Luke McCown

Luke McCown

McCown with the New Orleans Saints in 2015
No. 12, 7
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Born:	(1981-07-12) July 12, 1981 (age 42) Jacksonville, Texas, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:	217 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school:	Jacksonville
College:	Louisiana Tech (2000–2003)
NFL draft:	2004  / Round: 4 / Pick: 106
Career history
Cleveland Browns (2004) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2005–2008) Jacksonville Jaguars (2009–2011) New Orleans Saints (2012)* Atlanta Falcons (2012) New Orleans Saints (2013–2016) Dallas Cowboys (2017)*
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 62 Passing attempts: 356 Passing completions: 216 Percentage: 60.7 TD–INT: 9–15 Passing yards: 2,370 Passer rating: 71.3
Player stats at NFL.com  ·  PFR

Lucas Patrick McCown (born July 12, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL draft. He played in the NFL for the Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons, and New Orleans Saints

Early years

McCown was born and raised in Jacksonville, Texas. Like his older brothers Josh and Randy McCown, he showed an aptitude for sports. He attended Jacksonville High School.

In basketball, he garnered All-District and All-East Texas honors.

College career

Although he was nationally ranked as a football recruit (as high as No. 2 among quarterbacks in some publications), McCown accepted a football scholarship from Louisiana Tech University over the University of Oklahoma and Florida State University. ^[1]

As a true freshman, he became the starter in the fifth game, after Brian Stallworth was lost with a season-ending injury. His college debut came in the second half of the fourth game against the University of Tulsa. He had six touchdown passes (fourth in school history) in a 48–14 win against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He set an NCAA single-game freshman record by throwing the ball 72 times in the 42–31 loss against the University of Miami.

As a sophomore, he led the team to the Western Athletic Conference championship, the school's first conference title since the early 1980s. He threw for 464 yards and four touchdowns in a critical 48–45 league win over Boise State University. The school was invited to the 2001 Humanitarian Bowl against Clemson University, its first bowl appearance since the 1990 Independence Bowl.

He contributed to two of the biggest wins in school history. A 39–36 win over Oklahoma State University, which came down to a 36-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-down-and-10 with 60 seconds in the opener of his junior season. And a 20–19 win against Michigan State University, passing for two touchdowns in the final 70 seconds, including the game-winning 11-yard throw with 2 seconds left in the third game of his senior season.

He started 42 out of 43 games of his college career, establishing school records for completions (1,088), attempts (1,827) and passing yards (12,994). His 88 touchdown passes ranked eighth-most in NCAA Division I-A history. He also had 11 rushing touchdowns. ^[2] He still holds several NCAA Division I FBS records: ^[3]

• Most plays by a freshman in a single game (80) - Louisiana Tech vs. Miami, FL, October 28, 2000. McCown gained 444 total yards during the game.
• Most attempted passes by a freshman in a single game (72) - Louisiana Tech vs. Miami, FL, October 28, 2000. He completed 42 of those passes.
• Most completed passes by a freshman in a single game (47) - Louisiana Tech vs. Auburn, October 21, 2000. He attempted 65 passes in all.
• Most seasons of 2,000+ yards (4) - From 2000–03, McCown gained 2,544, 3,337, 3,539, and 3,246 yards.

In 2017, he was inducted into the Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame.

College statistics

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Season	Team	Passing								Rushing
		Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/A	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Y/A	TD
2000	Louisiana Tech	244	369	66.1	2,544	6.9	21	15	134.7	55	-29	-0.5	3
2001	Louisiana Tech	277	469	59.1	3,337	7.1	28	14	132.6	87	144	1.7	4
2002	Louisiana Tech	296	505	58.6	3,539	7.0	19	19	122.4	61	30	0.5	2
2003	Louisiana Tech	246	432	56.9	3,246	7.5	19	14	128.1	71	-80	-1.1	1
Career [4]		1,063	1,775	59.9	12,666	7.1	87	62	129.0	274	65	0.2	10

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Wonderlic
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	208 lb (94 kg)	4.69 s	1.67 s	2.71 s	4.21 s	6.74 s	371⁄2	10 ft 5 in (3.18 m)	24 [5]
All values from NFL Combine [6]

Cleveland Browns

McCown was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round (106th overall) of the 2004 NFL draft. ^[7] He went on to start in four games for in his rookie season. On April 24, 2005, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for sixth round 2005 draft pick (#203-Andrew Hoffman).

