Editor’s note: This story is part of Peak, The Athletic’s desk covering leadership, personal development and performance through the lens of sports. Follow Peak here.

Ben DiNucci is a former NFL quarterback who played for five NFL teams. He recently started broadcasting college football games for CBS Sports.

Last week, I ordered a local IPA at an Atlanta airport bar, took a picture on my phone and posted it with a caption: “Not many beers better than the airport ‘I just got cut from the NFL for the 7th time’ beer. Trust me, you wouldn’t understand.”

Not many beers better than the airport “I just got cut from the NFL for the 7th time” beer.

Trust me , you wouldn’t understand. pic.twitter.com/zzRSk8SwoW

— Ben DiNucci (@B_DiNucci6) August 23, 2025

I wasn’t dunking on myself. I was thinking: I’m going to have a beer and think about how cool my life is and the fact that I’ve got to live this lifestyle for the last few years.

Yeah, getting cut in the NFL sucks, but at the end of the day, it’s still the best job in the world. When The Athletic asked me to discuss what anyone can learn from my experiences, I was happy to do so because I believe those experiences made me a better person, teammate and leader.

The Dallas Cowboys drafted me in the seventh round in 2020. When you’re drafted, there are certain expectations put on you. If you’re a quarterback, you’re expected to be on the team for a couple of years and eventually contribute in some way. The Cowboys were upfront about everything, so I knew exactly what I needed to do to make the team, and I made the roster.

After that, it got grayer and grayer every year.

In 2021, one thing led to another, and I didn’t play well during the preseason. I didn’t know what to think. I’d seen stories of guys playing poorly in the preseason and making the team. And I’d seen guys play well and still not make the team.

On cut day, you never want to see your phone ring from a random number. That’s usually someone from the team saying, “Hey, so-and-so wants to talk to you. Can you bring your iPad, your charger, your playbooks?”

When it happens the first time, you think: My life is over. I suck. How did I let this happen so fast? It’s my second year. Am I ever going to play football again? Do I need to find a new job?

I went in that year and saw my quarterback coach, then the offensive coordinator and finally the head coach. You’ll hear everything from “it was a numbers game” to “you just didn’t play well enough” to “we’re going to go in a different direction.”

All you can hope is that they’re being truthful. Guys just want to be shot straight.

My experience in 2023 in Denver was the most straightforward. They signed me to be the third quarterback behind Russell Wilson, the starter, and Jarrett Stidham, the backup.

My quarterback coach, Davis Webb, had recently been in my same situation. He’d just been a backup and third-string quarterback not long before. Once practices started during the summer, I went up to him and said, “Hey, I’ve been through this a couple of times. I just want to make sure the expectations of the team are in line with what I’m thinking here.”

He told me, “I’ve been lied to a lot of times. I’m just going to shoot you straight. If you do what you’re supposed to, you’re going to be around. It might not be on the active roster, but you’re going to be here in some capacity if you do what you’re supposed to.”

Whether it was good or bad, I just wanted the truth.

Fast forward a couple of months. When I was cut, it came from head coach Sean Payton and from general manager George Paton. They were like, “You’ve done everything we’ve asked of you. This is not us saying bye to you at all. We’re really excited about what you’ve done. We want you back.”

It was a very positive experience. Not all of them have been.

I’ve been cut a couple of times in the offseason before training camp and preseason games even started. You randomly get a call, and you’re not expecting it at all.

I got cut from the New Orleans Saints a couple of months ago. Kellen Moore was the new head coach, and he was with me in Dallas. I thought he might want a player who has been around the league for a while, someone familiar with the offense, to provide a veteran presence.

After a couple of weeks, the Saints called to tell me I was being let go. I was caught extremely off guard. It was like, “What did I do to warrant this? We haven’t practiced, we haven’t done anything.”

This was my sixth year, so I’ve been thrown around before. I was used to it. But I would have appreciated knowing where I stood from the beginning rather than stringing me along and then telling me, “Oh man, it’s just numbers.” I wish they had told me where I stood two months ago. I really would have appreciated that. I think most players would.

For any leader, I’d say: Be yourself. Be honest. Be truthful. It will go a long way in maintaining relationships and connections.

For anybody dealing with rejection, I’d say that I’ve learned more about myself and mental toughness.

As I’ve grown and progressed, I feel like I’ve developed more toughness. It callouses you in a way, like a blister. All of these hardships and rejections have developed almost a mental callous. If I get cut from an NFL team or fired from my job, there’s a reason. There was something that I wasn’t doing, so you have to look in the mirror, make adjustments and move on.

And even when you’re told no, no, no, no, you still have to keep getting up, because at some point, somebody is going to tell you yes again. It may not be the next day, the next month or even the next year, but you can always work and push for something.

I’ve taken that to heart.

— As told to Jayson Jenks

(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Tom Pennington / Getty Images)