Why Every Team Needs A Josh McCown

I often wonder how Brandon Marshall feels having publicly bashed the New York Jets in 2017 in extreme bitterness, not wanting to play for a team that he was certain would not win a game all year long. Brandon wasn't the only one who had that thought, but then something happened to the Jets; Josh McCown.

If the world had their way, the name Josh McCown would have been an asterisk in the annals of the history of the National Football League. Drafted in 2003 by the Arizona Cardinals after a record-breaking season in college as quarterback at Sam Houston State, McCown had risen above the rest to achieve the status few players reach, the milestone that allows you to wear the embroidered shield on your jersey with three well known letters, NFL.

But there are many who have donned that shield, some who were a great hope, but who have quietly exited the league and have never been heard from again.

And then, there's Josh McCown, and here's eleven traits to demonstrate why every team, whether sports, sales, radio station or any business needs a Josh McCown.

1. Never Gives Up
   Josh McCown has been picked up and dropped by more teams than John Mayer has starlets, yet he never stopped believing in himself, his skills, and even when the chips seemed down and McCown downgraded from the league to the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League, he gave it everything he had.
2. Loyalty
   While the quarterback for the Hartford Colonials, Lovie Smith and the Chicago Bears came calling McCown with that on-going carrot that says, "This Time, Will Be Your Time." But McCown, in a breakable contract with the Colonials, instead made the decision to stay in Hartford because as he put it, "I had children who were watching me. If I didn't follow through on commitment, what was I teaching them?"
   
   There were things that Josh McCown deemed more valuable than a quick upgrade of finances and a better look for his ego and one of those things is his word. "I felt like I needed to honor my contract and see it through," he said. And he did.
3. Pours into Others
   

   When in Charlotte playing for Carolina, it is recorded that McCown took a total of eight snaps as the back up to Jake Delhomme before the Panthers cut him loose.

   
   The Man Of Many Jerseys Josh McCown NFL Films

   Josh did go running to his next team, but it wasn't in the NFL, or the UFL, instead it was a high school team, Marvin Ridge High in Waxhaw, N.C. where Josh lived. McCown, gave of his time to share NFL level wisdom with kids whose greatest dreams at that moment was seeing the day when they'd get their braces off, or when the Pro Active would finally kick in for clearer skin, but there in their midst was this NFL caliber athlete, who had humbled himself, to help others seek purpose, on and off the field.

4. Patience
   There was no guarantee a team would come after McCown once his UFL contract was complete, but the same one that came for him then, came back; Chicago. And on Christmas Night 2011 on Monday Night Football, the skills of Josh McCown came to life. Unfortunately for him, it was against Aaron Rodgers in his greatest season with Green Bay. So when McCown sparked an offense that Jay Cutler had struggled to spark, the sports writers noticed his efforts, but the fans did not...YET!
5. Diligence
   In 2013, McCown took over for an injured Jay Cutler, once again, and for the first time in his career, his skills came together for a season that should have been one for the record books, except for one thing, McCown was taken out for a rehabbed Jay Cutler with only one more play to make it all official.
6. Rejoices in The Success of Others
   When Cutler returned, the biggest fan of Cutler's on the sidelines was Josh McCown. Cutler's less than stellar results created a debate among fans and sports writers about McCown vs. Cutler for the starting job, a debate McCown did not get involved in as he rooted Jay on for the hopes of the greatest results.
   
   

7. Stays Active and Competitive
   After Chicago, McCown went to Tampa with no guarantees of winning a job, but he outplayed Mike Glennon to take the top spot and started for Tampa Bay. He would repeat this phenomenon, winning starting jobs from younger players and rookies 15 years his junior in Cleveland and then for the Jets, when he surprised many by being the obvious choice over Christian Hackenberg.
8. Acts as a Resource
   Often, the most skilled players are the ones holding onto all their talents and not sharing what they know with those coming up. Before the Jets had ended up naming rookie Sam Darnold as the starter for the 2018-2019 season, McCown shared with the press that 'this youngster is the real deal, and the guy to lead this franchise for years to come.' McCown has relished his opportunity to share the wisdom he has gleaned over the years with Darnold, and just like he was with Cutler, he has been a great cheerleader for Sam as he has earned the top spot.
9. Diffuses Disappointments
   While McCown takes a step back, there is no question this is a hard time for him, but publicly he has been graceful in his words, giving accolades for Darnold and the only one who will truly know the depth of the impact of this to him personally will be his wife and family.
10. Keeps it Positive
    From the 2013 season in Chicago, to Tampa Bay to Cleveland to New York, the thing that has been said about McCown from his teammates is that his positivity in the locker room is energizing and game changing. In Chicago, some players were bold in stating that the difference between McCown and Cutler was always that McCown possessed positivity.
11. Takes Calculated Risks
    In his first season with Cleveland in 2015, in the first game on the schedule against the Ravens, McCown sacrificed himself as he ran the ball down field and leapt into the end zone, where he got clocked John Elway style, helicoptered and sustained an injury that kept him out most of the season; a fractured collarbone.

Cleveland was at a point where the fans had taken a lot of losing and there wasn't much belief that they were going to be much better than they had been in recent years, but Josh knew that if he could carry the team on his back and show he was willing to win at all costs that he could change the thought process of the team, the fans and the league.

The thinking was right. The risk didn't pay off, but had he scored without injury he may have produced the season he did for the Jets the prior year, despite the sportswriters' claims the Jets wouldn't win a game the entire season, and despite people like Brandon Marshall taunting them from the other New York jersey.

Marshall went to the Giants. McCown and the Jets won 5 games last year, were close on four others in the last minutes and McCown got to answer that question some had in Chicago about who should have stayed in Chicago after 2013; as he beat Cutler and the Dolphins quite soundly.

Brandon Marshall had to have been kicking himself, as the better situation on paper resulted in the Giants pitiful season with only 3 wins. Had Brandon stayed a Jet, those close games may have been victories and the team that wasn't supposed to win, just might have been in the Super Bowl.

One person can make a difference in a place. That's why even as this year's back up to Darnold, I'm not ruling McCown or the Jets out of anything.