The Buffalo Bills have seen four Heisman Trophy winners come and go.
O.J. Simpson became a legend. Doug Flutie sparked magic. Reggie Bush faded out. Matt Leinart barely unpacked his bags and never played in a regular-season game.
The 2004 Heisman Trophy winner and USC national champion spent just five days with the Bills in 2013. Leinart detailed how that brief and painful stop marked the end of his NFL career on a recent episode of his Throwbacks podcast.
Buffalo signed Leinart on Aug. 25, 2013, in urgent need of quarterback depth. Rookie starter EJ Manuel and veteran Kevin Kolb were both injured. The team traded for Thad Lewis that same day and had undrafted rookie Jeff Tuel on the roster.
Four days later, Leinart started the preseason finale against the Detroit Lions in Orchard Park.
“My last game in Buffalo, preseason game four, I threw three interceptions in the first half. I was 4-for-11. I stood on that sideline like someone passed away in my family, dude,” Leinart told co-host Jerry Ferrara, slightly off on the stats − he went 3-for-10 for 11 yards and two interceptions in a 35-13 loss. “I kept my helmet on so no one could see my face. I was embarrassed.
“I didn’t cry. I was so embarrassed that was going to be my last time ever on a football field, and I just knew it.”
He was right. The Bills released Leinart the next day.
Leinart was 30 years old at the time. Bills fans were more hopeful than he was about a career revival.
“Honestly, the sad part is like they were so fired up I was there, like ‘Yeah, you’re going to revive your career here.’ And I’m like guys they need an arm, pretty much,” Leinart said. “I always wonder if I like went 10-for-11 with a touchdown if I would’ve made the roster.”
There was real opportunity in Buffalo that season. Manuel sprained his knee in Week 5, forcing Lewis into the starting role. Bills backup quarterbacks started six of the team’s 16 games. Tuel even made a start in Week 9.
Leinart holds no bitterness, only affection for the Bills.
“I saw firsthand, like Bills Mafia, how awesome their fans were and they treated me great for the first couple days,” he said. “So that’s why I was like, I love Buffalo.”
Leinart is widely considered one of the greatest quarterbacks in college football history. He led USC to two national titles, including the 2004 BCS Championship, and oversaw the Trojans’ 34-game winning streak. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007.
The Arizona Cardinals selected him with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. Injuries cut short each of his first two seasons, and Kurt Warner eventually overtook him as the starter. Leinart later served as a backup with the Houston Texans and Oakland Raiders before landing in Buffalo.
Bush, Leinart’s teammate at USC and the 2005 Heisman winner, also ended his NFL career in Buffalo. He backed up LeSean McCoy and Mike Gillislee in 2016, finishing with 12 carries for minus-3 yards — the first non-quarterback in league history to end a season with negative rushing yards on double-digit attempts — along with seven receptions for 90 yards.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Heisman Trophy winner felt like someone in his family died when NFL career ended with Bills
Reporting by Ryan Miller, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
