It’s been a long road in the NFL for quarterbacks Josh McCown and Luke McCown. Born in the same month two years apart, 36-year-old Josh and 34-year-old Luke will start on Sunday for the Browns and Saints, respectively.
As PFT Live producer Rob “Stats” Guerrera quickly determined when I blurted out the question during Friday’s show, the McCown brothers last made starts at the same time on December 9, 2007.
That day, Josh started for the Raiders against the Colts, and Luke started for the Buccaneers at the Texans. (Coincidentally, the Buccaneers play at the Texans again today, also for the first time since December 9, 2007.)
Nearly eight years later, they’re still playing in the NFL -- and they’ll be playing at the same time, with Josh starting for the Browns against the Raiders and Luke starting for the Saints against the Panthers.
“Just understanding how rare it is to have a brother play in this league is humbling enough, but I think one day we will take a step back and look at the the number of years that went by between us both starting and will appreciate this even more,” Josh McCown told PFT on Saturday. “Just knowing the ups and downs both of us have gone through, makes me thankful for the example of hard work and perseverance our family set for us growing up.”
No one ever will confuse the McCowns for the Mannings, but in some respects what the McCowns have done is even more impressive. It’s easy to keep playing when you’re a franchise quarterback at the top of the NFL salary structure. It’s harder to keep playing well into your 30s when it’s a year-to-year proposition as an interchangeable part battling for a spot on the depth chart.
A 13-touchdown, one-interception performance for the Bears in 2013 earned a starting opportunity for Josh in 2014 with Tampa Bay and again in 2015 with Cleveland. Even after last week’s Johnny F. Football performance, Josh McCown is starting again, which means that the coaching staff still regardshim as giving the team the best chance to win.
For Luke, Sunday’s game is the first of what could be multiple opportunities to prove in 2015 what Josh proved in 2013 -- that Luke now resides in the thirty-something sweet spot where extensive knowledge and experience intersects with lingering physical skills, and that Luke perhaps should have a chance to compete to be a starter on one of the various teams that don’t have one of the Manning brothers or another clear-cut franchise quarterback.
Either way, the return of the McCowns to starting lineups on the same day should make Sunday a little more interesting. For folks who relish examples of hard work and persistence and continuing to play football even when not actually getting to play very much, Josh and Luke McCown playing on the same day is as almost as compelling as Peyton and Eli Manning playing against each other at the same time.