Players whose careers were limited by circumstance

[redseat]

Ryan Leaf

 

[dkmightyhammer]

He's a bitter, angry, violent man.

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

I never really knew about him being bitter or a racist. But to play devil's advocate I can see how someone could be bitter after being forced to play his first 6 years in the CFL simply because of racism in the NFL. I mean if he's got some racist views towards the NFL the genesis of it might be how they treated him first.

 

[RobToxin]

Can't say he would have been great but David Carr was ruined by the Texans.

 

[HammerDown]

I never really knew about him being bitter or a racist. But to play devil's advocate I can see how someone could be bitter after being forced to play his first 6 years in the CFL simply because of racism in the NFL. I mean if he's got some racist views towards the NFL the genesis of it might be how they treated him first.

I'm just so weary of him painting himself an eternal victim while beating women and spewing racism.

He's Jim Brown, slightly less angry.

 

[Iggloo]

Circumstances is a very broad category.

Sterling Sharpe is a good example of a guy who would have been HoF for sure without injuries at Green Bay.

The Eagles drafted a LT named Bernard Williams out of Georgia who had one good season and got addicted to weed and was eventually banned after failing so many drug tests. Very pathetic story.

 

[jakedog56]

Circumstances is a very broad category.

Sterling Sharpe is a good example of a guy who would have been HoF for sure without injuries at Green Bay.

The Eagles drafted a LT named Bernard Williams out of Georgia who had one good season and got addicted to weed and was eventually banned after failing so many drug tests. Very pathetic story.

I am not familiar with Bernard Williams. Define "good". Second coming of Anthony Munoz or just good or hard to define after one year?

 

[Cobrabit]

Bo Jackson

Not only did the hip injury end his football career, but it almost never started in the first place. With TB pulling the stunt to get him ineligible to keep playing college baseball in hopes that he would have to focus only on football and him not signing with them as the #1 pick because he was spurned by them. Then only playing part seasons with Oakland allowing him to only report once baseball was over.

 

[Golden Spur]

Yeah, Sterling Sharpe got jacked up by another former Gamecock (Brad Edwards, Skins), caused some narrowing of the spine, couldn't play again. He was a dominant receiver at the time.

Bo Jackson, too. Took that hit to the hip, never the same. On edit: Didn't see post above, lol ^^^

 

[blue_suns]

Ray Finkle

 

[DutchBird]

For Eagles I can remember:

Stewart Bradley (LB) and Michael Lewis (S) who looked very good with potential to be long term Pro-Bowlers, both of them having their careers destroyed by a single injury. Recovered but never came close to what they were before the injury.

For Eagles history, one could argue Jerome Brown (DT), a super star who died in a car crash pretty much by the time he came into his own.

 

[3riverbabe]

Ki-Jana Carter. One injury after another.

He tore a ligament in his knee on his third carry of his first preseason game of his rookie year, and never fully recovered. He missed the entire 1995 season.

In 1997, he suffered a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder with fears that he would miss the entire season.

In 1998, he missed the entire season after breaking his left wrist in a game against the Titans.

In 1999, he again missed the entire season after dislocating his right kneecap in a game against the Panthers.

 

[Thruthefog]

Gayle Sayers

EOT

 

[wazzu31]

Ryan Leaf

He would've been a great QB had he not played for a mickey mouse run organization like the Chargers

 

[Thruthefog]

Johnny Foosball.

 

[iowajerms]

Barry Sanders - What if he played for owners who cared about winning?

 

[huskers1217]

Ki-Jana Carter. One injury after another.

He tore a ligament in his knee on his third carry of his first preseason game of his rookie year, and never fully recovered. He missed the entire 1995 season.

In 1997, he suffered a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder with fears that he would miss the entire season.

In 1998, he missed the entire season after breaking his left wrist in a game against the Titans.

In 1999, he again missed the entire season after dislocating his right kneecap in a game against the Panthers.

this is the person i thought of when I saw the thread title

 

[iowajerms]

Frank Gifford

 

[Gooch1034]

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

He came back and played after having been shot in the leg and a grenade blew part of his foot off.

 

[3riverbabe]

this is the person i thought of when I saw the thread title

Penn State RBs don't have a great track record in the NFL, sad but true.

 

[PatsFan2003]

Doug Flutie. Frozen out by the league because he was seen as too short.