Houston Texans — David Carr (2002):
David Carr presents a fascinating chicken-or-the-egg argument. On one hand, his transition to the NFL was absolutely brutal. Coaches worked hard to correct his three-quarter throwing motion, which they believed to be a problem. On top of that, he played behind a horrifically porous offensive line (typical for an expansion team) that left him battered and bloodied after each game. Some of his own teammates would wonder how he could get up after each hit and focus on calling the next play.
In just five years, he was sacked 249 times, including an NFL-record 76 times during his rookie season. So, when reports came out that he lacked the passion to be an elite quarterback — with people citing that he was often one of the first to leave the facility each day — is it because he lacked the passion in the first place, or was it because playing for Houston literally beat the life out of him?