Rams Are Poised to Acquire Long : Pro football: Former University of Iowa quarterback agrees to trade from Detroit. He’ll be a backup to his former Big Ten rival Jim Everett.
Detroit Lions quarterback Chuck Long has agreed to a trade to the Rams that will make him a backup to former Big Ten Conference rival Jim Everett.
An official announcement from the Rams is expected today, pending some final paper work. Under NFL rules, players without contracts cannot be traded, so the Lions must first sign Long and then trade his contract to the Rams.
The specifics already have been worked out, according to Long’s agent, Jack Mills. According to the Detroit Free Press, Long agreed to terms on an $850,000, two-year agreement. The Lions reportedly will receive a third-round draft choice from the Rams.
Long, 27, is expected to challenge another former Big Ten quarterback, former Purdue star Mark Herrmann, for the Rams’ backup position. That’s quite a fall from grace for Long, who during his career at the University of Iowa was was actually more acclaimed than Everett, who was Long’s rival at Purdue.
Everett, acquired in a 1986 trade from Houston, has blossomed to stardom with the Rams. Long, also a first-round choice in 1986, has battled arm injuries and a weak supporting cast in Detroit. The Lions actually gave up on Long last year when they switched to the run-and-shoot offense, a scheme not suited to Long’s lack of mobility.
Last week, the Lions drafted Houston quarterback Andre Ware in the first round, sealing Long’s fate.
Long attempted only five passes in 1989 after recovering from elbow surgery Feb. 2. He spent eight weeks on injured reserve and never really became involved in the new offense.
In his four-year pro career, Long has completed 330 of 602 passes, with 19 touchdowns and 28 interceptions.
In his senior season at Iowa, Long finished second to Bo Jackson in the Heisman Trophy voting. Long won the Maxwell Trophy, the College Football Player of the Year as selected by the Maxwell Football Club of Philadelphia, and the O’Brien Award, signifying the nation’s top quarterback.
Five years later, though, Long poses no threat Everett’s throne.
“He just liked the idea of coming to a winning organization,” Mills said.
