Luke McCown - Pro Football Rumors

QB Luke McCown Retires From NFL

April 20th, 2018 at 12:11pm CST by Zachary Links

Longtime NFL quarterback Luke McCown is calling it quits. On Friday, the 36-year-old announced his retirement from football.

“Today I am officially retiring from the NFL,” McCown wrote. “It’s bittersweet to leave the game I love and the craft I’ve worked at since the second grade.”

McCown first entered the league as a fourth-round pick of the Browns in 2004. He started in four games as a rookie for Cleveland before a draft weekend deal shipped him to Tampa Bay. He did not see the field for the Bucs until 2007, when he made three starts for the team. Between ’07 and ’15, McCown started only three more contests.

Even though he didn’t see much playing time over the years, McCown earned enough on contracts with the Browns, Bucs, Jaguars, Saints, Falcons, and Cowboys to retire comfortably. We wish the QB and former Verizon spokesperson the best in the next chapter of his life.

Cowboys Trim Roster To 53

September 2nd, 2017 at 3:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys navigated the busy cut week and moved down to the 53-man limit. Here are the players Dallas removed from its roster to reach the regular-season standard.

Released:

Waived:

DE Richard Ash
DE Woody Baron
RB Brandon Brown-Dukes
WR Brian Brown
C Ross Burbank
CB Dejaun Butler
DT Jordan Carrell
T Clay DeBord (injury settlement)
G Kadeem Edwards
LB Keenan Gilchrist
CB John Green
WR Karel Hamilton
P Sam Irwin-Hill
DT Joey Ivie
TE Blake Jarwin
WR Andy Jones
LB Joseph Jones
DE Lenny Jones
WR Lance Lenoir
DE Darnell Leslie
LB Lamar Louis
TE M.J. McFarland
DE Lewis Neal
WR Uzoma Nwachukwu
CB Sammy Seamster
S Jameill Showers
G Dan Skipper
G Nate Theaker
CB Marquez White
LS Zach Wood

Placed on Reserved/Suspended list:

DE David Irving
DE Damontre Moore

Placed on IR:

RB Duke Thomas

Cowboys To Release Luke McCown

September 2nd, 2017 at 2:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys will part ways with both of their veteran backups and hand the No. 2 quarterback job to an undrafted rookie. Dallas informed Luke McCown of its decision to release him, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

McCown only spent a month in Dallas, but he and Kellen Moore represented the veteran depth behind Dak Prescott. UDFA Cooper Rush is now in line to be the only other passer on the 53-man roster. Although, Rapoport notes the Cowboys want to sign Moore to their practice squad. Despite being 29, Moore has only played in three career games.

The 36-year-old McCown has played in 62 and started 10 since breaking into the league in 2004. He signed with the Cowboys in late July — on a $1MM base salary — after the Saints cut him in April. McCown will cost the Cowboys $250K in dead money.

Rush started for four seasons at Central Michigan, but it’s interesting the Cowboys will turn to him as their only active-roster quarterback behind Prescott.

NFC Notes: Freeman, Panthers, Vikes

August 3rd, 2017 at 9:24pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

An extension for Falcons running back Devonta Freeman doesn’t appear imminent, but an agreement should come together by early September, writes Dan Graziano of ESPN.com. The Falcons and Freeman’s agent, Kristin Campbell, are engaging in daily conversations, and both sides are motivated to reach a deal, adds Graziano. Atlanta regards the 25-year-old as a cornerstone player after witnessing him pile up 1,000-plus rushing yards in each of the previous two campaigns, to go with 27 touchdowns (22 on the ground, five as a receiver) and 127 catches. Freeman provided that production while making a relative pittance, and he’ll earn another low base salary this year ($1.797MM) if talks with the Falcons fall through. It doesn’t appear that will happen, however.

Cowboys To Sign Luke McCown

July 28th, 2017 at 8:03pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Cowboys have agreed to a one-year contract with quarterback Luke McCown, according to his agent, Mike McCartney (Twitter link).

The season-ending surgery that Zac Dysert underwent earlier this week put the Cowboys in the market for another signal-caller, but it seemed they were searching for a developmental player. At 36, McCown certainly doesn’t qualify, but the Texas native will at least provide the club with an experienced option behind Dak Prescott and Kellen Moore. Before picking up McCown, Dallas was down to undrafted rookie Cooper Rush as its third option under center.

The brother of Jets starter Josh McCown, whom the Cowboys have courted in the past, Luke McCown entered the NFL as a fourth-round pick of the Browns in 2004. Since then, he has also spent time with the Buccaneers, Jaguars, Saints and Falcons. He has totaled 62 appearances and 10 starts, the most recent of which came with New Orleans in 2015. All told, McCown has completed 216 of 356 passes (60.7 percent), averaged 6.7 yards per attempt and thrown nine touchdowns against 15 interceptions.

Saints To Release QB Luke McCown

April 5th, 2017 at 8:58am CST by Zachary Links

The Saints plan to release quarterback Luke McCown today, according to a source who spoke with Josh Katzenstein of The Times-Picayune (on Twitter). McCown has been Drew Brees‘ backup since 2013, but he was effectively squeezed out of that role when the team signed Chase Daniel earlier this offseason. Comments from Brees late last week seemed to hint that McCown’s time in New Orleans was coming to a close.

