Mike McCarthy hopes to play Vince Young Friday against Cardinals
By Chase Ruttig
Vince Young’s career has went from the lowest of lows of being bankrupt and out of the league just a week ago to competing for the back up quarterback job of an NFC contender in just a few short weeks. Now it appears that things are looking even more up in Young’s bid to turn his NFL career around in Green Bay.
ProFootballTalk is reporting that Mike McCarthy is planning on playing Vince Young against the Arizona Cardinals on Friday, heating up the Packers back up quarterback competition at the same time as drawing some added attention to the game as the former Longhorns star will be getting the first chance to showcase his skills since being cut loose and being left out of the league not too long ago.
With Young signing just this week and a little more than three weeks until rosters are trimmed to the 53-player limit, time is of the essence for Young to impress his new club and for his new club to evaluate him, leading to McCarthy’s decision to plan in some reps for Young despite him being at Packers camp for a short period of time.
Coach Mike McCarthy told reporters Thursday that he wants the former Titans, Eagles and Bills passer to get some game reps in the preseason opener.
“My goal with Vince is to play him in the game tomorrow,” McCarthy said, per Paul Imig of FoxSportsWisconsin.com.
PFT reports that according to the Packers’ official Twitter feed, McCarthy indicated he wants Young, Graham Harrell, B.J. Coleman and Aaron Rodgers to all get in the game Friday night.
It will be interesting to see the battle between Young and Graham Harrell as the former Longhorns star competes with Harrell, a former Texas Tech star who has spent stints in various NFL training camps as well as with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders since going undrafted.
Young appears to have an inside track on a roster spot given the rush Green Bay took in getting Young signed to training camp and now the fact that Young will get reps despite being there for such a short amount of time. It appears that McCarthy is high on Young and what he brings to the table as a back up, provided that Young knows his role.
The Packers take on the Cardinals Friday night. Check your local listings or NFL Network for coverage.