When linebacker Aaron Curry went fourth overall to the Seahawks in the 2009 draft, analysts hailed the Seahawks for selecting a player who was considered the safest bet for stardom at the top of that year’s draft.
Things never worked out that way. Curry was ineffective with the Seahawks and wound up being traded to the Raiders in 2011. Things didn’t get any better in Oakland and Curry signed for the veteran minimum with the Giants this year. That may be a good thing for Curry’s chances of turning his career around because he admitted Wednesday that the $60 million contract he signed as a rookie wound up taking away his motivation to play his best.
“I knew I could do it,” Curry said, via Tom Pedulla of the New York Times. “I knew I would do it. At the time, I wasn’t motivated to do it. Football wasn’t my top priority, to be honest. I think earlier in my career I was real selfish and self-centered. I was more about me than the Seahawks.”
Curry copped to not playing at full speed if there was a defensive call that didn’t cater to his strengths, a trait that helped him fail to live up to the lofty predictions that accompanied his entry to the NFL. A knee injury in Oakland dropped the opinion of Curry even further, leaving him to try to rehabilitate his career with the Giants.
Motivation shouldn’t be a problem for Curry, who also acknowledged that he’s overweight right now, if he wants to continue playing in the NFL since suitors will be slim if he fails with a third team in five years. If he isn’t able to make things happen now, it’s hard to imagine it’s ever going to happen for him.