General Info

6'1", 215 lbs. 27 years old
Tulane

King was a 2nd round pick for Tampa Bay in 1999. He was the 50th overall selection, and the 6th QB taken that year. He never really caught on in Tampa, despite some above average stats. For his career, King posted:

• 22 starts
• 368 completions out of 654 attempts for 4,064 passing yards
• 26 passing TDs
• 20 INTs
• 104 carries for 424 rushing yards
• 5 rushing TDs

He is #2 on the Arizona depth chart behind Josh McCown (only 3 NFL starts).

Will Grant's Thoughts

2004 Outlook

QB Shaun King was signed by Denny Green and the Arizona Cardinals in the off season to back up an unproven QB Josh McCown. It would be easy to just fill this with a ton of quotes from Denny Green on how much he likes King, and how well King is doing. It would be easy because there are a ton of quotes saying exactly that. Maybe its all just coachspeak, but Green talks very highly of King. However, it should be noted that Green has made a career of praising his players in the press.

Currently, King is behind unproven McCown on the roster. In three starts at the end of last season, McCown threw for an average of 223 yards with five total touchdowns and only two interceptions, leading to him being named the starter this season. He is unproven, and will be prone to mistakes. He only started 3 games as a rookie, and for all practical purposes, 2004 could be thought of as his rookie season.

It should also be noted that Denny Green is very likely to use different QBs as it suits him. In his 10 seasons with the Vikings, he employed 7 different starting QBs. Nothing is locked in stone here.

Shaun King however, is a journeyman QB who has had some opportunities along the way, but never capitalized on them. Expect more of the same in 2004. Unless he is absolutely ineffective (and don't plan on it) or seriously injured, McCown will be the starter for the Cardinals all season. King's value here is minimal at best and surely all but worthless in 2004.

2007 Outlook

By 2007, King is still in the league. Most likely it won't be with the Cardinals, but he will be somewhere. He could have even gotten another chance as a starter by then. He didn't prove to be the answer, but he got the shot. King is a career backup, and he will be backing some starting QB up in 2007.

Final Thoughts

The only reason to have Shaun King on your team is if you believe McCown will fail or get injured. Running a Denny Green offense is fantasy gold. However, even if King somehow becomes the starter for the Cardinals in 2004, he is gone within the year. He's a career backup (which is a great job...I'd like to have it). King is just not useful in fantasy football.

Jason Wood's Thoughts

2004 OUTLOOK

Shaun King is entering his sixth year, and joins the Cardinals as Josh McCown's backup. In his first five seasons, all with Tampa Bay, King played heavily for just one year, 2000, when he threw for a respectable 2,769 yards, 18 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. King also managed 353 yards rushing and 5 rushing touchdowns to finish 9th among fantasy QBs. Clearly, when given the chance King was/is able to make things happen.

Unfortunately Brad Johnson was brought aboard in Tampa Bay and King was relegated to backup duty. He never again saw the field for more than cleanup duty and is starting anew with Dennis Green in Arizona.

King's future, in my view, hinges entirely on whether or not Josh McCown stays healthy. If McCown is healthy, he's the guy. Green recently compared McCown to Brett Favre and passed on a bumper crop of rookie QB draft prospects because he was sure McCown was equipped to manage his explosive offense. As a result, unless McCown gets hurt, King will spend another year cheering on the sidelines.

If injury does befall McCown, King will inherit a young and talented receiving corps including Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, Bryant Johnson, Marcel Shipp and Freddie Jones. With Green calling the plays, King could make a decent waiver wire savior for some team in dire straits. But again, that's a long shot; certainly King shouldn't be near the top of backup QBs worth targeting for 2004 alone.

2007 OUTLOOK

I don't believe Shaun King is viewed as a starting caliber QB any longer. Perhaps some NFL personnel manager will disagree but King was available in free agency and could barely get a look while players like Billy Volek were being courted with lucrative deals to backup proven stars. With that in mind, I see King hanging around as a backup for some years to come; but would be surprised to see him starting for a playoff caliber team in 2007 or beyond.

Final Thoughts

King's surprising 2000 seasons seems like a LONG time ago. In the last three years he's attempted just 80 passes and thrown one touchdowns. Unless injury opens the door for him, he's got "career backup" written all over him.

Quotations from the Message Board Thread

To view the Entire Message Board Thread, Click here.

WinningisEverything:
People do not think about King when they look at backup QBs and that could be a mistake. The starter, Josh McCown, has very little game experience. It will be interesting to see if Green keeps him on a short leash. If McCown falters, King would be a capable starter. He has an average arm and good running skills, so if he were to start I do not see great things from him.

Lombardi's Orphan Son:
I've been doing a little research on the subject ... more coachspeak than numbers, and have come to some conclusion in my mind. First of all, I think the anointing of McCown as #1 was a "good for the team" statement. It was decisive and gave the appearance of stability. The simple fact is McCown will be given the "opportunity" to be #1. he is NOT a true #1 in the sense of ... and let's not shoot too high here ... Jake Plummer (and I could name about 26 others). There will be a quarterback battle in AZ. Although McCown is liked on the team and he will be given all of the opportunities to keep the starting job ... he will struggle. If king shines he will get his chance, heck, even if he doesn't shine he will be get his chance(s).

Pigskin Fanatic:
King isn't likely to emerge as a top quality QB, but I think he's in a nice situation to be given an opportunity to shine. AZ has two real good receivers and a young unproven starting QB. So far King's stats (when he actually played) looks much better than McCown's. Like Chase said, playoff wins go a long way too. In a crazy parallel world, McCown fails, King takes over, AZ extends King's contract in 2005. Other than Tim Couch, I have King on top of my list of current backup QBs who will end up a quality starter somewhere in the near future.