No Doubting Thomas
Re-signing Kuhn top priority for Oregon GM
Free Agency Stage 1, 2007
Portland, OR (ESPN) – After
Thomas Kuhn led the Boise Stampede to a division title in 2005 playing for the injured
Branden Lin, he had high hopes of getting a big long-term deal in free agency. Surely, someone would want a quarterback who finished the year with a 6-2 record.
Unfortunately for him, it didn’t turn out that way.
The 2006 free agency period passed him by as other quarterbacks were being snatched up. Kuhn didn’t even get as much as a call to be a backup.
“It was really depressing,” said Kuhn, who spent the off-season managing his father’s hardware store in Memphis when he wasn’t training. “But I just tried to stay positive and hope that someone would give me a chance.”
Why didn’t any teams show an earlier interest in Kuhn? The answer was simple: he doesn’t rate highly with scouts. He lacks ideal size, standing just 6’1”. He doesn’t scramble well. He threw four touchdowns against 12 interceptions in just 10 career games.
“Despite what the scouts said, I always knew in my heart that I could succeed in the CFL,” he said. “I just tried to stay in shape in case I got a call.”
Kuhn eventually did get a call, one that would change not just his fortunes, but the fortunes of an entire franchise.
Seven weeks into the CFL season, Oregon’s starting quarterback
Maurice Brown went down with a broken clavicle that would sideline him at least eight weeks. After Ice rookie
Grant Grady struggled in two starts after Brown’s injury, general manager
Jack “Grid” Iron called Kuhn.
“I decided to go against the book and pick a guy because he knows how to win, not because he has all the right ‘tools’ that we’re supposed to look for,” said Iron.
After passing a physical, Kuhn signed a one-year $1 million contract that included a $100,000 bonus, and started the following week. The rest, as they say, is history.
After losing 31-24 in Week 11, Kuhn led the Ice to a 5-1 record over the final six games to clinch the division title with a home victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds in Week 17. In the regular season, Kuhn completed 158 of 258 for 2,132 yards, 20 touchdowns and just nine interceptions. He finished the year with a 98.8 quarterback rating—fourth best in the league.
In the wild card playoff against Boise, he was 21 of 43 for 274 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. If not for a total defensive breakdown in the closing minutes, he would have notched another win.
Now, armed with an 11-5 lifetime record and two division titles under his belt, Thomas Kuhn again prepares for free agency. What, exactly, is in store for him this time?
Kuhn still doesn’t rate very well, and he is 34 years old.
“I know there is at least one team that wants him,” said Grid Iron of Oregon’s intention negotiate a long-term deal with Kuhn. “All he does is win, and that’s what this team is all about.”
Whether Kuhn’s accomplishments over the past two seasons will entice other CFL teams to enter the bidding is something that won’t be known for a few more weeks.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Kuhn. “I don’t take anything for granted anymore.”