| No. 16 | |
| Quarterback | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: May 15, 1976 | |
| Place of birth: Great Falls, Montana | |
| High School: Charles M. Russell High School | |
| Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | Weight: 235 lb (107 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College: Washington State | |
| NFL Draft: 1998 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2 | |
| Debuted in 1998 for the San Diego Chargers | |
| Last played in 2001 for the Dallas Cowboys | |
| Career history | |
As player:
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As coach:
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2001 | |
| Pass attempts | 655 |
| Pass completions | 317 |
| Percentage | 48.4 |
| TD-INT | 14-36 |
| Passing yards | 3,666 |
| QB Rating | 50.0 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
Ryan David Leaf (born May 15, 1976) is a former American football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons. He played for the San Diego Chargers and the Dallas Cowboys between 1998 and 2001, and also spent time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Seattle Seahawks.
Leaf had a successful college career at Washington State University, where he was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy after his junior year. He was selected as the second overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft, however his career was short, marked by injuries, and called one of the most disappointing in sports history.
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After having led his high school, Charles M. Russell High School, to the 1992 Montana state title, Leaf played college football at Washington State University. He played in 32 games for the Cougars, starting 24 of them. In his junior year, he averaged 330.6 yards passing per game and threw for a then Pac-10 conference record 33 touchdowns. He also helped the Cougars defeat the Washington Huskies 41-35 for the first time in Husky Stadium since 1985. Leaf ended the school's 67-year Rose Bowl drought and helped bring the Cougars their first Pac-10 championship in school history. Despite a strong early showing by Leaf in the Rose Bowl, the Cougars were defeated 21-16 by the eventual national champion Michigan Wolverines.[1]
That year, Leaf was a finalist in balloting for the Heisman Trophy, which is given annually to the "most outstanding" player in American college football, as voted on by media figures and former players.[2] He finished third in voting, behind winner Charles Woodson of Michigan, and fellow quarterback Peyton Manning of Tennessee. He also was selected as the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year, was named first-team All-American by The Sporting News, and finished second in the nation in passing rating.[3][4][5] Following the Rose Bowl, Leaf announced that he would forego his senior year at Washington State and turn professional.
Entering the 1998 draft, Manning and Leaf were widely considered to be the two best players available,[3] and scouts and analysts debated whether Leaf or Manning should be selected first.[6][7] Many advocated for Leaf[8] and his stronger arm, while others saw Manning as the more mature player. The differences in potential between the two seemed small enough, however, that most observers expected it would not greatly matter whether a team selected Manning or Leaf,[3][9] as either quarterback would greatly benefit the team that selected him.[7] The San Diego Chargers had the third pick of the draft, but traded two first round picks, a second round pick, and three time Pro Bowler Eric Metcalf to the Arizona Cardinals to move up one spot and guarantee that the team would get one of the two quarterbacks.[9]
On draft day Manning was selected first by the Indianapolis Colts and Leaf was selected second by the Chargers.[9] The Chargers signed Leaf to a four-year contract worth $31.25 million, including a guaranteed $11.25 million signing bonus. It was at the time, the largest signing bonus ever paid to a rookie.[10] Leaf stated on draft day, "I'm looking forward to a 15-year career, a couple of trips to the Super Bowl and a parade through downtown San Diego".[8]
San Diego's high hopes for Leaf were soon dashed, as his rookie season was marked by bad performances. Before the season started, Leaf skipped a symposium that was mandatory for all players who were drafted, resulting in a fine.[11] Leaf did well in the preseason, and lead the Chargers to win his first two regular season games as a rookie,[9] becoming the first quarterback since John Elway in the 1983 NFL season to do so.[12] But, in the third game of the season, he completed one of 15 passes for four yards, threw two interceptions, and fumbled three times in a loss against the Kansas City Chiefs.[13] He was benched after throwing two touchdown passes and thirteen interceptions in nine games, and was replaced by quarterback Craig Whelihan.[14] In ten games that season, Leaf threw two touchdown passes and fifteen interceptions, passing for 1,289 yards and had a 45.3 percent completion rate, with a poor quarterback rating of 39.[15]
Leaf had a bad relationship with the media and his teammates, whom he tended to blame for his poor play.[8] In a locker room incident during Leaf's rookie year, he was caught on camera screaming "Knock it off!" at San Diego Union Tribune reporter Jay Posner, and was physically restrained by teammate Junior Seau. Another on-camera incident involved Leaf reacting to heckling from a fan during a practice session[6], and two coaches had to restrain Leaf and escort him off the field. Former Chargers safety Rodney Harrison described being a member of the Chargers during Leaf's rookie season as "a nightmare you can't even imagine." After Leaf's retirement in 2002, Harrison said "[Leaf] took his money and ran."[16]
