Charlie Whitehurst update:
The last post about the return of Willie Simmons led me to dig up some info about good ol’ Charlie Whitehurst. I’ve read a lot lately about Charlie not being at Clemson anymore, which made me wonder just where the guy ended up (I forgot) and how things were going.
If you’ll remember, Charlie went undrafted but got picked up Charlie got picked in the 3rd round (ed. what the fuck was I drinking this morning? Don’t answer that.) by the Chargers. Well, last week on July 24th he inked a 4 year deal with the team where he’s expected to be #3 on the depth chart.
But his position there questionable. Philip Rivers (did you know he has a kid?) has the #1 spot all locked up. It turns out that competition for the #2 spot is wide open.
Schottenheimer insisted the competition is for real. He said he would usually want a more experienced backup. He said Feeley is “a good, solid player.” And he acknowledged Whitehurst is an almost total unknown.But he is clearly enamored with the third-round draft choice.
“He’s got a natural instinct for decision-making and a quickness of release,” Schottenheimer said.
So now you know.
Um yeah, 3rd rd pick so he’s not a complete unknown and was never doubted he would get drafted. Didn’t realize the Chargers were picking up Feeley but Whitehurst was clearly brought in as insurance behind Rivers, who had said child about the time he left NC State if not before. I know he was either engaged or married prior to graduation, during football season. Brees was out the door before it officially happened out there due to Cap space though he says it was always the teams intentions when Rivers was drafted (Brees wasn’t playing Pro-Bowl ball at the time).
Charlie is not in a good spot… at least right now.
Phillip Rivers has never started an NFL game… therefore he has no experience. Charlie won’t have the veteran there to teach him and give him pointers. The closest thing to a vet is AJ Feely, and I honestly wouldn’t call him a vet. He lost his starting gig in Miami to Gus Ferrotte and later got traded for Cleo Lemon. I suppose the Chargers get the better end of the deal… Cleo Lemon straight up SUCKS, but then again so does Feely. I suppose that trade only happened for cap space.
The Chargers selecting Whitehurst still boggles my mind. They didn’t need another un-proven QB. And they sure as heck didn’t need a Charlie Whitehurst. The best thing for Whitehust is to show another NFL team that he can be good in the future and hope for a trade. If not, he’ll be Rivers personal assistant for the remainder of his career, or worse, AJ Feelys.