoying and Craig Whelihan all finished below 50 in 1998. The best thing he has given us is the beer pong rule named after him. You know, any shot that doesn’t touch a single cup…
Ryan Leaf: You know the drill. After taken #2, behind Peyton Manning in the 1998 draft, Leaf completed 48.4% of his 600+ attempts. Leaf threw 14 TDs vs. 36 INT on his career, for a passer rating of 50.0. Retired after only four seasons, playing only in San Diego and Dallas, while appearing on the roster of both Tampa Bay and Seattle. Leaf’s guaranteed signing bonus was $11.25M.
Akili Smith: Smith first started for the Bengals in 1999 coming out of the University of Oregon, taken with the third pick of the NFL Draft. He completed 215 of 461 pass attempts (46.6%) for 5 TDs and 13 INT. Smith was sacked 59 times on just over 500 dropbacks, and had a passer rating of 52.8. Smith signed a 7 year, $56M deal as a rookie, in addition to a $10.8M signing bonus!
Joey Harrington: I wasn’t going to include Joey on this list, until I had fun taking shots at another Duck (Akili Smith). Harrington has lasted the longest in the league of all these guys, after being taken #2 overall in the 2002 draft. He has completed 56.1% of his 2,538 pass attempts, with 79 TD’s and 85 INT’s, with a career passer rating of 69.4. My question is how did a guy with this bad of numbers get seven seasons spread across four teams to prove himself? Harrington’s rookie contract was for $36M over six seasons, with a $6M signing bonus.
Cade McNown: After a great career at UCLA that ended with a Rose Bowl appearance (UCLA plays 6 or 7 games a year at the Rose Bowl just never in January), McNown was drafted 12th overall by the Chicago Bears. He completed 281 of 515 pass attempts (54.6%), for 16 TD, and with 19 INT, giving him a passer rating of 67.7. Interesting note, he rushed for an impressive 486 yards on 82 carries in his two seasons as a starter, for a 5.9 YPC.
So there you have it, my list of the Five Biggest QB Busts in recent NFL Draft History. I was going to include the likes of Tim Couch, Todd Marinovich (or as Glenn Johnson once referred to him, Todd Marijuanavich), or non-QB’s like Lawrence Phillips and Ki’Jana Carter, but decided against it.
With that, on our blog, you can see the poll of the biggest QB busts. Please go right ahead and vote who you think is the worst of all time!
Finally, speaking of former Cougar QBs, one time walk-on Mike Reilly was claimed this week off of waivers by the Seahawks. Reilly came to Wazzu in the same class as Alex Brink after playing his high school ball in Kennewick and Kalispell, Montana. He joined the Furness Show yesterday, and boy you can sure here the fire in this kid’s belly. Best of lucky to you Mike, and welcome to Seattle.
That is all for today, and as always, Go Cougs!
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