Josh McCown Joshua Treadwell McCown ( born July 4 , 1979 ) is an American football quarterback who was most recently a member of the Chicago Bears . He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft . He played college football at SMU and Sam Houston State . McCown has played for the Detroit Lions , Oakland Raiders , Miami Dolphins , Hartford Colonials and Chicago Bears . He is the older brother of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Luke McCown and younger brother of former Texas A & M quarterback Randy McCown . Early years . McCown attended Jacksonville High School in Jacksonville , Texas . As a senior , he was the East Texas Player of the Year , District 17 - 4A offensive player of the Year , and an all - state honorable mention . He completed 153 out of 231 passes ( 66 . 23 completion percentage ) for 30 touchdowns and 9 interceptions . He also played basketball , and won an All - District second team honors as a senior . College career . McCown played three collegiate seasons at Southern Methodist University , passing for 4 , 022 yards and 24 touchdowns , but also threw 34 interceptions . McCown left the SMU program to prove that he could lead an aerial attack and did so , surpassing his three - year SMU TD total in just one season at Sam Houston State , passing for 3 , 481 yards and 32 touchdowns ( and 12 interceptions ) as a senior . His passing yardage total was the best in Sam Houston history and ranks him eighth all - time in career passing yards . Following his senior season , he was one of 16 players considered for the Walter Payton Award , given to the top performer in NCAA Division 1 - AA football . Professional career . Arizona Cardinals . McCown shot up the draft charts after an outstanding performance at the NFL Combine , which saw him post a 4 . 57 40 - yard dash , a 10 - foot long jump , and a 38½ - inch vertical jump . After being drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft , future Cardinals coach Dennis Green said of McCown , " I think he ' s going to be a great one , when I buy into a quarterback , I really do . " McCown played as a quarterback for the Cardinals from 2002 until 2005 . In his first season at Arizona , he played in two games , debuting against the Kansas City Chiefs when he entered to the game for starter Jake Plummer . In 2003 played in eight games with three starts , and completed 95 of 166 passes with 57 . 2 for 1 , 018 yards with five TDs and six INTs and also rushed for a career - high 158 yards and a TD on 28 carries . McCown was notable for hitting receiver Nate Poole for the game - winning touchdown to knock the Vikings and - ironically - future coach with the Bears Mike Tice out of the playoffs 18 - 17 . His best season for the Cardinals was in 2004 when he played in 14 games and passed for 2 , 511 yards and 11 touchdowns . He also rushed for 112 yards and two TDs on 36 attempts . In his career he has rallied from a fourth - quarter deficit for a victory on four occasions , all of them in 2004 . He connected on a career - high 76 . 9 percent of his passes , 20 of 26 at Atlanta . He started for the Cardinals at the first regular season game outside the United States , played at Estadio Azteca on October 2 , 2005 against the San Francisco 49ers , but McCown relinquished the starting role to Kurt Warner in 2005 . Detroit Lions . In the 2006 off - season , McCown was released by the Cardinals and became a free agent . He signed a two - year contract with the Detroit Lions on March 16 , 2006 . He was the backup quarterback to Jon Kitna , and was occasionally used in as the Y ( slot receiver ) , passing Corey Bradford and Mike Williams on the depth chart as the third WR . McCown caught 2 passes for 15 yards when playing wide receiver in 2006 making his career total 3 catches for 10 yards against the New England Patriots . After the Lions drafted Michigan State quarterback Drew Stanton in the 2007 NFL Draft , McCown was traded along with Williams to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for a fourth - round draft pick , A . J . Davis . Oakland Raiders . McCown ' s first regular season start for the Raiders was the 2007 season opener against his former team , the Lions . He was impressive , completing 30 of 40 passes for 313 yards with two touchdowns in a 36 - 21 loss to the Lions . Unfortunately , he also threw two interceptions and fumbled late in the game to end the Raiders ' attempt at a comeback . McCown had