Ryan Leaf is known as one of the biggest busts in NFL history after being selected with the second overall pick of the 1998 draft by the San Diego Chargers.
He was taken after the Indianapolis Colts selected Peyton Manning, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021. Leaf played in just 25 NFL games.
Ryan Leaf of the San Diego Chargers drops back to pass during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers Dec. 24, 2001, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. (David Madison/Getty Images)
Earlier in the week, former Colts executive Bill Polian discussed the pre-draft evaluation process for the Colts, telling a story about an interview with Leaf.
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On the “33rd Team” podcast, Polian said the interview with Leaf went “badly.”
According to Polian, when meeting with Manning at the NFL Combine, the Tennessee product said he’d be at the Colts’ facility the day after the NFL Draft if they selected him first overall. When Leaf was asked when he’d come into the facility, the Washington State product said he’d be in a few days after players were allowed due to a planned trip to Las Vegas with his friends.
Ryan Leaf walking off the field before a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Georgia State Panthers Aug. 31, 2019, at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. (Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
On Wednesday, Leaf joined “Good Morning Football” and said the meeting with Polian never happened, adding that he’s never met Polian.
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“There’s been big news about the fact that I missed my meeting in Indianapolis because I had to go get an MRI,” Leaf said. “So, I never met with Bill. I’ve never met Bill.
“It never happened. There never was an interview.”
Leaf said he’s started “clapping back” now that he’s comfortable with who he is, 25 years after being drafted.
Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf talk before a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Georgia State Panthers Aug. 31, 2019, at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. (Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“For the longest time, I buried myself with it,” Leaf said when discussing his disappointing NFL career. “So much so that I ended up in a prison cell because I had to numb my feelings and everything. So now, I like who I see in the mirror. I’m OK with what I did. I understand that it didn’t work out, but I’m proud of those things.
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“And then we hear revisionist history from the likes of Bill Polian in some instances. You can talk about the failings of it. … I don’t understand why you want to embellish a story to make it more compelling.”
Leaf also slammed Polian on Twitter Tuesday night, calling the story a lie.
“Well this is just a huge f—ing lie,” Leaf wrote. “Why Bill Polian continues to spew this b——- narrative is beyond me. Maybe he thinks it makes the story more compelling. Seems pretty compelling already, greatest QB ever, biggest bust ever. Doesn’t need ur s— editorializing Bill!”
