Why do CFL teams care about Vince Young?

The news that quarterback Vince Young was cut by the NFL's Bills and subsequently added to the Montreal Alouettes' negotiation list has drawn plenty of CFL attention, but the question is if it should. For one thing, Young still has plenty of time to try and land with another NFL team, and his high profile and past success (both in college and with the NFL's Tennessee Titans) make him more likely to get another shot somewhere than your average NFL cut. For another, it's highly in doubt that Young would ever come north given the limited pay in the CFL. For a third, even if Young did come to Canada, there's no guarantee he'd succeed in three-down football and plenty of factors suggesting he might not. Add it all up, and this move by the Alouettes seems to have odds of success slightly worse than those of successfully navigating an asteroid field.

First, let's look at if Young's likely to land elsewhere in the NFL. Sure, his performance in Buffalo was extremely underwhelming, and that means there won't be as much interest in him as there was a few years ago, or even as there was this offseason before he signed with the Bills. However, while that interest may be low, it's not nil. Young was a dominant player in college, and while NFL passing stats have always been less than overwhelming, he has shown an ability to make plays with his legs. That helps boost his profile, given the current amount of interest in dual-threat guys like Cam Newton, Michael Vick, Robert Griffin III and even Tim Tebow. Young's likely a worse quarterback than all of those players (well, maybe excepting Tebow), but that dual-threat reputation makes him an intriguing target for teams to take a flyer on, even if it's only as a member of the practice squad. It's also worth pointing out that he has a 31-19 career record in the NFL; records are a ridiculous way to judge quarterback performance, but many coaches and personnel guys still go by them. Thus, it's not hard to envision Young being picked up by another NFL team (as happened in 2010, when the Argos had him on their negotiation list for some reason).

Even if Young falls out of the NFL, there would be very little financial incentive for him to come north. He made at least $25.7 million (and probably a lot more) during his time with the Titans and has since drawn NFL paycheques from the Eagles and Bills. The $350,000 signing bonus he drew from Buffalo this year is more than some starting CFL quarterbacks will make in a season, much more than CFL players at any other position will make, and much more than Young would make if he did come north (as he'd likely begin as a backup, and would be offered probably $200,000 at the very most, likely much less). Even if Young has completely squandered his money, there are more appealing options for him; a team in the UFL, the Arena League or some other U.S. circuit might offer him a chance to play for more money, and that would also let him play closer to home and likely give him a chance to start. A Young deal would be smarter for those teams than it would for a CFL team, too; in the U.S., Young's at least somewhat of a marketing draw, but it's tough to imagine him being much of one in Canada, especially if he's buried on the depth chart (and he would be in Montreal, behind at least Anthony Calvillo and Adrian McPherson and possibly some of the Alouettes' other QBs). There's next to no reason for Young to consider the CFL, especially if he has any other football option.

If we conveniently ignore all the reasons why Young won't come to Canada and just presume he heads north, that's still no reason to think that it will work out. Everyone obsesses over Young's rushing ability and how it might help him on the CFL's bigger field, but quarterbacks have to be able to pass too (otherwise, you get Steven Jyles). That isn't something Young has been able to do consistently at the professional level. He's never averaged over 200 yards passing per game in a single season, and he's only twice posted completion percentages above 60 per cent. He's a career 57.9 per cent passer who throws for 147 yards a game and has tossed 46 touchdowns against 51 interceptions. That's worse than what the struggling Jyles has done this year (58.9 per cent completion rate, 206.9 yards per game heading into this week, five TDs against four INTs). Sure, the NFL's a different level of competition, but the CFL game takes a while to adjust to for quarterbacks, and there's very little statistically to suggest that Young would do well up here. Still, in the minds of CFL GMs, any time you can waste a negotiation list spot on a player who's likely to never play a down in your league and would likely be an inferior version of Steven Jyles if he did, you have to do it, right?