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

In 2005, he was declared inactive but dressed as the third-string quarterback for the first ten games. He was the backup quarterback for the last seven contests, including one playoff game.

In 2006, he was injured during the preseason. He spent the first seven weeks of the regular season on the physically unable to perform list. He was activated on November 3. He was declared inactive but dressed as the third-string quarterback for the final nine games of the season.

In 2007, he appeared in five games with three starts, registering 1,009 passing yards, three interceptions, five touchdowns and a 91.7 quarterback rating. In week 13, McCown produced his finest performance as an NFL quarterback, throwing for 313 yards and two touchdowns during an emergency start for the injured Jeff Garcia in the Buccaneers 27–23 victory over the New Orleans Saints. He started the next game against the Houston Texans and was 25-38 for 266 yards and no interceptions, but a loss. He came in relief in the second half of week 16 and threw for 185 yards and one interception. He started the last game as the Bucs had already clinched a playoff spot. He threw for 236 yards and one interception with two touchdowns.

In 2008, he played in two games against the Carolina Panthers and the San Diego Chargers.

Jacksonville Jaguars

McCown with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2009

On September 5, 2009, McCown was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a seventh round 2010 draft pick. He was the backup to starting quarterback David Garrard, seeing limited action in three games. He was active but did not play in 13 contests.

In 2010, he played in the fourth quarter of the second game against the San Diego Chargers, completing 11 of 19 passes for 120 yards, but suffered a season-ending knee injury with 41 seconds remaining. He was placed on the injured reserve list on September 21.

On September 6, 2011, five days before the 2011 regular season opener, Jacksonville announced they were cutting Garrard and that McCown would succeed him as starter for the season opener. ^[8] He made his first start as a Jaguar in the season opener against the Tennessee Titans, completing 17 of 24 passes for 175 yards. On September 18, McCown was benched in favor of Blaine Gabbert, after posting the lowest passer rating (1.8) for a starting quarterback in club history. ^[9] He appeared in four games with two starts, completing 30 of 56 attempts for 296 yards and four interceptions.

New Orleans Saints

On June 7, 2012, McCown signed with the New Orleans Saints. He was released by the team on August 28, 2012.

Atlanta Falcons

On August 28, 2012, the Atlanta Falcons signed McCown to replace the released Chris Redman. As Matt Ryan's backup, McCown appeared in two games, on September 27 when Atlanta won 27–3 over the San Diego Chargers and December 16 when Atlanta won 34–0 over the New York Giants. ^{[10] [11]}

New Orleans Saints (second stint)

On April 1, 2013, McCown signed a one-year, $1.05 million deal with the Saints. ^[12] After solid performances in preseason games, McCown was selected to serve as the primary backup to Saints starting quarterback Drew Brees. During the regular season he attempted a pass but it fell incomplete. ^[13] In the regular season, McCown was the holder for placekicker Garrett Hartley. ^{[14] [15]}

On September 25, 2015, Sean Payton announced that starting quarterback Drew Brees would miss the first game of his Saints career due to a bruised rotator cuff and that McCown would get the start on September 27 against the Carolina Panthers over rookie Garrett Grayson, marking McCown's first start since 2011 with the Jaguars. ^[16] Luke's older brother Josh started for the Browns the same day, marking the first time the brothers both started since 2007. On November 5, McCown underwent successful lower-back surgery, effectively ending his season after he was placed on injured reserve. McCown completed 32 of 39 passes for 335 yards and an 82.1 completion percentage in 2015. ^[17]

On March 10, 2016, the New Orleans Saints signed McCown to a two-year, $3 million contract with a signing bonus of $500,000. ^[18] On April 5, 2017, he was released after the team signed quarterback Chase Daniel. ^[19]

Dallas Cowboys

On July 28, 2017, McCown signed with the Dallas Cowboys on a one-year contract with $250,000 in guarantees. ^[20] He was signed to help the team get through training camp and the preseason, after losing fourth-string backup Zac Dysert, who suffered a season and career ending back injury. He was released on September 2, 2017. ^[21]

Retirement

On April 20, 2018, McCown announced his retirement. ^[22]

