Well-traveled QB McCown retires, joins ESPN

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[June 18, 2019]    Josh McCown, whose 17-year NFL career spanned 10 teams, announced his retirement Monday.

New York Jets quarterback Josh McCown gives instructions to his teammates during their NFL football game against Jacksonville Jaguars in East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S. October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

His longest tenure with any franchise was four seasons, that being with the Arizona Cardinals, who drafted McCown in the third round of the 2002 draft.

He started 22 games for the Cardinals, the most he had in any of his NFL stops.

"But looking back, I'm proud of how my career has gone," he wrote at The Players' Tribune website. "I don't shy away from the journeyman label. I embrace it, full force.

"Because it's been one heck of a journey."

The journey now takes him to ESPN, where he will join the network as an NFL analyst, starting Wednesday, when he will appear on multiple shows.

"Josh knows the game and is widely respected throughout the league," ESPN vice president for NFL studio shows Seth Markman said in a statement. "Every quarterback room he was in as a player, he made better. Now we're excited to welcome him to ESPN."

McCown played in 99 games (76 starts) across 16 seasons, completing 1,581 of 2,628 passes for 17,707 yards, with 98 touchdowns and 82 interceptions.

McCown, who turns 40 on July 4, spent the past two seasons with the New York Jets, serving as the starter in 2017. He appeared in four games (three starts) last season, serving as a backup to rookie Sam Darnold.

McCown's career also took him to the Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders, Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cleveland Browns.

"At the end of the day, no matter what team I was on, I tried to serve it to the best of my ability, and I tried to influence my team in a positive manner. I hope I did that," McCown wrote.

"And I made sure that when my number was called, I was prepared, and I gave it everything I had, every time. I may not have turned out to be the franchise quarterback I set out to be back at Cardinals rookie camp, but I'm extremely proud of the career I had."

--Field Level Media

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