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.’”
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