In a surprising move, Titans owner Bud Adams decided Wednesday to part ways with quarterback Vince Young.
Young spoke with Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean after the announcement was made. Wyatt has posted some excerpts of the interview.
“I didn’t feel like [Jeff] trusted me,” Young said. “In the five years I was there, I was always looking over my shoulder.”
Young also said that "[e]verything was my fault,” which we presume isn’t an acceptance of failure but an observation that he too often received the blame when things didn’t go as well as expected. “But that’s over now,” Young added. “I wish Coach Fisher and Bud Adams and all my coaches and teammates best. “
Young admitted that he’s “bitter a little bit,” because he’ll “miss the guys.”
He said he has “nothing against Jeff Fisher,” but that Young wishes Fisher “would have trusted me a little more.”
“I didn’t feel like I was his guy all the way,” Young said. “I put in a lot of work and my stats and my winning, it showed I had grown.”
Statistically, Young had the best season of his career in 2010, finishing with a passer rating of 98.7. He suffered a season-ending injury in November, but it was a locker-room incident between Young and Fisher that prompted the coach to declare that he was done with Young.
Though Wednesday’s move gives the Titans little trade leverage, Young’s contract will be tough to trade -- and it’s unlikely that he’d renegotiate in order to help the Titans get anything of value in exchange for his rights. In late November, Charley Casserly of CBS reported that Young is due to be paid a $4.25 million roster bonus on the 10th day of the 2011 league year, whenever the 2011 league year begins. (Casserly also reported that the Titans planned to pay it.) As a result, Young undoubtedly will be cut before the payment comes due, and he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.