Getty Image / Michael Zagaris
Last football season, Max Duggan was one of college’s football biggest stars. This year, he may not even have a team to play for, as he has been cut by the Los Angeles Chargers.
Max Duggan broke onto the scene last year in a big way. He started the season as Chandler Morris’s backup in Fort Worth, but when Morris got hurt during the team’s opener last year, everything changed.
The senior had been considered a mediocre quarterback at TCU, hence why then-first-year head coach Sonny Dykes brought in Morris from Oklahoma. But, he turned in to a phenom last season.
Max Duggan was the engine for the Cinderella-story Horned Frogs that went from unranked and picked near the bottom of the Big 12 all the way to the national championship game. He threw for 3698 yards, 32 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, and added 9 touchdowns on the ground as the nation fell in love with his swashbuckling style of play. Duggan was also the Heisman trophy runner-up.
But, he doesn’t have a lot of tangible quarterback skills, and he slipped all the way to the 7th round of the 2023 NFL Draft, where he was selected with the 239th pick by the Los Angeles Chargers.
In three preseason games, Duggan was just 6-12 for 34 yards and a touchdown, as head coach Brandon Staley must not have thought he was worth getting a ton of reps. With the backup job going to Easton Stick, Max Duggan was cut by the Chargers on Monday.
The #Chargers are waiving rookie QB Max Duggan, per source. The former TCU star will be an interesting one to watch on waivers.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 28, 2023
I think the likely outcome is that he ends up on a practice squad somewhere, as he could be a good scout-team quarterback for some of the more mobile quarterbacks in the league.