Kordell Stewart appeared on ESPNEWS as an analyst Monday. I’m not sure if this is a new role for him or if he’s just doing an appearance or two, but it didn’t take Slash long to use the opportunity to hop on the soap box. Sure, he was baited by anchor Mike Hill (“Come on, you can be real with me, Dawg”), but Kordell touched on a time when he didn’t get a fair shot at a starting QB gig, and why he’s no longer playing even though he feels he should be.
The year when Jimmy Miller and I in ’96 had a chance to compete, I didn’t get that opportunity to be a starter that year. He signed a new deal, and they had to give him a chance, but I didn’t get a chance to the be the starter. I shared time with Mike Tomczak.
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There’s a lot of underlying stuff that I don’t know about that could be coming from other teams … I don’t know. Maybe my confidence level, I don’t know — it could be a million different things. I’ve heard that my confidence is a concern, he’s a one-system kind of guy. If you give a guy a chance and ride with the guy, I’ve proven that I can play the game. I feel like I should be playing … I do want to play.
Kordell’s not the only quarterback to voice such a concern lately — the AJC had a piece last week on black quarterbacks who are jobless. Amongst them were Aaron Brooks, Daunte Culpepper, Byron Leftwich, and Quinn Gray. For each one of those players, I’d have to analyze it case-by-case. For Kordell, I’m guessing he wouldn’t do too well in the league these days considering it’s been several years since he was a decent NFL quarterback — and that’s pushing it. Then again, as long as there’s a place for the likes of Joey Harrington, Vinny Testaverde, and Chris Redman in this league, then I certainly think there’s room for guys like Aaron Brooks and Culpepper.
