(photo by Brian Murphy)
It’s no secret that quarterback is the most glamorous position in professional sports. Regardless of whether we’re talking about in the movies or in real life the story remains the same – the job comes with great responsibility, but successful signal callers get the girl and the big payday. That being said, how’d you like to be Jason Campbell this week?
Coming off his first full season as a starter, the Washington Redskins quarterback suddenly finds himself in the unenviable position of “where will I be this time next week?” Remember, this is a guy who eight games through the 2008 season was being championed by guys like Peter King as a possible NFL most valuable player candidate. Now, because his employer cannot help but fall in love with big-name star appeal, he very well might be house hunting in the very near future.
As everyone knows by now, Jay Cutler is on his way out of Denver. The Broncos, led by first-year head coach Josh McDaniels, thought they had a chance to acquire Matt Cassel from New England and made a play for him. For whatever reason, it didn’t work out and Cassel ended up in Kansas City. More times than not the general public never knows when trade talks like this take place, but Denver’s flirtation with Cassel backfired and alienated Cutler.
After earning a trip to the Pro Bowl and throwing for more than 4,500 yards and 25 touchdowns, Cutler felt disrespected that the Broncos would even consider life without him. Because Denver even contemplated the move, Cutler is now hell bent on making it a reality, allegedly refusing to return phone calls when the owner and/or head coach tried to reach him.
Which brings us back to Campbell. Wednesday should have been a low-key day off for the four-year veteran. He spent the day at a charity event and the evening with his girlfriend and teammate Renaldo Wynn taking in the Capitals hockey game against the New York Islanders. But during the course of the game, rumors were flying that the ‘Skins were very much involved in the Cutler sweepstakes and by the time the Caps secured the 5-3 win, ESPN was reporting that the Redskins were shopping Campbell for a second-round pick in the upcoming NFL draft in hopes of gaining more ammunition for a Cutler deal.
”I want to be here, I feel like there’s a lot I want to accomplish and that’s what I’ve been working to do, but you know it’s not in your control,” Campbell told the Washington Post yesterday. ”All I can do is just keep doing what I’m doing, working hard and waiting to see what happens.’
Campbell went on to say, “with all the stuff out there, you know crazy stuff happens in this league. You just have to be ready for anything.”
The most telling comment from Campbell came next.
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Note to self is a weekly sports column written for HoboTrashcan.
1 comment
April 2, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I’m split on this one as I’m not quite sold on Campbell as the franchise quarterback but I have my doubts about Cutler too. Part of me wants to blow up the entire roster and rebuild. But I also know that Dan Snyder will never do that. However, if they hadn’t spent all that money on Haynesworth and had a real GM, then maybe this wouldn’t have been an issue. And, even if they get Cutler, who’s going to protect him? Like you said, some things never change.
The only saving grace is that Campbell is handling this well — at least publicly.