The Chicago Bears, winless (0-4) since their starting quarterback Jay Cutler went down with a broken thumb injury, will be starting 32-year-old veteran Josh McCown in Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers.
According to Scout.com, McCown had been coaching high school football when the Bears contacted and then signed the former member of the Arizona Cardinals. McCown -- who also played one season in the United Football League (UFL) and led the league in passing that year -- also spent time briefly on the San Francisco 49ers roster in 2011.
Though this is his first start since 2007, McCown said he expects to be nervous, but hopes to control his nerves at the same time:
"Just the excitement and the joy of being between the stripes again with the lights on, I think that first snap obviously will be exciting," he said. "But after that, you have a job to do, and that's to go play good football and help your team win. I don't want to get too excited and too amped up."
McCown also acknowledged the more amazing side of his journey out of and back into the NFL:
"Absolutely it's a cool story and cool moment. But at the same time, I'm a competitor. I want to win the game. I want to do right by the coaches and by the other 52 guys in the locker room..."
Josh McCown and the Bears play the Packers on Christmas with kickoff slated for 7:20 PM CST.
For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage of this week's game, visit Bears Blog Windy City Gridiron and Packers blog Acme Packing Company. For more from around the NFL, head over to SB Nation's NFL news hub.