Quarterback Josh McCown announced his retirement, and subsequent career pivot to ESPN, on Monday and, while that may seem like a small blip on the radar for the lay football fan, his 16-year, 10-team career in the NFL was quite significant, especially toward the end.
McCown helped define the newest era of high-end backup quarterbacking. I did a story on his relationship with Sam Darnold back in October and while there have been great backup quarterbacks in the past (Trent Dilfer used to inscribe bottles of wine for Matt Hasselbeck with every touchdown he threw), McCown’s style took on a different significance under a collective bargaining agreement that meant less practice and meeting time and more pressure on individual players to prepare.