NFL

NFL Hype Trains Teams Threw Away Like Yesterday’s Garbage

Darren - September 6, 2023
NFL

NFL Hype Trains Teams Threw Away Like Yesterday’s Garbage

Darren - September 6, 2023

NBC Sports

Henry Ruggs III

The Raiders haven’t experienced much joy over the past few decades. Ruggs was a rare glimmer of hope after they moved to Allegiant Stadium because he became their most important weapon. The wideout was on course for the Pro Bowl in his sophomore year before a fatal car collision.

CBS Sports

He killed Tina Tintor in the drunk-driving incident that saw him smash his Corvette into his victim’s vehicle. She died in the ensuing blaze with her dog and the Raiders immediately cut him. His appallingly selfish act means that he’ll spend years in a Nevada jail (via 8 News Now).

AllSport

Ryan Leaf

San Diego thought that they pulled off a coup when they drafted Leaf in 1998. The former Washington State prospect had exciting raw potential. Peyton Manning was the big name that year but many thought that Leaf also had an amazing long-term ceiling (via Sportskeeda).

AP

But his horrible performances derailed the hype train and they threw him away like yesterday’s garbage. Everybody knows about Leaf’s addiction problems but maturity was also a big issue. He spent a couple of seasons bouncing around the NFL as a backup before retirement.

Essentially Sports

Odell Beckham Jr.

This was one of the NFL’s most dramatic hype trains but Beckham derailed it quickly. Everybody thought that he was going to become a New York icon. This superstar played brilliantly in the nation’s biggest city. It was a match made in heaven on paper.

CNN

OBJ became a three-time Pro Bowler before they threw him away like yesterday’s garbage. His off-field behavior was exhausting and this convinced the Giants’ front office to trade him to Cleveland. It came a season after he signed a five-year extension, but they had enough (via SNY).

NFL.com

Trey Lance

Lance has one of the strangest career arcs in recent NFL history. Whenever the Niners draft a quarterback it’s going to attract attention. They made the North Dakota star the second-overall pick in 2021. But they sent him to Dallas in 2023 like spoiled leftovers (via The Ringer).

San Diego Union-Tribune

Some people thought this was a massive risk because he only attempted 318 career passes with the Bisons. Then he had shocking lousy luck in San Francisco with horrible injuries. He failed to inspire confidence when he did play and then “Mr. Irrelevant” Brock Purdy emerged.

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