Shaun King doesn’t want to say ‘blackballed,’ but he apparently thinks that the reason that Aaron Brooks, Daunte Culpepper, Byron Leftwich (and, oh…himself) don’t have jobs in the NFL is because they’re black.
Never mind that Culpepper turned down a $1 million offer this off-season, apparently still believing he deserves starters money and a chance to start. Despite not looking that good in his last healthy partial season, and showing signs that he isn’t the same player after a devastating knee injury.
Never mind that Leftwich will probably still get a call this summer, despite not being able to eventually beat out Joey Harrington or Chris Redman last year in Atlanta.
Never mind that Brooks never was seen as much of a leader, often seemed to crack under pressure, and in his last season playing in Oakland, threw only three touchdowns, while throwing eight interceptions and fumbling 13 times in just 8 games. I seem to remember questions about his willingness to put in the time studying too, but can’t say that for sure.
Never mind that King was always seen as having questionable arm strength, hasn’t played in the league since 2004, and hasn’t played regularly since 2000, a season in which he was ok (18 TDs to 13 Int), but not great (54.4 completion percentage).
There are a limited number of quarterback spots in the NFL. There’s a bunch of them that are occupied by solid starters, and/or the early draft picks. There’s always a bunch more occupied by rookies and young, unproven guys, as everyone looks for the next Tom Brady. And there’s a bunch of spots reserved for coaches favorite clipboard carriers, who have spent a lot of time as backups, and can serve as a mentor to the younger quarterbacks on the roster.
Leftwich is the one that seems to make the least sense for not having an opportunity right now–but I can’t say if he’s willing to accept not having a big chance to compete for the starting role, or if he’s much of a mentor role. Culpepper has shown that he’s not interested in being a backup, and his recent attitude would make me think most coaches would want to keep him away from your young QBs–but he could still get a chance. Brooks was considered a solid starter for a few years, but not recently. King never really fit any of the categories.
And there are plenty of examples of white guys who maybe should have gotten more of a chance too–Jesse Palmer, Doug Johnson, John Navarre, and Jonathan Quinn are just a few white guys who could probably claim that they never got a fair shake too. Maybe not as much experience starting, but a few of them had better college resumes than starting at Tulane, too.
And if King really thinks he deserves one last shot at the NFL, he would be best to shut his mouth about the issue. There actually is precedent for guys making comebacks after lengthy layoffs–Tommy Maddox after his XFL stint, and Chris Redman, since he was so familiar with the spread offense.
Of course, for every opportunity like that, there’s probably a dozen more like Jeff George, who still wants one last chance today, despite not playing since 2001.
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A few things.
Even though Culpepper did get one offer for $1M, that’s the going rate for David Carr and Joey Harrington. Carr and HArrington have never proven that they can be starters while Culpepper has been a pro bowl/MVP caliber QB. That suggests some inequality.
King and Leftwich went from franchise QBs to total outcasts early in their careers. King was ahead of the curve as a 2nd year starter in Tampa and never got another shot. Leftwich was a franchise QB in Jax and all of a sudden became someone nobody was interested in.
Contrast those two quarterbacks with Carr, harrington, Kyle Boller, Rex Grossman, Josh McCown and others. None of those passers is as accomplished as either King or Leftwich and they seem to get unlimited chances to stick.
Perhaps that’s just a coincidence but when you add in Aaron Brooks, who is certainly good enough to be a backup, you have to wonder if there’s a trend. It certainly looks like it.
Interesting points, but I’ll need to see a lot more before I consider it a trend.
The five white QBs you cite include two guys picked in the top 3 overall (Carr & Harrington), who have shown the occasional flash, and are probably on their last chances. Boller and Grossman were also both first rounders, and are both with their first teams, so it’s not like they’re bouncing around and getting recycled. McCown is a bit inexplicable, I’ll admit. I can only imagine that coaches are just in awe of the jaw.
I never really would say King was a franchise QB who was all that accomplished–he had one decent season as a starter, but when Gruden came in, didn’t think he could win with him (tough to argue, given that they won the Super Bowl that year).
Culpepper has been miserable in recent years–not just kind of bad, but miserable. He looked lost after the Vikings traded Moss, and then shredded his knee–he came back the next year with Miami, but didn’t appear to be recovered 100%, and from what I remember, he looked lost year with the Raiders. If he wants to get a starting job/contract at this point, he needs to take a backup role and hope he can outplay the starter in preseason to create a QB contreversy, or that the starter goes down. And getting that backup role likely won’t be easy, given his attitude of thinkin he should start, and his reputation for not being a great student of the game. He has a lot to prove. A new agent probably wouldn’t hurt either.
As I mentioned in the article, Leftwich is the one that doesn’t make sense–he should be given an opportunity somewhere, and I would think he will get a call before the regular season. I don’t know if he’s been waiting for a starting spot or what (he needs to prove it too, in my opinion), or if there are a bunch of teams that just don’t think he fits their system, or what.
Brooks could maybe deserve a shot to earn a backup role–but he too was terrible in his last season, and as the article that I linked to pointed out, was critical of Saints ownership following Katrina–not a way to endear yourself to the 32 guys who ultimately sign the checks in the NFL. And while that might mean that he’s “blackballed,” it’s not because he’s black–it’s because he’s preceived as an attitude problem.