|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Former Football: Ex-Cajun Stokley to retire from the NFLMike Klis, Denver Post, Dec. 28, 2013 During a practice with the Baltimore Ravens this year, Brandon Stokley made a self-deprecating observation about his NFL career. "You know, there’s nobody who has played as long as me who has caught as few balls as me," Stokley said with a laugh to his wide receivers coach There’s a compliment in there somewhere. Start with only 18 NFL receivers having made it through 15 seasons. As usual, Stokley’s instincts were impeccable. His 397 catches easily are the fewest of the group — 160 fewer than No. 17 Troy Brown’s 557. Stokley won’t catch up. The former Broncos slot receiver has played his last game But Stokley is one of the few who is retiring on his own terms. "I’m glad I played this year because now I know I’m done," Stokley said Thursday in the living room of his Castle Rock home A string of injuries was the reason Stokley doesn’t have the career statistics of the other 15-year receivers. Character, the football intelligence of a coach’s son, a team-above-self attitude and the ability to make the clutch catch on third down were why Stokley was always in demand. "I think Brandon is the best teammate I’ve ever had," said Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning The last hit was delivered by Minnesota Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway. It was hardly a big hit, which Newsome and Stokley took as a sign. In the fourth quarter of the Ravens’ 29-26 victory Dec. 8, Stokley caught a 2-yard pass from Joe Flacco along the sideline. Greenway hit him around the chest, not the head. Stokley’s head didn’t hit the ground, but he suffered a concussion anyway. It’s been reported that it was Stokley’s 13th concussion, although he doesn’t think he’s suffered that many. "I don’t know how you describe a concussion," he said. What medical science has determined with cumulative concussions is that it takes less impact on each subsequent hit to cause the next brain injury. Three weeks after getting tackled by Greenway, Stokley still has to monitor his exertion. He sat on his couch Thursday with son Cameron between him and wife Lana while son Carson was running to and fro in the living room "Of course you worry about it, but I never wanted to be the reason why he stopped playing," Lana said. "We would talk. But I knew he would know when it was time to stop playing. I wanted it to be his regret, or have no regrets." Said Stokley: "If in 30 years I’m feeling fine and I would have stopped playing football four or five years ago, it would have been ‘Why did I stop?’ You can’t predict the future. So I was all in with football until I knew it was time for me to stop playing." Stokley won two Super Bowl championship rings — with Baltimore in 2000 and with Indianapolis in 2006. And among those 397 catches, 160 came on third down, 133 for first downs — an incredible 83.1 percent conversion rate. "I guarantee you every quarterback Stokley said his immediate retirement Athletic Network Footnote:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
