Thursday, June 27, 2002

ProFootballWeekly.com asks personnel expert Joel Buchsbaum for his thoughts on the hottest topics in football. 

Cunningham announces retirement

QB Randall Cunningham retired from the NFL after a 16-year career. Cunningham, 39, played for the Ravens last season and received only moderate interest in the free-agent market. He hopes to sign a ceremonial contract with the Eagles, the team that drafted him in 1985, which would allow him to retire as a member of the Eagles. After spending 10 years in Philadelphia, the former UNLV standout also played for the Vikings, Cowboys and Ravens. He retires as the all-time leading rusher among NFL quarterbacks with 4,928 yards rushing. While destined for the Hall of Fame, the one mark on Cunningham’s career is that he never won a Super Bowl.

Buchsbaum: Cunningham was perhaps the most gifted quarterback I have ever seen. On one play, he could throw a 90-yard touchdown pass, the next he could run 90 yards for a score and on the third, he could punt the ball 75 yards. Cunningham had a fabulous throwing arm, excellent mobility, good field vision and the ability to scramble, improvise and make plays on his own. The only problem was that Cunningham was always a schoolyard quarterback and never could learn how to play the position the way it had to be played on a championship level. Cunningham’s intangibles and makeup held him back, as well as his work ethic. While he had fabulous tools and some very successful regular seasons, he was a total bust in the playoffs because defenses were able to shut him down almost completely when they schemed against him.

The Archives
2001 - 2002 Season