Joshua Treadwell McCown (born July 4, 1979) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). He is currently the quarterbacks coach of the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL. He was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft after playing college football for the SMU Mustangs and Sam Houston Bearkats. McCown was also a member of the Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders, Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, and Houston Texans of the NFL, and the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League (UFL). He is the older brother of former NFL quarterback Luke McCown, younger brother of former Texas A&M quarterback Randy McCown and father of UTSA Roadrunners quarterback Owen McCown.
McCown attended Jacksonville High School in Jacksonville, Texas, where he was named the East Texas Player of the Year and earned All-State honorable mention honors as a senior. He played three seasons for the SMU Mustangs of Southern Methodist University, where he passed for totals of 4,022 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 34 interceptions. He then transferred to play his final season of college football for the Sam Houston State Bearkats of Sam Houston State University. In his only season with the Bearkats, he threw for 3,481 yards, 32 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, earning Southland Football League Player of the Year and Third-team Division I-AA All-American honors.
McCown was then drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft and played for the team from 2002 to 2005. He was mainly the backup quarterback during his tenure with the Cardinals but was the team's primary starter in 2004. He was a backup with the Detroit Lions in 2006 and was traded to the Oakland Raiders in 2007, where he started nine games. McCown then signed with the Miami Dolphins in 2008 but was traded to the Carolina Panthers before the start of the 2008 regular season. He was a backup with the Panthers from 2008 to 2009. He then played for the Hartford Colonials of the UFL in 2010, followed by a short off-season stint with the San Francisco 49ers in 2011. McCown was then a backup with the Chicago Bears from 2011 to 2013. In eight games, and five starts, in 2013, he threw for 1,829 yards, 13 touchdowns, and one interception, garnering the third-best passer rating in the NFL. He then signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he was the team's primary starter in 2014. However, after underperforming, McCown was released by the team and signed by the Cleveland Browns. He was the primary starter for the Browns in 2015 and a backup for the Browns in 2016. He was released by the Browns after the 2016 season and then signed with the New York Jets. He was the primary starter for the Jets in 2017 and set single-season career highs with 267 completions, a 67.3 completion percentage, 2,926 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns and 5 rushing touchdowns. After serving as a backup for the Jets in 2018, McCown retired from the NFL and joined ESPN as an NFL analyst. However, he came out of retirement to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles in August 2019, serving as a backup during the 2019 season. In the Wild Card Round of the 2019–20 NFL playoffs, McCown replaced an injured Carson Wentz and played the majority of the game at the age of 40, becoming the oldest quarterback in NFL history to make his postseason debut. In November 2020, he was signed off of the Eagles' practice squad by the Houston Texans; his last NFL team.
In 2023, McCown was hired by the Panthers to be their quarterbacks coach under head coach Frank Reich. McCown was fired by the Panthers after a 1–10 start to the season. He became the Vikings' quarterbacks coach in 2024.
football career. McCown later said, "My first driver's license said 5-foot-4. At 16, I was 5–4." A coach of McCown's also said, "We knew Josh was going to...
Falcons, and New Orleans Saints McCown was born and raised in Jacksonville, Texas. Like his older brothers Josh and Randy McCown, he showed an aptitude for...
school at Rusk. In McCown's senior season, he threw for 3,363 yards and 47 touchdowns compared with just four interceptions. McCown committed to play college...
2019. Weinfuss, Josh (September 30, 2018). "Rosen puts in solid debut, but Cardinals fall short". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 10, 2018. McManaman, Bob (October...
"JoshMcCown, Tampa Bay Buccaneers strike contract". NFL.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2019. "JoshMcCown's...
McCown is a Goidelic surname with several possible etymological origins. There are several possible etymologies for McCown. McCown is a patronymic surname...
Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922 – April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns...
rugby league player Josh Mayo (born 1987), American basketball player JoshMcCown (born 1979), American football player JoshMcDaniels (born 1976), American...
Cade Brem McNown (born January 12, 1977) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons....
bench Johnny Manziel for party video, name JoshMcCown starter". USA Today. Retrieved August 30, 2023. McManamon, Pat (November 26, 2015). "Johnny Manziel...
Krammer Star. "Vikings' connection to QB Drake Maye goes way back with JoshMcCown". Star Tribune. Retrieved March 31, 2024. Zietlow, Alex. "Before NFL...
2008. "Josh Freeman, 2006 Pro Style Quarterback". Rivals.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2022. "Josh Freeman...
in the short period of time. The Bears subsequently signed JoshMcCown. On July 29, 2013, McNabb officially retired from professional football as a member...
Darnold suffered through a foot injury, which sidelined him and caused JoshMcCown to start for the Jets. After missing three games due to a foot injury...
head coach Lovie Smith quickly announced that newly signed journeyman JoshMcCown would be the starting quarterback for the upcoming 2014 season, leaving...
yards in 1999 and the fifth-most in Bears history. Hoyer also joined JoshMcCown as the only Bears quarterbacks to throw for at least 300 yards in three...
and didn't score. Gradkowski was benched the next week in favor of Luke McCown. Gradkowski had a record of 3–8 as a Tampa Bay starter and set an NFL record...
Broncos. Coming into the game in the second quarter in relief of starter JoshMcCown, Russell played two series, and completed 4 of 7 pass attempts for 56...
injury required season-ending surgery. Under backups Caleb Hanie and JoshMcCown, the Bears lost six of their remaining seven games, and missed the playoffs...
Washington Redskins. The Bears entered the bye week at 4–3. With Cutler out, JoshMcCown stepped in against the Green Bay Packers in week nine, leading the Bears...
but he was waived five days later. Following a season-ending injury to JoshMcCown, he was re-signed on December 2. He played in the last game of the season...
engaging in contract negotiations. In 2007, Culpepper replaced the injured JoshMcCown for the Raiders' matchup against his former team, the Miami Dolphins...
November 3, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2019. Alper, Josh (September 9, 2019). "Jaguars trade for Josh Dobbs". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. Archived from...
Vasgersian (play-by-play) and J.C. Pearson (color commentator) With JoshMcCown getting the start at quarterback, the Raiders began their 2007 campaign...
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