Jake Plummer has stayed busy since getting the boot

Jake has lost 20 pounds since walking away from football. (Corbis photo, via ShutdownCorner.com)

Four years ago, after four up and down seasons with the Broncos, Jake Plummer was benched and succeeded by then-rookie quarterback Jay Cutler – despite the fact that Plummer had the team sitting at 7-4. Now in hindsight, the move by then-Head Coach Mike Shanahan to bench and ultimately trade Plummer has been ridiculed as one of his worst moves ever, right up there with passing on Ed Reed in the 2002 NFL Draft.

Shanahan was as Plummer puts it, a “perfectionist” who was always looking for the next John Elway.  Being the carefree guy that is he is though, Plummer didn’t let going from a starter to being benched and traded get him down, instead he returned to the sport that was his first love.

Handball.

Yup, Plummer walked away from $5 million and the chance to start for the Buccaneers at age 32, so he could play the sport he had put on hold for twelve years while playing in the NFL. Taught by his father and brothers, Plummer still plays to this day – three to four times a day when its not summer time.

During the summer he’d would rather be doing “Outdoor stuff,” Plummer said. “Mountain biking, boating, fishing and hiking — not being indoors in an air-conditioned room playing handball.”

He’s happy away from football, yet still wishes he could come back for one more game and,

“Roll to my left and throw a ball, a sick wobbly lob pass to Larry Fitzgerald and he’d go up against eight [defensive backs] and pull it down and make me look good.”

Ya gotta love Plummer’s personality. Glad he’s getting along. To this day I wish the Broncos would have at least let him finish the 2006 season.

Ex-NFL QB Jake Plummer is playing a new sport these days [Shutdown Corner]