Matt Leinart

Matt Leinart

Matthew Stephen Leinart (born May 11, 1983) is an American football quarterback for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). Leinart previously played for four seasons (2006–2009) with the Arizona Cardinals, largely in a backup role, before being released on September 4, 2010. He also played for the Houston Texans (2010–2011).

Leinart played college football for the University of Southern California (USC). In 2004, he was named that year's winner of the Heisman Trophy, and led the USC Trojans to the BCS national championship.

The left-handed passing Leinart was selected tenth overall in the 2006 NFL draft by the Arizona Cardinals. Despite possessing what draft experts believed was a good frame for a quarterback (6' 5", 230 pounds), they believed his lack of a strong throwing arm, such as that possessed by his predecessor at USC, Carson Palmer (now with the Oakland Raiders), would be a detriment in his professional career.

After Kurt Warner's retirement, Leinart was named the presumptive starter. However, he lost the starting job in training camp to veteran Derek Anderson, who signed with the Cardinals as a free agent before the 2010 season.

After some speculation, Leinart agreed to a one-year deal with the Houston Texans on September 6, 2010. On November 14, 2011, it was announced starting quarterback Matt Schaub had injured his foot and was out a few weeks, as of November 14, coach Gary Kubiak planned on Leinart starting the next game after the bye week versus Jacksonville. Later on in the day it was announced that Schaub would be out for the season and that Matt Leinart would be the starting quarterback for the season. Leinart was injured against the Jaguars on November 27, 2011 breaking his collarbone, which ended his season.