As he attempts to persuade some NFL team to give him another chance, Vince Young says he wants every team to understand that his off-field issues are behind him.
Young said on NFL AM that although he has been a distraction at times in his NFL career, that largely stemmed from his financial difficulties -- difficulties that he believes are not his fault.
“I really want teams and organizations to know that I was young at a time and I put my trust in a lot of people, and I was getting taken advantage of,” Young said. “Basically, I’m the victim of the situation. So I’ve just got to clean up that mess, just to let teams know I’m a little bit more mature than I used to be, I’ve grown a whole lot, and I just want teams to understand that you’re getting a little bit more mature quarterback that understands the professionalism of the game.”
Young also acknowledged that he made mistakes during his time with the Titans, where he was a two-time Pro Bowler but eventually got dumped by coach Jeff Fisher. Young said he recently sent a letter of apology to Fisher for not handling things the right way during their time together, and he also said he doesn’t think it was his play on the field that derailed his career. Instead, Young believes off-field issues are the reason he is currently a free agent just hoping for some team to give him a shot.
“I don’t really feel like it was my game, I just feel like it was some off-the-field issues, with some of the things that, as I was cleaning up a lot of the mess outside the field, I really feel like teams don’t want their quarterback to be in that position, of being distracted,” Young said. “It was nothing about my game, it’s just those things have to be cleared up before I get that opportunity.”
Young says those things are now cleared up. It remains to be seen whether he gets that opportunity.