Notre Dame Football: Biggest NFL Draft busts in program history
Notre Dame Football: Biggest NFL Draft busts in program history
Brady Quinn
Maybe we should have seen Quinn’s NFL career coming after no one wanted him in the NFL Draft, or maybe we can just blame it on being drafted by the Browns. Maybe we should just pretend his NFL career never happened.
Yeah, let’s pretend it never happened.
Quinn shattered records at Notre Dame, brought the program back to prominence despite having Charlie Weis as a head coach, and is arguably the best college quarterback in Notre Dame history, ahead of legends like Joe Montana.
When he started to slide at the draft, it became clear that something was off. Still, he went to Cleveland, who everyone expected to take him at the top of the draft anyways. Now, they had their guy at quarterback and an elite left tackle too.
It should have been a better situation for Quinn than had he been taken at the top of the draft. As it stands, Brady Quinn was taken 22nd overall in the 2007 NFL Draft, and he was the definition of a bust.
Quinn’s issues began when he couldn’t win the job from Derek Anderson, who then had the Browns winning games for the first time in a long time. Eventually, as it always does in Cleveland, that winning came to an end in 2008 and Quinn got his shot. He played well for his youth, but an injury to his throwing hand saw his play fall apart and end his season early.
The next year Eric Mangini took over in Cleveland, and he couldn’t decide on a quarterback either. Going back and forth between Anderson and Quinn, they both played looking over their shoulder, knowing that they didn’t have their coach’s trust. Another injury would end Quinn’s 2009 season and time in Cleveland.
From there, Quinn went to Denver and Kansas City. While in Kansas City, Quinn had a few more shots to start, though he lost chances due to injuries once again. Finally, Quinn went to the Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets, St. Louis Rams, and Miami Dolphins. He never played again. Today, he works as an analyst for Fox.