NFL career statistics

Year	Team	Games		Passing								Rushing
		GP	GS	Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/A	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
2004	CLE	5	4	48	98	49.0	608	6.2	4	7	52.6	6	25	4.2	0
2005	TB	0	0	DNP
2006	TB	0	0	DNP
2007	TB	5	3	94	139	67.6	1,009	7.3	5	3	91.7	12	117	9.8	0
2008	TB	2	0	0	1	0.0	0	0.0	0	0	39.6	3	15	5.0	0
2009	JAX	3	0	1	3	33.3	2	0.7	0	0	42.4	0	0	0.0	0
2010	JAX	1	0	11	19	57.9	120	6.3	0	0	76.6	1	4	4.0	0
2011	JAX	4	2	30	56	53.6	296	5.3	0	4	39.0	7	23	3.3	0
2012	ATL	2	0	0	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	2	-3	-1.5	0
2013	NO	16	0	0	1	0.0	0	0.0	0	0	39.6	3	-4	-1.3	0
2014	NO	16	0	0	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
2015	NO	8	1	32	39	82.1	335	8.6	0	1	91.8	0	0	0.0	0
Career [23]		62	10	216	356	60.7	2,370	6.7	9	15	71.3	34	177	5.2	0

Personal life

McCown's brother Josh was also a quarterback in the NFL. His older brother Randy played quarterback at Texas A&M University. Luke and his wife, Katy, have four sons and two daughters. McCown is a Christian. ^{[24] [25]}

In September 2015, he starred in a series of TV commercials for Verizon Wireless, talking about Verizon's reliability and backup generators, joking that "I bet if they just had the chance, some of those backups would really shine." ^[26] McCown started a game against the Carolina Panthers shortly after the commercial initially aired due to an injury to starting quarterback Drew Brees, throwing for 310 yards in the 22-27 loss. ^[27]

See also

• List of NCAA Division I FBS quarterbacks with at least 12,000 career passing yards

References

1. "Hall of Fame Feature: Luke McCown". Louisiana Tech Athletics. September 20, 2017. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
2. "Luke McCown to Return for Idaho Game". Louisiana Tech Athletics. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
3. "Football Bowl Subdivision Records" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
4. "Luke McCown". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
5. "Historical NFL Wonderlic Scores". wonderlictestsample.com. Archived from the original on September 2, 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
6. "Luke McCown". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
7. "2004 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
8. Ganguli, Tania (September 6, 2011). "Jaguars release quarterback David Garrard". The Florida Times-Union . Retrieved September 7, 2011.
9. Jenkins, Edward R. (September 19, 2011). "McCown finds way into record book". [Jags Report]. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
10. "Luke McCown". New Orleans Saints. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
11. "Luke McCown 2012 Game Log - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
12. Wesseling, Chris (April 1, 2013). "Luke McCown agrees to terms with New Orleans Saints". NFL.com. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
13. Vargas, Ramon Antonio (August 22, 2013). "Reports: Saints cut Seneca Wallace, Luke McCown wins back-up QB job (Video)". The Advocate. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
14. Vargas, Ramon Antonio (August 20, 2013). "Veteran kicker Hartley putting together solid preseason". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
15. "Game Summary: Miami Dolphins at New Orleans Saints" (PDF). NFL. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
16. Hanzus, Dan (September 25, 2015). "Drew Brees ruled out for Saints vs. Panthers". NFL.com. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
17. "Luke McCown". nfl.com. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
18. "Sportrac.com: Luke McCown contracts". sportrac.com. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
19. Katzenstein, Josh (April 5, 2017). "Saints planning to cut quarterback Luke McCown on Wednesday: source". NOLA.com.
20. Jackson, Lakisha (July 28, 2017). "Cowboys, QB Luke McCown agree to one-year deal". NFL.com. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
21. Phillips, Rob (September 2, 2017). "Cowboys Make 38 Moves, One Trade To Reach 53; Kellen Moore Released". DallasCowboys.com.
22. Sessler, Marc (April 20, 2018). "Journeyman QB Luke McCown retiring from NFL". NFL.com.
23. "Luke McCown". pro-football-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
24. "Walking By Faith: Luke McCown". Archived from the original on September 5, 2015.
25. Owens, Shannon (August 4, 2007). "Try, Try Again". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
26. A better network as explained by backup quarterback Luke McCown on YouTube
27. "Saints QB Luke McCown throws for 310 yards, INT in loss". CBSSports.com. September 27, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2019.

External links

• New Orleans Saints bio
• Media related to Luke McCown at Wikimedia Commons