Drew Brees is surprised former Mizzou QB Chase Daniel isn’t starting somewhere
By Adam Spencer
Published:
When the Philadelphia Eagles signed former Mizzou QB Chase Daniel before last season, many felt it was finally going to be the ex-Tiger’s chance to start for an NFL team.
However, first-round draft pick Carson Wentz took command of the job and Daniel was once again left holding the clipboard.
Now, after cutting ties with the Eagles this offseason, Daniel is back where his career started — backing up Drew Brees with the New Orleans Saints.
Brees, who led the Saints to a Super Bowl victory in Daniel’s rookie season, told PFT Live that he’s shocked that Daniel hasn’t gotten a chance to start somewhere yet. He said NFL teams need to get over the fact that the former Mizzou star, who is entering his ninth professional season, is only 6-feet tall:
“It actually surprises me greatly, and yet it fits the profile,” Brees said. “When Chase Daniel walks into the room, nobody’s gonna be impressed with his physical attributes. You know, he’s under six feet tall, he doesn’t look on the surface like an NFL quarterback, and yet he has the ‘it’ factor. And that’s something you can’t measure, and a lot of time you can’t figure that out from an interview or what have you. But watch the tape on that guy from the preseason to the opportunity that he got to start two games in Kansas City.
“The guy is a competitive guy, who is extremely intelligent. He loves the game of football, and he’s gonna be a great starting quarterback in this league at some point. It’s just a matter of somebody looking beyond all that other junk, he’s not the prototypical six-four, 220-pound guy that you would draft in the first round, but he’s got all the intangibles.”
Daniel threw for 12,515 yards and 101 touchdowns during his Mizzou career, guiding the Tigers to some of the best seasons in program history. In his NFL career, though, he’s only attempted 78 passes, completing 51 of them for 480 yards and one touchdown.
As Brees enters his 17th NFL season this fall at the age of 38, the 30-year-old Daniel may be relied on more than he ever has been so far in his career. If Brees is right about the ex-Tiger, he’ll be ready to go when called upon.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
