The Recent History of Mr. Irrelevant Players in the NFL

Well, everyone, we might be seeing the greatest Mr. Irrelevant of all time blossom right in front of our eyes. If you don’t know who I am talking about, then you must have been living under a rock since before week 14 of the NFL season. Since week 14, 49ers 3rd string quarterback Brock Purdy has started every game and has won every game he has played in and now leads a scorching hot San Francisco 49ers team that has not lost since week 11 into an NFC Divisional matchup against the Dallas Cowboys (yuck). I do believe that the 49ers will win this game quite easily and beat whoever they will face in the NFC Championship game, meaning that yes, I do have the 49ers going to the Superbowl AND winning the Superbowl as well. The 49ers had one of, if not the best defense in the league and an extremely explosive offense, I believe that if Brock Purdy can continue to play the way he has, he has the chance to become the greatest Mr. Irrelevant of all time, as a rookie!

In this article I will be looking into the careers of all the Mr. Irrelevant NFL draft picks since 2009.

2009 – Kicker Ryan Succop, Kansas City Chiefs.

One of the most successful Mr. Irrelevant to ever play the game, Ryan Succop played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2009-2013. While with Kansas City he set the Chiefs records for most field goals made by a rookie at 25 field goals made and most field goals made in a single game at 6 on September 23rd, 2012. After his 4-year stint in Kansas City, he signed with the Tennessee Titans and was with them from 2014-2019. While with Tennessee he set the Titans record for most consecutive successful field goals from inside 50 yards at 56 field goals straight. Then after his 5-year stint in Tennessee, he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 and is still currently with them. While he has been in Tampa Bay, he has set the Buccaneers record for most points scored in a season with 136 points scored in the 2020 season. In a twist of fate, Ryan Succop helped beat the team that drafted him back in 2009, the Kansas City Chiefs in the Superbowl 31-9 for the Buccaneers. With the Superbowl win, Ryan Succop became the first player to ever be drafted as Mr. Irrelevant and play in and win a Superbowl. Finally, Ryan Succop has also set some NFL records as well. His record for most consecutive successful field goals from inside 50 yards at 56 field goals straight with the Tennessee Titans is an NFL record. His other NFL record was set in his rookie season when he was with the Kansas City Chiefs, which was that he set the highest field goal percentage by a rookie kicker in a season in NFL history at 86.2%.

2010 – Wide Receiver Tim Toone, Detroit Lions

Not very successful career-wise in the NFL, Tim Toone was drafted by the Lions as Mr. Irrelevant in 2010 but was then immediately cut and signed to the Lions practice squad and was eventually released. He then spent the next few years jumping around from practice squad to practice squad with the Buffalo Bills in 2011, the Denver Broncos for part of 2012 then was waived, and then the Atlanta Falcons for the rest of 2012. He was elevated to the Falcons' 53-man roster but never saw any playing time due to a hamstring injury, in which he was cut and then later resigned and then waived in 2013. Finally, he was signed by the New Orleans Saints in the offseason of 2013 in July and was waived that very next month in August, that being the end of his NFL career.

2011 – Defensive End/Linebacker Cheta Ozougwu, Houston Texans

Again a Mr. Irrelevant that had a not very successful career in the NFL, Cheta Ozougwu was drafted by the Houston Texans as Mr. Irrelevant in 2011. He made his first NFL appearance in a preseason game against the New York Jets that season but was never seen in a game that entire season. He then signed with the Chicago Bears in 2012 and was with them for the 2012-2013 seasons where throughout those two seasons he appeared in nine games over the past two seasons, recording 9 tackles, one sack, one tackle-for-loss, one forced fumble, and five special teams tackles. He was then waived in the offseason of 2014. Later in the 2014 offseason, he was signed by the New Orleans Saints but never played a game for them due to being placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury. Finally, in 2015 he and the Saints parted ways after he failed his season-ending physical to end his NFL career.

2012 – Quarterback Chandler Harnish, Indianapolis Colts

Another player to never make it onto the field of an actual NFL game, Chandler Harnish was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts as Mr. Irrelevant in 2012. He was with the Colts from 2012-2013 constantly jumping between the practice squad and being waived repeatedly by the Colts, at one point competing for the backup quarterback role against Matt Hasselbeck. He was eventually released and then signed to the Minnesota Vikings Practice Squad in 2014. With the Vikings, he was on the active roster for a single game that season. On October 2, he was put on the active roster to backup Christian Ponder against the Green Bay Packers due to Matt Cassel being on injured reserve and Teddy Bridgewater spraining his ankle. He was immediately deactivated after the game and waived the next day. He was then re-signed to the practice squad and was released at the end of the season. Finally, he signed with the Arizona Cardinals practice squad in 2015 and was subsequently released before the preseason to end his NFL career.

