Raiders ink quarterback Matt Leinart

Originally published on SBReport.net on May 1, 2012

The Oakland Raiders and quarterback Matt Leinart have made it official with both sides agreering to terms on Tuesday.

Leinart was the 10th overall draft pick of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals but most recently appeared for the Houston Texans last year, under Raiders new offensive coordinator Greg Knapp.

Leinart appeared in two games, including one start, when starting quarterback Matt Schaub went down with a season-ending injury. Leinart was 10-13 for 57 yards and one touchdown before going down to a season-ending shoulder injury.

Leinart, who came out of the University of Southern California, was one of the most decorated quarterbacks to come out of college, finishing 37-2 as a starter at USC. His .949 winning percentage is the second-highest winning percentage in NCAA history of quarterbacks with over 25 starts.

USC won the 2004 BCS national championship the same year that Leinart won the Heisman Trophy. Leinart joins a list of prominent Heisman Trophy winners that have been on the Raiders roster, including Billy Cannon, Marcus Allen, Bo Jackson, Jim Plunkett, Tim Brown, Andre Ware, Desmond Howard, Rashaan Salaam, Charles Woodson, and fellow Trojan Carson Palmer.

Leinart received his most playing time as a rookie for the Cardinals, appearing in 12 games and starting 11. Leinart completed 56.8 percent of his passes for 2,547 yards and 11 touchdowns with 12 interceptions.

The Raiders currently have four quarterbacks on the roster: Palmer, Terrelle Pryor, Rhett Bomar and now Leinart.