Matt Leinart - #7 - QB
| Status | Inactive |
| Height/Weight | 6' 5"/ 225 lbs. |
| Birthday | 05/11/1983 |
| Birthplace | Santa Ana, CA |
| College | USC |
| Years played | 8 |
| Drafted | 2006, 1st round, 10th pick by Cardinals |
2011 free-agent tracker, by position
Follow the movement of the 2011 free agents in this list, broken down by position.
PLAYER NEWS
Raiders coach Dennis Allen says he won't pick a starting quarterback until after Friday's practice but it seems likely Matt Leinart and Terrelle Pryor will both get a chance.|||||||
Leinart has started just two games since 2007 and failed to live up the expectations of winning the Heisman Trophy at Southern California and being a first-round draft pick by Arizona in 2006.
Leinart and Terrelle Pryor shared reps in practice on Wednesday. However, coach Dennis Allen did not select a starter for Sunday's game in San Diego.|||||||
Allen said Wednesday that Leinart and Pryor split the workload with Oakland's first-team offense during practice, but Pryor later said Leinart took the majority of reps. Leinart has started just two games since 2007 while Pryor has never started in his two NFL seasons.
Leinart is OK to play after injuring the index finger on his non-throwing hand but still might be held out of Saturday's game against the Detroit Lions.|||||||
Leinart, who received stitches in his finger after being knocked out by an illegal hit by Arizona's Ricky Lumpkin last week, attended practice Wednesday but did not participate in any team or positional drills. Carson Palmer continued to take reps with the starters while Terrelle Pryor replaced Leinart with the second team offense. Kyle Newhall-Caballero, an undrafted rookie from Brown, worked as the No.3.
The Oakland Raiders have signed Leinart to a contract to back up Carson Palmer. Leinart will go back to a role he had at Southern California when he was the backup in 2002 when Palmer won the Heisman Trophy.|||||||
Leinart and Jim Sorgi worked out for the Raiders on Tuesday and the team announced later in the day it had reached a deal with Leinart. Leinart has started only seven games the past five seasons. He dislocated his left shoulder in his first start for Houston last year but proved he was healthy enough for the Raiders.
Leinart will be placed on injured reserve after fracturing his left collarbone in the second quarter of Houston's 20-13 win in Jacksonville on Sunday.|||||||
The left-handed Leinart was making his first start since 2009 in place of Matt Schaub, who broke a bone in his right foot in the Texans' 37-9 win in Tampa Bay on Nov. 13. Houston coach Gary Kubiak says Leinart will have surgery within the next week, and Schaub is due to have surgery on Wednesday to repair a Lisfranc injury.