Former Cardinals QB McCown had an interesting career

The 17-year former Arizona Cardinals quarterback called it a career on Monday

He was drafted in the third round by the Arizona Cardinals in 2002.  He ended up playing for 10 out of the 32 teams.  On Monday he announced he had taken his last NFL snap and is the last player drafted from the 2002 class still active in the NFL.

Josh McCown, who most recently played for the New York Jets, spent his first three NFL years with the Cardinals.  He certainly had some memorable days at Sun Devil Stadium.

Who can forget his most memorable moment with the Cardinals?  In December 2003, in the final week of the season, the Cardinals played the Minnesota Vikings.  Back then divisional games weren’t part of the week 17 landscape yet.

The Cardinals didn’t have anything at stake as they were already eliminated from the playoffs, something they were in all but one season at Sun Devil Stadium.  However, they played hard much of the time.

The Vikings however had something to play for that day, a playoff spot.  All they had to do was beat the the Cardinals.  Not so fast.

McCown threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to receiver Nate Poole as time expired to beat the Vikings 18-17.  It sent the Vikings home and the Green Bay Packers to the playoffs.

McCown and Poole were invited to the Packers playoff game the following week as their guests.  Poole was able to attend and was given the key to the city.  This is how big of a deal it was to Green Bay and its Packers fans.

McCown played for the Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders, Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, and the Jets.  He also played for the now-defunct United Football League in 2010 for the Hartford Colonials in between.

He had a level of success in his stops in Chicago and New York.  His name came up after the 2017 season as a possible free agent signing by the Cardinals of all teams.  He eventually returned to the Jets for one final season as a backup to rookie Sam Darnold.

McCown wasn’t the flashiest player around but he certainly was serviceable.  He finished his career with an admirable 60.2 completion percentage.

Some believe he would make a good coach in his retirement from his playing days.  However it was later announced on Monday he’d start off retirement as an analyst for ESPN.