Dennis Dixon got a Super Bowl ring as a practice squad player for the NFL Champion Baltimore Ravens last season, but now his five-year pro career might over after being cut today by the Philadelphia Eagles and Coach Chip Kelly.
Kelly also released Will Murphy, a free agent receiver and former Duck. The first-year coach has to let 9 more players go before Saturday’s deadline. As of now Patrick Chung, Casey Matthews and Jeff Maehl remain on his roster.
Dixon appeared in only 5 games as a pro, all in Pittsburgh over his first three years in the league. In all he was 35-59 passing for 402 yds., one touchdown, two interceptions. At Philadelphia he played sparingly even in practice, never getting a live rep with the ones or the twos as the team focused on eventual starter Michael Vick, backup Nick Foles, and fourth-round draft pick Matt Barkley of USC.
Dixon stands tall: #10 at Oregon, Dennis Dixon provided thrills and uncanny decision-making as the smooth operator of the Quack Attack in 2007, reaching #2 in the country before a devastating late-season injury (Elsa photo, Getty Images)
The former Webfoot star was a Heisman Trophy candidate in his senior season at Oregon before falling to a knee injury against Arizona. In that fabulous campaign in 2007, Chip Kelly’s first as Duck offensive coordinator, Dixon threw for 2136 yards and 20 touchdowns, completing 67.7% of his passes with just 4 interceptions. He also ran for 586 yards and 9 more scores, dazzling the country with his ball fakes and artistry darting out of the pocket. He hurt the knee on a fourth quarter scramble against Arizona State on November 3rd, but tore the ACL completely the following week on the road against the Wildcats, falling in a heap as he tried to make a cut.
The Ducks were 8-1 and number two in the country when Dixon went down. It was a Thursday night game on ESPN, and earlier in the quarter he’d cruised for a 39-yard touchdown run on a zone read keep. The Ducks led 8-0 after a two-point conversion, and missed a chance to go up 15-0 when a pass bounced off Jamere Holland’s shoulder pads in the end zone. On the next series DD limped off the field, and everything fell apart after that.
Football reminds us again and again that it’s a cruel, beautiful game. Dixon has a college degree and he’s five years vested in the NFL pension plan. NFL Practice Squad players make $6,000 a week, but Dixon has two previous seasons as a practice player and may not be eligible. Other roster cuts around the league in the last few days include quarterbacks Trent Edwards at Chicago and Graham Harrell with the Jets, so the Duck great’s options are limited. Chip Kelly made him a superb college quarterback that Oregon fans will always remember, the prototype for Marcus Mariota. The fake Statue of Liberty keeper in the 2007 Michigan game is one of the iconic plays in Duck football history, one that signalled that both Dixon and the flashy offense were ready for their national close-up.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