Leaf missed his second season due to a shoulder injury uncovered by a pre-season physical.[12] He was placed on injured reserve but made headlines for getting into a shouting match with Chargers general manager Bobby Beathard and another coach. The incident resulted in a fine, a suspension without pay and an apology by Leaf four weeks later.[17][18] Leaf also allegedly lied about a hand injury in order to get out of practice so that he could play golf.[16]
Leaf started the first two games of the 2000 season, completing less than half of his pass attempts and throwing for five interceptions and one touchdown. When backup Moses Moreno went down with a strained knee ligament, the Chargers gave Leaf more playing time. However, he injured his wrist while throwing an interception in a week four game and did not play again until week eleven.[12] Following more poor performances and injury problems, he was released by the Chargers after the season, with four wins as a starter in three years.[19]
After being waived by San Diego on March 1, 2001,[20] Leaf was claimed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were intrigued by his physical talent and planned to develop his abilities more slowly by having him watch and learn.[21] However, Leaf's wrist still had not healed. He refused to have surgery despite doctors' recommendations. After mediocre performances in the preseason, the club asked Leaf to be their No. 4 quarterback and accept a lower salary. He refused and the club released him five days before the start of the 2001 season. Leaf did not have any recurrences of the emotional outbursts or off-field incidents that tarnished his career with the Chargers.[22]
Leaf attempted a comeback with the Dallas Cowboys, who signed him a few weeks after the Buccaneers released him. He failed his first physical and had some trouble passing the second due to his wrist.[23] The Cowboys released him in May 2002, after he had appeared in four games — all losses — throwing for 494 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.[24] Leaf was signed days later to a one year contract by the Seattle Seahawks, who, like the Buccaneers, planned to let him develop slowly in order to allow him to heal from his injuries.[25] The quarterback attended the team's spring minicamps and seemed upbeat about his new team. However, Leaf retired at the age of 26, just prior to the start of the Seahawks' 2002 training camp, initially offering no explanation. Seahawks coach and general manager Mike Holmgren said Leaf's wrist did not bother him with the Cowboys or the Seahawks.[8] Leaf later cited his injuries for his retirement.
During his brief career in the NFL, Leaf appeared in 25 games and made 21 starts. He completed 317 of 655 (48.4%) passes for 3,666 yards, with 14 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. Leaf's career quarterback rating was 50.0.[26]
The sports network ESPN listed Leaf first on their list of the 25 Biggest Sports Flops between 1979-2004.[27] MSNBC commentator Michael Ventre called him "the biggest bust in the history of professional sports."[28] Since Leaf's retirement, sports writers have speculated which quarterbacks in NFL drafts will flop by using the phrase "the next Ryan Leaf".[29] In 2010, the NFL Network listed Leaf as the #1 NFL quarterback bust of all time.[30]
In 2001, Leaf married a Chargers cheerleader. They separated two years later and eventually divorced.[31] Leaf went back to college and enrolled in a sports management class called Media Relations at Washington State.[32] He graduated with a bachelor's degree in arts and humanities in May 2005.[33]
Leaf's younger brother, Brady, was a backup quarterback and cornerback for the Oregon Ducks football team.[34][35]
Leaf joined Don Carthel's West Texas A&M University coaching staff as a volunteer quarterbacks coach in 2006, stating "About a year after I retired from playing, I decided that I wanted to get back to college, where I had the greatest time of my life, and to get involved with college football."[36] Leaf also admitted that he was unprepared for the NFL when he was drafted back in 1998.[36] In April 2008, ESPN described Leaf as having come to terms with his past, with Leaf saying, "When playing football became a job, it lost its luster for me. I kind of got out of the spotlight and life's never been this good."[37]
In November 2008, Leaf was put on indefinite leave, and subsequently resigned from one day later, from his coaching position at West Texas A&M for allegedly asking one of his players for a pill to help him deal with pain in his wrist from past injuries.[38] In May 2009, Leaf was indicted on burglary and controlled substance charges in Texas. He was undergoing drug rehab in British Columbia at the time of the indictment[39] and was arrested by customs agents as he returned to the United States. On June 17, 2009, he posted $45,000 bond in Washington state for the criminal charges in Texas.[40] In April 2010, Leaf pleaded guilty in Amarillo, Texas, to seven counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and one count of delivery of a simulated controlled substance, all felonies. State District Judge John B. Board sentenced Leaf to 10 years of probation and fined him $20,000.[41]
In October 2009, Leaf was living in Vancouver, Canada as a business development manager for a travel company.[42][42]. In December 2010, Leaf signed a contract to write three autobiographical books.[43] In June 2011, Leaf had surgery to remove a benign tumor from his brain stem.[44]
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