played through the second half of the game against the Lions with a right foot injury . McCown has struggled this season with injuries , and in 13 games McCown has only played in 7 , losing 5 games and winning 2 . In the 7 games that McCown played in , he completed 85 of 143 passes for 901 yards with 9 touchdowns and 10 interceptions . Veteran quarterback Daunte Culpepper was signed by the Raiders prior to the start of the 2007 season , and was used as a back - up quarterback to McCown when McCown was active . But when McCown was unable to play , Culpepper was the starting quarterback for the Raiders , playing in 7 games , winning 3 games , and losing 4 games . Culpepper was questionable for the Raiders game against the Denver Broncos on December 2 after missing practice on November 30 with sore quadriceps . However , McCown ' s status was listed as probable and ended up being the starting quarterback against the Broncos . Along with running back Justin Fargas , McCown led the Raiders to a 34 - 20 victory over the Denver Broncos , improving the Raiders record to 4 and 8 . The next week , McCown left the game against the Green Bay Packers with an injury and the Raiders lost , eliminating them from playoff contention . Miami Dolphins . On February 29 , 2008 , McCown signed a two - year contract with the Miami Dolphins . Prior to training camp in July , McCown needed six stitches in his throwing hand ' s index finger . He suffered the injury holding firewood as his brother Luke chopped it . Coming into the preseason , McCown was listed on the Dolphins depth chart as their starting quarterback over John Beck . Following the signing of free agent quarterback Chad Pennington , McCown failed to appear in the team ' s final three preseason games . He was traded to the Carolina Panthers on August 29 . Carolina Panthers . On August 29 , 2008 , the Carolina Panthers acquired McCown from the Dolphins for a 7th round pick ( # 237 overall ) in the 2009 NFL Draft . The move came a day after Panthers quarterback Matt Moore suffered a leg injury . He made his debut as a Panthers player when he entered the field against the Atlanta Falcons only for the end - game kneeldowns that drained the last 73 seconds from the clock . He had the same role against the Kansas City Chiefs . Hartford Colonials . McCown was signed by the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League on August 3 , 2010 . McCown threw for 265 yards and three touchdowns in the season opener 27 - 10 victory over the Sacramento Mountain Lions . He was then named the player of the week . In Week 2 , he had another solid performance with 264 yards passing and two touchdowns . In Week 4 of the UFL , McCown threw for 223 yards , with one touchdown and one interception . By the end of the season , McCown finished off with over 1 , 000 yards passing , as well as the highest ranked passer in the league . San Francisco 49ers . On August 17 , 2011 , McCown signed with the San Francisco 49ers . He was released by the 49ers on September 3 , 2011 . Chicago Bears . On November 23 , 2011 , McCown signed with the Chicago Bears , as a backup to Caleb Hanie , after an injury to starting quarterback Jay Cutler . On December 18 , 2011 , McCown came in for Hanie during a 38 - 14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks at Soldier Field . McCown threw 2 times , one of his throws for a 12 yard gain , and the other was intercepted . On December 21 , 2011 , the Bears announced that McCown would start on the Christmas Day game against the defending champion Green Bay Packers , due to Caleb Hanie ' s struggles since taking over for the injured Jay Cutler . Despite a 35 - 21 loss , McCown had a somewhat decent game , throwing for a touchdown and 2 interceptions , with a quarterback rating of 78 . 5 . In Week 17 against the Minnesota Vikings , McCown completed 15 for 20 for 160 yards with a touchdown and a pick with a 75 . 4 passer rating , but was sacked 7 times , and Jared Allen nearly broke the NFL record for sacks in a season , but fell . 5 sacks short of the record . The Bears won 17 - 13 . In 2012 , McCown was re - signed to a 1 - year deal by the Bears , and was reassigned a new number after Brandon Marshall joined the team before McCown was re - signed . On August 31 , McCown was waived by the team . On November 12 , McCown was again re - signed by the Bears after starting quarterback Jay Cutler sustained a concussion . Career statistics . Regular season