“I love Luke. I had four great years with Luke. Luke was such a pro,” Brees said. “He was so great in the room because he’s seen and played so much football. He was really a wealth of knowledge and just a calm presence and just fun to be around.”

In theory, the Saints probably could have kept McCown as a QB3 since he was only slated to carry a $1.75MM cap number. Instead, the Saints are cutting him loose to save $1.5MM with just $250K in dead money. In his four years with the Saints, McCown completed 32 of 40 passes for 335 yards with one interception and no touchdowns. He did not see the field in 2016.

With Daniel in place as a solid QB2, the Saints could now draft a developmental quarterback or perhaps take on a young project player. It will be interesting to see if Johnny Manziel, who met with coach Sean Payton last month, gets any further consideration from the club.

Dolphins Notes: Morris, Shelby, Moore, Jordan

March 27th, 2016 at 1:57pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Dolphins expressed interest in free agent running back Alfred Morris before he signed with the Cowboys, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Miami, of course, signed Broncos restricted free agent C.J. Anderson to a four-year, $18MM offer sheet, only to see Denver eventually match the deal. The club has also eyed free agent options such as James Starks and Chris Johnson, and is now said to be exploring the trade market as its search for a back continues.

Let’s take a look at a few more items out of South Beach…

Morris wasn’t the only free agent whom the Dolphins initially targeted, per Jackson, who reports that Miami also showed interest in cornerback Patrick Robinson before he joined the Colts. Additionally, the Dolphins might have more strongly gone after fellow corner Josh Robinson had they known they’d have cap space available once Denver matched the offer to Anderson.
Among their own free agents, Miami reportedly did not contact defensive end Derrick Shelby “for months,” according to Jackson, before calling him at the last minute to ask if he’d accept $3MM. Shelby ultimately signed a $21MM deal with the Falcons.
Like Shelby, quarterback Matt Moore received the cold shoulder from the Dolphins as the club met with Brandon Weeden and, per Jackson, showed interest in Luke McCown before he re-signed with the Saints. Moore eventually re-signed with Miami after being endorsed by head coach Adam Gase, reports Jackson.
The Dolphins weren’t fans of this year’s class of free agent corners, which explains why they didn’t target any of the top-rated players on the board at that position.
Miami does still need secondary help, however, and as Jackson explains in a separate article, the Dolphins are studying the top cornerbacks available in the draft.
Jackson believes that former third overall pick Dion Jordan would make the Dolphins’ roster if he’s reinstated from his yearlong suspension.

Saints Re-Sign Luke McCown

March 10th, 2016 at 6:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The Saints are bringing back Drew Brees‘ backup for the 2016 season, according to agent Mike McCartney, who tweets that his client, Luke McCown, has agreed to a two-year deal with New Orleans. According to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link), the two-year pact is worth $3MM, with a $500K signing bonus.

McCown, 34, has been the No. 2 signal-caller in New Orleans for the last three seasons. After throwing just one pass in 2013 and 2014, McCown saw some action last season, making a spot start for Drew Brees. For the season, he completed 32 of 39 passes for 335 yards and an interception, then was sidelined in November with a back injury.

Coming off a minimum salary benefit contract, McCown will get a bit of a raise this year — perhaps due to that performance in place of Brees last season. The veteran signal-caller also paid a visit to the Colts today, so it’s possible that interest from Indianapolis forced the Saints to give their backup QB a bit of a raise.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Rumors: Saints, Patriots, Jaguars

March 10th, 2016 at 4:53pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest free agent rumors:

The Saints have expressed an interest in bringing safety Rafael Bush back to the team, Sean Fazende of FOX 8 tweets.
Bears free agent cornerback Sherrick McManis is visiting the Patriots, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). Earlier today, it was reported that McManis was visiting an AFC East team and we now know that club’s identity. The Jaguars are also interested in him, according to Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (on Twitter).
Quarterback Luke McCown visited the Colts today, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweeted.
Danny Trevathan, who just signed with the Bears, offered up an interesting answer when asked if the Packers reached out to him. “No, they didn’t. I wish they would have, but they didn’t,” the linebacker said (Twitter link via NFL Network).
Defensive end Frank Kearse is visiting the Patriots, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
The Ravens hosted guard Vlad Ducasse on a visit today, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Ducasse started 11 of 16 games for Chicago in 2015. Ducasse began his career with the Jets, a team that was high on his raw talent but never got to see him put it altogether on the field.

Saints To Sign Matt Flynn

November 9th, 2015 at 7:21pm CST by Zachary Links

As Matt Flynn said on Twitter, it looks like his hunting season is over. The Saints are set to sign the veteran quarterback, per Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

Veteran backup Luke McCown is set to undergo season ending back surgery, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter), so Flynn will help to provide depth behind starter Drew Brees from here on out. Flynn, 30, spent time in training camp with the Patriots and Jets this past season but was not able to stick on either AFC East roster. The former Packers draft pick has bounced around a bit since leaving Green Bay in 2011, having also spent time with the Seahawks, Raiders and Bills.

The Jets considered Flynn as an outside option with Geno Smith and Ryan Fitzpatrick both nursing injuries earlier this month, but they ultimately they decided against signing him.