Latest news with #Throwbacks
USA Today
22-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Matt Leinart reveals he was nearly traded to New York Giants in 2010
In 2010, three years after they triumphed over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, the New York Giants were forced into the quarterback market. They had lost veteran David Carr to the San Francisco 49ers and needed someone to back up Eli Manning. At the time, the Giants settled on Sage Rosenfels but weren't entirely satisfied with that room. During a recent episode of Throwbacks with Matt Leinart and Jerry Ferrara, Leinart revealed that he was nearly traded from the Arizona Cardinals to the Giants to fill that role. "They were trying to trade me to the New York Football Giants... to back up Eli," Leinart said. "I ended up getting cut, and I signed with the Texans like three days later. That's when I went to Houston. "But there were conversations -- and I'm almost positive about this -- that (head coach Ken Whisenhunt) was like, 'Hey, we've been talking to the Giants about potentially trading you.' ... But yeah, it was the Giants. My agent was like, they liked me." Leinart said he preferred to be released as opposed to being traded, giving him the freedom to choose his next destination. That's exactly what happened, and he ended up with the Texans. "So, that almost happened. I was almost traded to the Giants," he said. Leinart, a first-round pick of the Cardinals in the 2006 NFL draft, spent two seasons with the Texans before a year with the Oakland Raiders. He eventually wrapped things up with the Buffalo Bills in 2013. In 33 career games (18 starts), Leinart completed 57.1 percent of his passes for 4,065 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions. The Giants, meanwhile, settled on Rosenfels and Jim Sorgi as their backups in 2010 before re-signing Carr to back up Manning in 2011. They went on to win the Super Bowl that year, again defeating the Patriots.
NBC Sports
21-06-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Matt Leinart was "so embarrassed" as his career ended after five days with the Bills
Matt Leinart was a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback at USC and a Top 10 NFL draft pick, but his pro career didn't amount to much. And he says the way his career ended was particularly tough for him. Leinart played for the Cardinals from 2006 to 2009, the Texans in 2010 and 2011, and the Raiders in 2012. Then the Bills signed him in the 2013 preseason, put him on the field for one bad game, and cut him after five days. He said recently on his Throwbacks podcast that final preseason game in Buffalo was particularly difficult to live with. 'My last game in Buffalo, preseason Game 4, I threw three interceptions in the first half,' Leinart said. 'I stood on that sideline like someone passed away in my family. I kept my helmet on so no one could see my face. I was embarrassed. I didn't cry, I was so embarrassed that that was going to be my last time ever on a football field. I just knew it.' Leinart said that in only five days in Buffalo, he came to admire the passionate Bills fan base and felt badly that he couldn't give them anything to cheer for. 'The sad part is they were so fired up that I was there, they were like, 'Yeah! Revive your career here!' I was like, 'Guys, they need an arm,'' Leinart said. 'I saw firsthand Buffalo, Bills Mafia, how awesome their fans were. They treated me great for the first couple days. That's why I was like, 'I love Buffalo.''
