New Raiders quarterback Matt Leinart believes he knows the team’s offense better than his teammates, thanks to his relationship with offensive coordinator Greg Knapp.
Leinart, who played the last two years in Houston when Knapp was the Texans’ quarterbacks coach, told reporters in Oakland on Monday that the Raiders were the best fit in the NFL for him when the Texans let him go.
“It made perfect sense for me to come here because this is a brand new offense for almost everyone on the offensive side of the ball except for myself and [guard] Mike Brisiel, who is from Houston, as well,” Leinart said.
Leinart won’t compete for a starting job in Oakland and will only back up Carson Palmer, and having just turned 29, he may not have many more chances to start. But Leinart says he looks to the man who supplanted him from the one starting job he did have, Kurt Warner, as inspiration.
“Everyone’s path is different,” Leinart said. "[Warner] didn’t start a game until he was [28]. He’s probably a Hall of Famer.”
The difference, of course, is that Warner didn’t start a game until he was 28 because the NFL overlooked him and no team ever gave him a chance to start until he was 28. Leinart was given chances in Arizona and didn’t make the most of them. The best Leinart can do now is be ready in case Palmer goes down. And on that score, he at least thinks he’s more ready than he would be in any other offense.