The first preseason game this year for the Pittsburgh Steelers is Friday, and with it, a number of opportunities for players to prove why they belong on the 53-man roster. However, there is also a risk of the starters potentially being injured if they’re allowed to play for too long. Former NFL linebacker LaVar Arrington recently told a cautionary tale about former Steelers quarterback Kordell Stewart supposedly getting his career altered due to an injury in the preseason.
Arrington played in the league from 2000-2006, making three Pro Bowls and being named second-team All-Pro once. Now working as an analyst for FOX, he and his co-hosts recently spoke on their show 2 Pros & A Cup Of Joe about starting quarterbacks getting injured in the preseason.
“You wanna laugh at something? I think that happened to Kordell Stewart in a preseason game with us, and I laced his ass up,” Arrington said. “I put him in a body bag. Laced him up.”
That play most likely came in the second game of the preseason in 2002, a game the team now known as the Washington Commanders won, 35-34. Based on reports from the game, it seems like Arrington gave Stewart a concussion on the play, putting the beginning of his season in jeopardy. Not sure if that’s something to laugh at, but Arrington seems to think it is.
Stewart was an electric player for the Steelers. He was probably way before his time, and if he was in today’s NFL, he might have had more success. However, that year ended up being Stewart’s last in Pittsburgh, and Arrington seems to believe that hit could be the reason why.
“Tommy Maddox ended up coming in and playing because Kordell was never the same after I hit him,” he said. “Never was the same. He thought he had the juice, and it wasn’t worth the squeeze that day.”
It seems like Arrington’s details on the event are hazy because Maddox did not play in the game where he knocked Stewart out. Charlie Batch actually came in with that being his first season with the Steelers. Also, Arrington makes it seem like Stewart never played after that, but he began that season as the Steelers’ starting quarterback. He only lost the job due to poor play, and he would go on to play for three years after that.
Before getting knocked out of that game, Stewart had only completed two of his five passes for 26 yards, adding three rushes for seven yards and a fumble to his stat line. In contrast, Batch completed eight of his nine passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. Granted, it’s unknown what level of competition he was facing, but he performed well, nonetheless.
Arrington’s hit did cost Stewart some time in the preseason, and his level of play did drop that season, but it would be a stretch to say that blow was the direct cause. Maddox had already been brought in as competition after a stellar season in the XFL. Maybe Arrington is correct though, and that concussion did negatively impact Stewart’s career, but there is no definitive answer.
In the end, things worked out for the Steelers. Maddox became their starter that season until Ben Roethlisberger came into the picture, and Batch became one of the best backup quarterbacks in franchise history. Stewart’s story ended less happily, but it seems he’s at peace with his career now. This is just another cautionary tale of what can go wrong in the preseason, even if Arrington’s version of events is a little backwards.
