Everyone assumed Aaron Curry was a can’t miss prospect when he was drafted #4 overall in the 2009 NFL Draft, but so far he’s been a bust. He wasn’t even starting in Seattle when they traded him to the Oakland Raiders this week.

Now he’s the starter in Oakland:

Three days ago Aaron Curry was a backup strongside linebacker in Seattle. Now he’s preparing to start at the weakside for the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

Curry’s prospects took a sudden turn Friday when coach Hue Jackson announced that the first-round pick in the 2009 draft will replace Quentin Groves in the Raiders’ starting defense at home against the Cleveland Browns. Groves has been a starter since signing with Oakland before last season.

I’m a little surprised here, so we’ll see if Jackson is making the right call. I wonder how guys in the locker room will feel about a starter losing his job to another guy before one practice.

I was listening to the NFL Network with week, and Gil Brandt basically called out Aaron Curry as a player who doesn’t give you maximum effort. Brandt explained you can get away with that at certain positions, but at the linebacker spot it was essential that you had guys with high motors who gave you everything they had.

Many players have revived their careers in Oakland under the legendary Al Davis. That said, the Raiders have brought over plenty of veterans who did nothing. Let’s see what happens to Curry.

The Love of Sports recently ranked the top 20 NFL quarterback busts of all-time:

2. Ryan Leaf: (1998 San Diego Chargers 2nd Overall)
He was almost as bad with the media as he was on the field. He didn’t set himself up to become a fan favorite or media darling. After signing, at the time, the largest signing bonus ($11.25 million) for a rookie, his performance didn’t match the compensation. He stated soon after he was drafted that he was looking forward to eventually having a parade through downtown San Diego. Through nine games he threw two touchdowns and thirteen interceptions. In one game that season he was one for fifteen for four yards and three fumbles. In his rookie year he had to be restrained by teammates from going after a reporter. Another time he let a fan that was razzing him get to his head and again had to be restrained by teammates. When his career was finished his statistics were putrid. He had 14 touchdowns against 36 picks. His career passer rating was 50.0. It seemed that he had found some stability recently as a quarterbacks coach for West Texas A&M. However, that was short lived after Leaf was let go for allegedly asking a player for some pain medication.

1. Art Schlichter: (1982 Baltimore Colts 4th overall)
The former Ohio State Buckeye was the last starting quarterback under legendary coach, Woody Hayes. Even though he was a bust from a statistical standpoint his legacy is tarnished for another reason. Like Alex Karras, Paul Hornung, Pete Rose and now Tim Donaghy, he was a sports figure that had a severe gambling problem. By mid-season of his first year, he had blown his whole signing bonus on gambling losses. During the 1982 NFL strike, he amassed at least a $700,000 debt in gambling. He ratted on his bookies to the feds after they threatened to expose his problematic vice. His career passer rating was an embarrassing 42.6. In 1987, he was arrested in a huge sports gambling (multi-million dollar) ring. Pete Rozelle essentially banished him from the league.

Looking at some of these names from this list, it’s no wonder why so many people (myself included) are enamored with what Matt Ryan is doing in his first year. So many quarterbacks that were drafted high not only failed, but were so bad that teams had to cut bait after only two or three years. It’s amazing how bad teams can misjudge quarterbacks’ abilities but it just goes to show you that the draft is an art and not a science.

Ultimate NFL draft bust Ryan Leaf is searching for work again after West Texas A&M placed him on leave after he asked one of their football players for a painkiller. Leaf had been working as the team’s quarterback coach.

Presumably Leaf was asking for something a little stronger than Tylenol or Advil. What isn’t known is how the incident came to light. Did somebody overhear the question? Did Leaf get a guilty conscience? Did the player narc on his coach?

The latter seems to be the most likely. I’d imagine it has to be a little strange to play for Ryan Leaf. Anytime the coach critiques a player, the kid must be thinking, “Dude, you’re Ryan Leaf. What can you tell me about quarterbacking? I was at that game when you went 11-26 with two picks and threw a pass that hit your center in the thigh. And you’re telling me to ‘keep my wits under pressure.’ Just like you did when you flipped out on that reporter, right?”

Leaf, who also coaches the school’s golf team will be on leave “indefinitely.”

Where do you go from here if you’re Ryan Leaf? High school? If West Texas A&M doesn’t want you, there aren’t a whole lot of college teams left that are going to want anything to do with you. He might want to check out Dick’s Sporting Goods or something.