Former SMU QB Signs with Detroit Lions

by **MrMustang1965** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 3:26 am

from the Detroit Free Press:

Quarterback Joey Harrington's disappointing stay with the Detroit Lions probably is over after the team added its second free agent quarterback in three days.

Josh McCown, a former starter for the Arizona Cardinals, agreed yesterday to a two-year, $6 million contract with the Lions. The move came two days after former Cincinnati Bengals starter Jon Kitna agreed to a four-year, $10.5 million deal.

The Lions already had Dan Orlovsky, a fifth-round draft pick last year from Connecticut, and they recently signed Shaun King. Harrington reportedly has informed club officials that he feels it's time for him to move on, and the Lions likely will trade or release him. He would receive a $4 million roster bonus in mid-June if he's still with the team.

Harrington was the third overall selection in the 2002 draft from Oregon but has failed to establish himself as a reliable NFL quarterback. He was in and out of the starting lineup last season, sharing the job with Jeff Garcia, and was blamed by cornerback Dre Bly for the late-November dismissal of coach Steve Mariucci.

by **PonyPride** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 9:48 am

Congratulations, Josh. Good luck in Motown.

by **DanFreibergerForHeisman** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 1:52 pm

This is great news for McCown. I'm still mad at Cavan for running him off. He had the potential as a QB to put SMU back on the national college football map.

Just look at the proof - he's in the NFL and a highly courted free agent.

by **EastStang** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 3:02 pm

He went from a team that just added a great running back and some wide-outs to a team without a line. Great move Josh. Good luck with that.

by **PonyPride** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 3:35 pm

Is Detroit's offensive line any worse than Arizona's? I honestly don't know. But detroit also has some talented WRs (Roy Williams, Mike Williams, Charles Rodgers if he can ever be healthy) and a very talented RB in Kevin Jones. I'd say it's about a wash.

by **tmustangp** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 2:06 am

DanFreibergerForHeisman wrote:This is great news for McCown. I'm still mad at Cavan for running him off. He had the potential as a QB to put SMU back on the national college football map.

Just look at the proof - he's in the NFL and a highly courted free agent.

cavan did not run him off.. he was a horrible qb and could not grasp Larry Kueck's offense(former O coordinator at marshall w/ moss).. when i was a frosh in 2000 josh led the nation in INT's late in the season w/ 21 i believe or in that area..
he is a great athlete but he is not a good qb, the fact that he can grasp an nfl offense is a miracle in itself..

by **MrMustang1965** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 2:09 am

EastStang wrote:He went from a team that just added a great running back and some wide-outs to a team without a line. Great move Josh. Good luck with that.

AZ has no line, either. Plus Kurt Warner is going to be the starter in AZ for another year.

Allen Park, MI (Sports Network) - The Detroit Lions signed their second free- agent quarterback this week on Friday, when the club agreed to a two-year contract with former Arizona Cardinal Josh McCown.

McCown's signing comes three days after the Lions inked veteran Jon Kitna to a four-year deal and likely signals the end of Joey Harrington's ill-fated tenure in the Motor City.

The 26-year-old McCown was Arizona's regular quarterback for the 2004 season and threw for 2,511 yards and 11 touchdowns in 14 games (13 starts) that year. He began the 2005 campaign on the bench when the Cardinals signed Kurt Warner in the offseason, but got in six starts when the former NFL MVP was injured.

McCown finished last year with 1,836 yards, a 60.4 percent completion rate, nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions in nine games. He had two of the league's top five passing efforts, a 398-yard performance against Carolina on October 9 and 385 versus San Francisco the previous week.

The four-year pro is expected to battle Kitna for the starting role and the club also drafted prospect Dan Orlovsky last season. That means Harrington, who hasn't met expectations since being taken with the third overall pick in the 2002 draft, could be on his way out. He is due a $4 million bonus if on the Lions roster on June 15.

by **Jim Rome** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 4:35 am

tmustangp wrote:cavan did not run him off.. he was a horrible qb and could not grasp Larry Kueck's offense(former O coordinator at marshall w/ moss).. when i was a frosh in 2000 josh led the nation in INT's late in the season w/ 21 i believe or in that area..
he is a great athlete but he is not a good qb, the fact that he can grasp an nfl offense is a miracle in itself..

If he can grasp an NFL offense -- even the Cardinals' offense -- then "grasphing" Kueck's offense was not the issue. A dead man could learn Kueck's offense. McCown has ability, and it shows when he isn't running for his life, playing from behind all the time and/or looking over his shoulder after every dropped pass to see if he's getting pulled. He's not Peyton Manning, but he can play.

by **that's great raplh** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 9:20 am

he was a quitter

scru him

by **The PonyGrad** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:16 am

Actually McCown is probably the best no-line QB in the world. He was usually under severe pressure while at SMU and still put up some really impressive yardage totals.

That seems to be his strength in the NFL and one that will not win him any championships. :shock:

by **McAndless** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 12:55 pm

tmustangp, as a budding member of the media, you prove what is wrong in the fundamentals of that industry. Josh's transfer has much to do with his inability to make the plays he wanted, whether it be for a combination of about 10 factors, but most importantly the opportunity to avoid a Mickey Mouse run in his last attempt to make it to the NFL.

But to say he couldn't pick up Kueck's offense is ridiculous. Get your facts before spouting some empty "HSO"

Give the man credit for staying the course in life he wanted more than anything else. He truly is a solid person who knows who and what he is, and I couldn't be more happy. There isn't a more deserving person this school has seen in a very long time. And over the next 2 years he'll knock down a cool $6 mil, so I'm sure ponyfans.com arguing his decisions and calling him out will really mean alot to him and his family.

by **Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 7:21 pm

tmustangp wrote:cavan did not run him off.. he was a horrible qb and could not grasp Larry Kueck's offense(former O coordinator at marshall w/ moss).

Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't Cavan suddenly change offensive philosophy and terminology in the middle of McCown's sophomore season only to go back to the original philosophy a few games later? I recall reading an article where Josh said he was very frustrated with the whole situation. I can imagine it being absolute chaos when the coaching staff doesn't know what it wants run. How can you expect your QB to know if his coach can't even figure it out. BTW, I was able to locate the article.

http://archive.profootballweekly.com/co ... 031802.asp

by **Tshoot** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 5:37 pm

Horrible QB??? Now I'm really confused. The guys gonna make 4-6 mil as one of only 96 people in the entire world to be on an NFL roster as a QB. ( not bad, even by SMU rich kid standards) How freakin horrible can he really be? Sounds like sour grapes to me.

by **MFFL02** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 6:20 pm

Seems like he just wasn't a right fit in the SMU system.

by **DallasDiehard** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 7:02 pm

Tshoot wrote:Horrible QB??? Now I'm really confused. The guys gonna make 4-6 mil as one of only 96 people in the entire world to be on an NFL roster as a QB....

Absolutely right. And Detroit wasn't the only team interested.Good luck in Detroit, Josh.

Former SMU QB Signs with Detroit Lions

Former SMU QB Signs with Detroit Lions

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