McCOWN EMBRACES ‘JOURNEY’
Josh McCown’s middle name is Treadwell. It suits the quarterback who has played for 10 different NFL teams and one in the United Football League over 15 years.
McCown faces one of his former teams Sunday when the Jets visit Cleveland. McCown spent the past two seasons playing for the Browns. When they cut him this offseason, he signed with the Jets, the next stop for the NFL nomad.
The 38-year-old admits everyone dreams of playing for one team, but he sees the positive of making many stops in his career.
“It’s just been part of my story. For me, as a person of faith, I think it’s just part of a bigger plan,” McCown said Wednesday. “It’s not necessarily how I would have laid it out, but I think it’s something that’s made me better to walk this journey. It made me better as a person and certainly has given me a ton of relationships around the league.”
McCown’s latest stop has worked out well so far. He has the Jets at 2-2, better than anyone expected, and is completing 70.1 percent of his passes, the second-best percentage in the NFL.
When the Jets signed McCown to a one-year deal in March, the thought was he would keep the starting job warm this seasonn until Christian Hackenberg or Bryce Petty was ready to take over.ver. But he is delaying any thought of that with his solid play.
McCown said hehe is not taking any joy in bucking that narra-narrative, but admits he did not come here just to be a placeholder.
“Obviously, I understood nd er stood the dynamic with thehe two young guys when we came here,” McCown said. “At some point, if that needs to hap -pen, t he peoplele that make those decisions will make them. But for me,, when they say, ‘Hey you’re playing, you’re the starter,’ my mindset is not: What can I do to help that transition happen? My mindset is: What can I do to help us win the game?”
McCown said he feels his best football is still in front of him.
“It’s funny because it doesn’t make sense to people,” McCown said. “When you do have that journeyman label, I think the assumption may be that I’m satisfied with a long career. I’m not satisfied with anything. Until I’m done playing, I want to continue growing and getting better at this position and chasing playing the best football I can play.”
Journeyman is a funny label for quarterbacks. It has a negative connotation. But McCown embraces it.
“I think it’s about the journey. It doesn’t make me cringe as it does some people,” he said. “For me, I look at that and I say man, that’s what made me who I am. That was set out for me a long time ago to go through this. I’m thankful for it.”
McCown’s career got a spotlight last week when it was pointed out he had not won back-to-back games as a starter since 2004 with the Cardinals. McCown laughed when that stat was brought up Wednesday. He led the Jets to a second straight win on Sunday over the Jaguars. On Sunday, he will try to win three in a row for the first time in his long career. “There’ s a first time for everything ,” thing ,” McCown said with as mile. “Thank God fofor the journey. It’s part of that chase to continue to play better football and to get in a situation where you believe in yourself. At all these stops, iit wasn’t like I’m here anand I don’t think I’m going to be very good. At all these stops, I felt like I could be really good. I believed in myself, and I still do. I think if or when we go out aand get that next one, I think it just be me going, this is what I’ve been chasing for
a while.”