“I don’t really feel like it was my game,” the quarterback said about why he has been a non-factor in the league for the last several years.”I just really feel like [it was] some of the off-the-field issues.
“I really feel like teams don’t want their quarterback to be in a position where they’re distracted,” he told NFL AM. “I was young at the time, and I put my trust in a lot of people. I was getting taken advantage of. Basically, I’m the victim of the situation. Just got to clean up that mess, just to let teams know I’m a little bit more mature than I used to be. I’ve grown a whole lot.”
He said the death of teammate and mentor Steve McNair, who was shot to death, greatly affected him during that period.
As a more mature, happily married man who has to endure losing much of the money he earned during his career, Young said he is primed to prove to the teams that he deserves another chance.
“I pray that I’ll get an opportunity, but if not, [the pro day workout] was worth the try,” he said. “I know I can be a big asset to a lot of the teams in the NFL right now. Just to let them know I’ve been staying on top of my game, just in case that opportunity (does) come.”
Young said he recently sent a letter to St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher, his former coach with Tennessee, apologizing for his actions during their time together.
“I definitely wanted to apologize for the things that I did, letting him know about the frustration, a lot of different things that was going on in my life at the time, and want him to know that I really did appreciate him trying to make me become one of those type of leaders on the team, a successful quarterback,” he said.
He said during his time with the Titans he was “immature and not paying attention and not listening, and taking my frustration out on a lot of people wasn’t the right thing to do.”
“I’m hoping (Fisher) the best in his career and I hope I get the same opportunity to finish my career [in the way] that I want to finish it in,” he said.
The Titans selected Young No. 3 overall in the 2006 draft, but he failed to live up to lofty expectations and was released by Tennessee in 2011. He had one season with the Philadelphia Eagles and signed with Buffalo, but he was cut before the 2012 season began.
He said during his year out of the league, he has worked with noted quarterback guru George Whitfield in an effort to stay sharp.
