Believe it or not, Vince Young is only 31. He has not suffered any major injuries, any physical injuries, that is. He has every reason to believe he can make it back to the NFL as a quarterback.
That’s why he, after saying he had given up on a return last season, has apparently reversed himself and has signed up for the league’s new veteran combine on March 22.
A look around the NFL makes one wonder how Young is not in the NFL. He has size, arm strength, mobility and experience. A closer looks sees backup QBs that hardly bring what Young could to a team.
How did the No. 3 pick in the 2006 draft end up so out of the mix?
His head. Not that he could not think the game; Young could. But once his confidence faded, it was hard to recover.
Still, Young showed in the Cleveland Browns’ camp last year that he’s better than the likes of Christian Ponder, Zach Mettenberger, Charlie Whitehurst and Brandon Weedan, among others. All those less than ordinary players picked up NFL paychecks last season while Young sat at home. Again.
Young last took a regular-season snap with the Eagles during the 2011 season. He latched on with the Buffalo Bills, the Green Bay Packers and the Browns over the past three years. He was released in each case in favor of players with no clear-cut skill advantage.
The rejection left Young dejected. He already had become borderline depressed about his playing status and became a laughingstock when word spread that he had blown all the millions he made from his contracts with the Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles.
Last June, after being released by the Browns, he told an Austin, Texas TV station that he considered himself retired. He didn’t mean it, though. If he did, he would not have said that he would attempt to comeback if there was an “ideal” situation for him.
“It’s definitely official I think in my book,” he said then. “Unless we get a great opportunity, something guaranteed…other than that I’ve started moving forward in some things. I love the NFL, will love the game always but I’m kind of moving forward and moving on right now.”
It was a premature position. And it’s a good thing that the NFL created this veteran combine and that Young sees the value in using it to his advantage.
Think about it: Young flashed playmaking ability in the NFL and won the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year award in ’06. But he never maxed out his potential. He went the other way, in fact, based primarily on not bouncing back from a confidence crisis. That is a legit concern—the QB has to believe he can direct the team. Other quarterbacks with less talent and who accomplished less in the league remained on NFL rosters. Hard to say it was fair or unfair. But it was curious.
In any case, many teams need quarterbacks now, and Young, hopefully, is desperate enough to work harder than he ever has and still talented enough—and able to impress with that talent—to earn another spot on a team.
