Players whose careers were limited by circumstance

[jakedog56]

I would like fans of all teams here to search their memories for any and all examples of players who could have had great or much greater careers than they actually had but were cut short due to various circumstances. This stems from the longevity vs. domination for shorter time periods debate that constantly seems to come up (particularly in HOF discussions).

As a Seahawk fan, I can think of two that really, really stand out for me.

Kenny Easley was an absolutely dominating SS who could hit like anything and also was great in coverage. He had a 7 year career in which he had Four 1st team All-Pro, and One 2nd team All-Pro year and that was with almost one year lost due to injury in 1986. He was the NFL DPOTY in 1984. Ronnie Lott, one of the great safeties of all-time, was quoted as saying that Easley was the best safety he had ever seen. If it wasn't for ibuprofin overuse destroying his kidneys, he would have had more years and recognition. As it is, he can't get into the HOF.

The other example I have is HB Curt Warner (Curt, not Kurt). Curt was absolutely brilliant to watch. He could cut on a dime like no this side of Barry Sanders, plus he had speed, smoothness, and some power to boot. He managed 6,705 rushing yards and 55 rushing TDs in 7 years in which 2 were throw-away years. In 1984 he blew out his ACL when he got his foot stuck in a seam in the astroturf, which essentially derailed what would have been a HOF career (barring other injuries) if he had been able to play at his best for a longer period.

Who do you got from your team (or other teams)? Mine are fairly obvious choices but more obscure ones would be great to hear also.

 

[cdumler7]

Terrell Davis. He had one of if not the best 3 year run of any RB in NFL history to then blew out his knee. Unfortunately medicine wasn't back then what it is today otherwise he maybe could have come back in today's NFL.

Larry Fitzgerald...Now I know he still has great numbers but I think if he had at least an average QB or better his entire career we are talking top-3 WR of all time. Unfortunately some of his best prime years were wasted with terrible QB play. He will always be one of my all-time favorite non-Bronco players. Just seems that for a WR it really does depend some on timing of who you have throwing to you. Jerry Rice truly was blessed to have 2 straight HOF players throwing to him for most of his career. Yes he is a very talented player and deserves the praise he gets but I think a lot of WR's would have loved to have had his circumstances.

 

[jakedog56]

Terrell Davis. He had one of if not the best 3 year run of any RB in NFL history to then blew out his knee. Unfortunately medicine wasn't back then what it is today otherwise he maybe could have come back in today's NFL.

Larry Fitzgerald...Now I know he still has great numbers but I think if he had at least an average QB or better his entire career we are talking top-3 WR of all time. Unfortunately some of his best prime years were wasted with terrible QB play. He will always be one of my all-time favorite non-Bronco players. Just seems that for a WR it really does depend some on timing of who you have throwing to you. Jerry Rice truly was blessed to have 2 straight HOF players throwing to him for most of his career. Yes he is a very talented player and deserves the praise he gets but I think a lot of WR's would have loved to have had his circumstances.

Terrell Davis is a great example. Had 3 great years in a row (and not a bad rookie season before that either!) before the knee injury. A guy who had the talent to possibly be top-5 all-time at his position but will not make the HOF because of longevity.

I see your point on Fitz, but the guy has put up the numbers regardless of who was throwing his was and is most likely a 1st ballot HOF. With better QBs he could easily have another 200+ catches to add to the 1000+ he has now though!

 

[PatsFan2003]

Gayle Sayers
Dick Butkis

If they had had modern medical technology working on their knees they would have been even greater.

 

[Clayton]

Steven Jackson probably had some of the worst olines, WR, and QBs to work with for most of his career. He probably could've easily been a HOF player. I know a lot of people probably think he was overrated based on what he looked like at the end of his career but thats because of what happened to him in the beginning years of his career.

I feel like we could all list off about 5 recent 49ers who just gave up. Justin Smith could've been a HOFer. Patrick Willis def should've been considered one of the all time greats. Aldon Smith probably could've broken sack records. Chris Borland could've been special. You could make an argument for many more.

 

[The Q]

Steve McNair (surrounded by an incompetent offensive HC who hired awful OCs like Les Steckel, not to mention a shit owner and a Grade D franchise to begin with)

John Elway (would probably be the GOAT had he not had to go up against some all time great teams).

Steve Young (hands down the GOAT if he beats Montana to SF, it wouldn't even be close, he was the 44 magnum of QBs).

LT RB. Had to deal with Martyball in his prime. His team dropped literally 10 passes against New England (I loved the ERic Parker must die groups created on FB immediately after the game) did hurt his legacy a bit. As did getting hurt in the AFCCG the next year.

 

[HammerDown]

Gronkowski

Most potent offensive weapon in the history of the game saddled with a no-talent QB incapable of delivering the ball.

 

[The Q]

Hammer you need to allow more than 1 rating...I have like 4 of them you deserve for posts like this one.

