STEPHEN A. SMITH NOT A FAN OF VINCE YOUNG COMEBACK

Friday promises to be another lively day in the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ hot pursuit of free agent NFL quarterback Vince Young.

On Thursday, American sports agent Leigh Steinberg Tweeted that he and his client Vince Young have entered into contract negotiations with the Roughriders.

Young is a very big name on the American sports landscape, after leading the Texas Longhorns to the 2006 Rose Bowl, being a 3rd overall pick in the NFL Draft, and spending six seasons with the Titans and Eagles.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith

However ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith is not fond of the idea of Young jump-starting his career in the CFL.

“I think it’s over for him,” Smith said on ESPN on Thursday. “He hasn’t played in the NFL since 2011. You’re playing the most important position, you were not the greatest passer in the world to begin with, you were decent, 31-19 as a starter.

“I personally believe that his growth was stunted in Tennessee because he played for Jeff Fisher who never really wanted him to begin with.  But even when you were there, the best season he had was 2007 where he completed 62% of his passes.  The last three years he was there, he completed 58%, 59% and 57% of his passes. These are not stellar numbers.

“He’s never thrown for more than 2500 yards in a season in his career, or 12 TDs. When you look at those numbers – which are relatively suspect to begin with – and you take into account his absence from the game, and couple it with the sabbatical he had to take while he was playing because the shrapnel of criticism was too difficult for him to take, all of these things lend us to say ‘You are a talented guy, you were phenomenal at Texas under Mack Brown, but in the end as a professional NFL quarterback, you didn’t measure up to snuff when you were playing’.

“So why six years later should I believe you’re going to be able to do it now after such a lengthy absence? What’s happened to him in his career is unfair to him, but I don’t see it working. His career is over as a starting QB in the NFL.  It’s done. It’s over.  It’s a pipedream.”