Veteran quarterback Matthew Hasselbeck had an eventful couple of days last month. Cut by the Titans, he quickly landed in the same division, with the Colts.
Now the clear-cut backup to Andrew Luck after being in 2012 the clear-cut backup to Jake Locker, Hasselbeck’s work will be deemed a success if he can constantly nudge Luck to be the best quarterback he can be.
“I feel like I learned a lot in my role with Jake Locker this past year and it really was fulfilling to work with a young guy that’s talented and eager to work and eager to learn,” Hasselbeck told Monday’s edition of Pro Football Talk. “I think the thing that I could probably do a better job is just really bringing a competitive spirit to the room. Obviously, Andrew Luck’s gonna be the starting quarterback there but I can still come in and bring an element of like just being the best that I can be, each and every day.
“I do remember as a young quarterback with the Green Bay Packers, the atmosphere was just very, very competitive. I mean and everyone knew if Brett Favre had two broken legs, he was still going to be the starting quarterback but the atmosphere was that, ‘Hey we’re going to come in and we’re going to compete with each other, each and every day and really just try to push each other in any way that we can sort of like one-up a guy.’ We are just gonna go for it and I think it just, I don’t know if it made Brett any better but I know it made me better and so I think that’s probably the lesson that I learned or one of the lessons that I learned and so I’m looking forward to being around a great talent like Andrew Luck. I think it’ll probably improve my game just having that mentality and in the end ironically it’ll help the Indianapolis Colts be a better team because of it.”
But it likely won’t result in Hasselbeck ending up as a starter elsewhere.
“I would be shocked if this is not the last stop,” Hasselbeck said. “I signed a two-year deal. My goal right now is just to play those two years and make them two great years but this whole ride has been a dream come true for me. I was a sixth-round draft pick, wasn’t invited to the Combine, really when I got uh drafted by the Green Bay Packers if I had left training camp with a free pair of Green Bay Packer shorts I would have chalked it up as a victory so this really is a dream come true for me to get to do this for a living. And it’s not easy. It takes everything you’ve got each and every year. You’ve got to bring it 100 percent to have a successful season but I’m committed to two years right now and I’d be shocked if there’s anything beyond that.”
Despite the commitment level required to thrive in the NFL, Hasselbeck has other interests. His appearance on Monday’s show came in connection with his work with the End It Movement, which has made April 9 an international effort to bring awareness to and ultimately to abolish the ongoing global slavery problem.
There are now more slaves in the world that at any point in history. You’ll learn that troubling fact and others if you visit the End It Movment’s website.