2013 – Tight End Justice Cunningham, Indianapolis Colts

In another non-successful NFL career, Justice Cunningham was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts as Mr. Irrelevant in 2013. He was with the Colts for the 2013 season during which he was waived, signed to the practice squad, and then surprisingly on November 19, 2013, he was promoted to the Colts' active roster. He then went on to play his first regular-season NFL game on November 24, 2013, against the Arizona Cardinals in which he had one catch for four yards (WOW!). Two days later he got waived. After being waived by the Colts, he was signed by the St. Louis Rams (Woah throwback) to the practice squad and was with the Rams for the rest of 2013-2015. While with the Rams he bounced around from practice squad to injured reserve to getting waived and then being re-signed to the practice squad in what seems like an infinite loop. Finally, he ended his career by being cut as part of the final roster cuts for the Rams before the 2016 season.

2014 – Safety Lonnie Ballentine, Houston Texans

A player who played in 4 games over his career having a total of 3 tackles and 1 pass defended, Lonnie Ballentine was drafted by the Houston Texans as Mr. Irrelevant in 2014. He was with the Texans from 2014-2016, in which in his 2014 rookie season he did not play in a single game. In 2015 he played minimal snaps in two games, and in 2016 he started on the reserve/PUP list before being activated to the active roster and then playing in the other two games that he played in for his career with minimal snaps as well. Finally, he was then placed on injured reserve and was then waived and released before the start of the 2017 season to end his NFL career.

2015 – Tight End Gerald Christian, Arizona Cardinals

A player with a similar career to those previous, Gerald Christian was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals as Mr. Irrelevant in 2015. Funny enough, his pick was announced by the former Mr. Irrelevant Chandler Harnish (2012), who was with the Cardinals at this point in his career. In the final preseason game of the 2015 season, Gerald tore the MCL in his left knee and was placed on season-ending injured reserve. He was then released by the Cardinals in the offseason. Then going into the 2016 season he was signed by the Buffalo Bills practice squad and then subsequently promoted to the active roster multiple times throughout the season. He was eventually on the active roster for 3 games in a row and in that span, he had one catch for 14 yards. That would be the only catch of his NFL career. That following offseason he was released by the Bills. Then in a reunion, he signed to the Cardinals practice squad in 2017 but was waived at the end of training camp, ending his NFL career. Following the end of his career in the NFL, he jumped around in the Alliance of American Football League in 2019.

2016 – Cornerback Kalan Reed, Tennessee Titans

Playing in more games than basically all the Mr. Irrelevant’s before him, Kalan Reed was drafted by the Tennessee Titans as Mr. Irrelevant in 2016. In his time with the Titans from 2016-2017, he played in a total of 7 games and had 3 total tackles and 1 pass defended. Throughout his time with the Titans though, he jumped around from being on the practice squad and being on the active roster before being put on injured reserve and then being released in the offseason before the 2018 season. Midway through the 2018 season he was signed to the Seattle Seahawks practice squad and once again jumped around from being promoted to the active roster and being put back on the practice squad during his tenure with the Seahawks from 2018-2019. During the 2019 preseason he was out on injured reserve with a career-ending neck injury and that following season he became a free agent and ended his NFL career.

2017 – Quarterback Chad Kelly, Denver Broncos

The nephew of the great Jim Kelly, Chad was drafted by the Denver Broncos as Mr. Irrelevant in 2017. Being the nephew of the great Jim Kelly must have given him plenty of stress to be just as good as him or better, and I can tell you now, no that did not happen over his stint with the Broncos from 2017-2018 or at all. For the 2017 season, he was on the reserve/non-football injury list after having off-season wrist surgery. In 2018, a season where Broncos fans had Paxton Lynch and Case Keenum, Chad ended up being the backup to Case Keenum. In week 6 of the 2018 season, he appeared in his first NFL game, kneeling for a one-yard loss at the end of the first half. That would be the 1 snap he ever played in the NFL. Later that season, the Broncos released Chad following his arrest on suspicion of first-degree criminal trespassing in which he allegedly entered a couple's place of residence after leaving teammate Von Miller’s Halloween party (what the heck man). In early 2019, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor second-degree criminal trespassing for the incident and was then signed to the Indianapolis Colts that offseason. In his stint with the Colts from 2019-2020 he was suspended the first two games of the 2019 season for violating the NFL's conduct policy and then waived after he was reinstated from his suspension. He then was re-signed to the Colts practice squad and later was promoted to the active roster then waived by the Colts again in the 2020 season and signed to the practice squad and then eventually released, ending his NFL career. As of recent, from 2022 to now, he has been playing off and on for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.

