Matt Leinart was the 10th overall pick in the 2006 NFL draft, and after four years, 15 touchdown passes and 20 interceptions, the Cardinals cut him. But Leinart doesn’t think that makes him a bust.
Instead, Leinart just thinks he suffers from comparisons with Kurt Warner, who was expected to serve as Leinart’s veteran mentor but instead reinvigorated his own career while Leinart’s career stalled.
Leinart was asked in an interview with ESPN Radio in Los Angeles whether it’s fair to call him a bust, and he said that it would be more accurate to call him someone who couldn’t beat out a great player in Warner.
“Kurt Warner played himself into the Hall of Fame in the last three years,” Leinart said, via SportsRadioInterviews.com. “There’s not a lot I can do about that. I battled with a Hall of Famer two training camps in a row. I thought I competed as well as he did and obviously Kurt was a great player. He took us to a Super Bowl. I truly believe he got himself into the Hall of Fame those last couple of years.”
OK, but what about 2010, when Warner was retired and Leinart failed to win the job, even though he entered training camp as the clear favorite?
“Last year with everything that happened it just didn’t work out,” Leinart said.
And so Leinart spent 2010 in Houston, where he never got on the field. When the lockout ends, Leinart will be a free agent looking for a team to give him another chance.
“For me hopefully that situation comes up this year and I can thrive and show I belong in the league and I can play,” Leinart said, “because I know I can and that’s what I plan on doing.”