Sir Purr
Well-known member
- Mar 16, 2019
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The remarkable story began, ironically, a week earlier with a call to Testaverde not from Carolina but from Arizona.
After being released by the New England Patriots a month earlier, Testaverde returned to Long Island and settled into his new role as stay-at-home father to his three children. He thought his long NFL career, which had begun 20 years earlier, was finally over, and he was at peace with it.
Then the Cardinals called. Their second-year quarterback, Matt Leinart, who won the Heisman Trophy 18 years after Testaverde, had broken his collarbone and was out for the season. The team wanted to sign Testaverde to backup Kurt Warner, who was set to take over as the starter.
Three times earlier, Testaverde had attempted to retire. But the Dallas Cowboys lured him back in 2004, the Jets in 2005 and the Patriots again in 2006. This time, he thought he really was done for good and even had made plans to return his family to Tampa, Fla., where his NFL career began in 1987 with the Buccaneers.
Nonetheless, he verbally agreed to a contract with Arizona and made a plane reservation to fly to Phoenix. His children were not happy.
"They all seemed devastated," Testaverde later said. "They were sad about it."
So was Testaverde. He couldn't sleep that night and finally decided he didn't need to catch that plane. He called Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt the next day and said he simply didn't want to be that far away from his family.
But his wife, Mitzi, told him to keep his bags packed. "Somebody else might call," she said.
Sure enough, later Tuesday morning the phone rang again. This time it was Panthers strength and conditioning coach Jerry Simmons, who had worked with Testaverde earlier in his career for both the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens. Jake Delhomme, Carolina's starting quarterback, had suffered a season-ending elbow injury, and his replacement, David Carr, was dealing with a back injury.
With Charlotte only a 90-minute flight from New York, Testaverde felt much better from a family standpoint, knowing he could fly home to see his wife and kids at least once a week. The Panthers even agreed to let him go home on Sunday nights after games, so he could spend Monday and most of Tuesday with them before returning in time for the beginning of a normal week of practice on Wednesday.
Carr was still slated to start when Testaverde arrived at Bank of America Stadium 10 minutes before his first practice on Wednesday. But on the team flight to Arizona on Friday, Carr's back tightened up on him.
The night before the game, head coach John Fox delivered some startling news to Testaverde. "You're starting tomorrow," Fox told him.
"We were at the (team) snack after meetings, and he told me he felt good about it, and I told him I felt good about it, too," Testaverde said.
As for having only a few scant days to practice and study the playbook, Testaverde did not seem too concerned. He told Fox of the plays, "Just dial 'em up, and we'll go out there and throw it around."