2018 – Wide Receiver Trey Quinn, Washington [Redacted] (what is now the Commanders)

In a surprise career I certainly didn’t see coming, Trey Quinn was drafted by the Washington Commanders as Mr. Irrelevant in 2018. He spent the 2018-2019 seasons in Washington where he was placed on injured reserve multiple times and ended his rookie season with 9 catches, 75 yards, and a touchdown catch! The following season he was playing alright up until the week 13 win against the Carolina Panthers, in which he was removed from the game due to sustaining a helmet-to-helmet hit on a punt return. He was then diagnosed with a concussion and eventually placed on injured reserve. He ended his second season with 26 catches, 198 yards, and a Touchdown! He was then waived in the offseason, playing a total of 15 games for the Commanders. In 2020, he was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad. He was placed on the covid list midway through the season but eventually came back to the practice squad. He eventually was activated to the active roster for 1 game where he recorded no stats and then was sent immediately back to the practice squad. His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season was over and was signed to the Las Vegas Raiders practice squad in 2021. He was then waived and not picked up again until 2022 by the Denver Broncos and was very quickly released again, ending his NFL career. Currently, he was signed by the Michigan Panthers of the USFL in December 2022.

2019 – Tight End Caleb Wilson, Arizona Cardinals

A man who jumped around a lot, Caleb Wilson was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals as Mr. Irrelevant in 2019. The Cardinals proceeded to waive him and then sign him to their practice squad. Later that season, Washington [Redacted] signed him to their active roster off the Cardinals practice squad and was then waived at the end of the 2019 season. In 2020, he was claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia Eagles and was then waived and signed to their practice squad. Later in the season, he was activated to the active roster for 5 games in which he has no stats and then immediately sent back to the practice squad after every game. He was then waived by the Eagles that offseason and was claimed off waivers by the Washington Football Team in 2021 and was waived again 2 weeks later. Later in 2021 he was signed, released, and then re-signed by the Denver Broncos practice squad. His contract ended at the end of the 2021 season and his NFL career ended there.

2020 – Linebacker Tae Crowder, New York Giants

Our best player since Ryan Succop, Tae Crowder was drafted by the New York Giants as Mr. Irrelevant in 2020. In his time with the Giants from 2020-2022 (basically the entire season of 2022 except the last 2 games of the season), started his rookie year by having a forced fumble and recovering it for a touchdown in a win for the Giants. Later in the season, he was placed on injured reserve and then reactivated back to the active roster. Following his stint on the injured reserve he came back to get his first-ever sack against Russell Wilson in another Giants win. In 2021 he recorded his first-ever interception against Jalen Hurts in a victory against the Eagles. He ended the 2021 season with a career-high 130 tackles and led the team in tackles while also recording two interceptions and one forced fumble. In the 2022 season, he was benched in week 10 and subsequently waived and then re-signed to the practice squad. While on the active roster, he had 43 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble. Two weeks before the end of the regular season he was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers to their active roster and did not play in the last two games of the season for the Steelers.

2021 – Linebacker Grant Stuard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A player who is now only in their second year in the NFL, there wasn’t much on this guy. Grant Stuard was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as Mr. Irrelevant in 2021. He played 19 games for the Buccaneers (17 regular season and 2 postseason) during the 2021 season. Before the beginning of the 2022 season, Grant and a 7th-round draft pick were traded to the Indianapolis Colts for a 6th-round pick. In his 2022 season with the Colts, he played in 15 games. So far in his career, he has a total of 26 tackles and 1 forced fumble. That is all.

2022 – Quarterback Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers

The man, the myth, the legend that I mentioned at the beginning of this paper. Brock Purdy was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers as Mr. Irrelevant in 2022. Originally this year wasn’t supposed to be Brock’s year but eventually did after the injuries to rookie Trey Lance and long-time NFL quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, forcing the 49ers to play him. The 49ers made the right choice to play him considering that they are playing at such a high level! In the game where Jimmy Garoppolo got injured, Brock Purdy came in to replace him and became the first Mr. Irrelevant to throw a touchdown pass in a regular season game. That following week, on December 11, 2022, he became the only quarterback in his first career start to beat a team led by Tom Brady when the 49ers defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35–7. The next game, he beat NFC West rivals the Seattle Seahawks and became the second player in NFL history, after Aaron Rodgers, to record an accumulative quarterback rating of 115 or greater in his first two starts. He was also named the NFC's Rookie of the Month for December and January. Brock ended the regular season throwing for 1,374 yards for 13 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, winning all five of his starts and leading the 49ers to the second seed in the playoffs. His passer rating of 119.4 through his five starts was the highest for a quarterback in his first five starts since Kurt Warner in 1999. In the wildcard playoff game against the Seahawks, he became the first 49ers rookie quarterback to start and win a playoff game, while putting him 6–0 in career starts. In the game, he completed 18-of-30 passes for 332 yards and scored four total touchdowns, the most by a rookie quarterback in a playoff game and becoming the first ever Mr. Irrelevant to start and win a playoff game.

I do think that the sky’s the limit for this kid. If he continues to produce at such a high level, I think he has it in him to win this year's Super Bowl!

I hope you all enjoyed the article and have a great rest of your day!