 

[Pattersonca65]

Steven Jackson probably had some of the worst olines, WR, and QBs to work with for most of his career. He probably could've easily been a HOF player. I know a lot of people probably think he was overrated based on what he looked like at the end of his career but thats because of what happened to him in the beginning years of his career.

I feel like we could all list off about 5 recent 49ers who just gave up. Justin Smith could've been a HOFer. Patrick Willis def should've been considered one of the all time greats. Aldon Smith probably could've broken sack records. Chris Borland could've been special. You could make an argument for many more.

Justin Smith didn't give up at the prime of his career. He played great football for many years. When he retired he was 35 years old and playing with one arm. He has been struggling with health issues the past couple of years. Willis had been battling a severe case of turf toe for a couple of years. While he was still playing pretty good, he wasn't able to cover the field like he used to and surgery didn't fix the problem. The only person who really just quit before hitting his prime is Borland.

 

[LambeauLegs]

One of the tops on the list should be Sterling Sharpe a person who could have been one of the greatest all time receivers but his career was cut short by a neck injury. Favre and Sharpe were tearing it up.

Sterling Sharpe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sharpe was the first round seventh overall draft pick by the Packers in 1988 and had an immediate impact on the team. In his rookie season he started all sixteen games and caught 55 passes. His sophomore season he led the league with 90 receptions, the first Packer to do so since Don Hutson in 1945, and broke Hutson's records for receptions and receiving yards in a season.

A few years later, in 1992, Sharpe and the new quarterback, Brett Favre, teamed up to become one of the top passing tandems in the league. In the final game of that season he and Favre hooked up for Sharpe's 107th reception of the season which broke the NFL's single-season receptions record, set by Art Monk in 1984. That season, Sharpe became one of only seven players in NFL history to win the "Triple Crown" at the receiver position: leading the league in receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, and receptions. Don Hutson (1936, 1941–44), Elroy Hirsch (1951), Pete Pihos (1953), Raymond Berry (1959), Jerry Rice (1990) and Steve Smith (2005) are the only other players to accomplish this feat. In the 1993 season Sharpe subsequently broke his own record, with 112 receptions; this also made him the first player to have consecutive seasons catching more than 100 passes. In 1994, his 18 touchdown receptions were the second most in league history at the time, behind Jerry Rice's 22 in 1987.

Sterling Sharpe's tenure at wide receiver was cut short by a neck injury suffered during the 1994 season, ending a career in which he was named an All-Pro five times (1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, and 1994). Since he was unable to continue playing, and was not on the Packers team that won the Super Bowl in 1996, his brother Shannon gave him the first of the three Super Bowl rings he has won [1], citing him as a major influence in his life by saying:

The two people who influenced me the most, good or bad, are Sterling and my grandmother. Everything I know about being a man, about football, everything I know about sports, pretty much in life, is because of those two people

His younger brother, Shannon Sharpe, was one of the NFL's top tight ends from the 1990s to the early 2000s (decade). Shannon retired in 2003 and once again followed in his brother's footsteps, becoming a sportscaster for the NFL pregame show on CBS, The NFL Today. Shannon Sharpe was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011. During Shannon Sharpe's induction speech, he brought up his reverence of his brother again, saying:


“ I'm the only player, of 267 men that [have] walked through this building to my left, that can honestly say this: I'm the only pro football player that's in the Hall of Fame, and I'm the second best player in my own family.

 

[dkmightyhammer]

Warren Moon lost 6 of his most productive years because nobody wanted a black QB back when he started. Moon is 7th all time in passing yards in the NFL but he played 6 of his best years in Canada. Think about that for second, 7th all time after missing 6 full seasons!?! Good chance he could have been top 5 all time if not for NFL racism at the QB position in the 70's.

 

[Keystone]

Rocky Bleier, drafted and served in the Vietnam war after playing his rookie season.

 

[HammerDown]

Aaron Hernandez

Could have been great and was begging for help.

Instead of giving it to him Robert Kraft looked the other way and the rest is history.

 

[HammerDown]

Warren Moon lost 6 of his most productive years because nobody wanted a black QB back when he started. Moon is 7th all time in passing yards in the NFL but he played 6 of his best years in Canada. Think about that for second, 7th all time after missing 6 full seasons!?! Good chance he could have been top 5 all time if not for NFL racism at the QB position in the 70's.

Warren Moon is a hate-filled racist himself.

 

[sonnyblack65]

Hammer you need to allow more than 1 rating...I have like 4 of them you deserve for posts like this one.

just suck his dick instead

 

[dkmightyhammer]

Warren Moon is a hate-filled racist himself.

I thought he was just a wife-beater.

 

[HammerDown]

I thought he was just a wife-beater.

He's a bitter, angry, violent man.

After all, he lived a horrible life of riches and glory because he played a game well.

 

[williewilliejuan]

Patrick Tillman.

 

[Carnzo]

Patrick Tillman.

Impossible not to respect, RIP

 

[Carnzo]

Darryl Singley, not the best but dam that hit...