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Former Football: Stokley adjusts to no football – If this is it, it’s been quite a ridebbrown@theadvertiser.com • If this is it, it’s been quite a ride. • September 19, 2010
Denver Broncos receiver Brandon Stokley (14) celebrates in the end zone after scoring an 87-yard pass reception in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009, in Cincinnati. Denver won the game 12-7. (AP Photo/Al Behrman) Brandon Stokley Just a year ago, the former Comeaux High and UL Ragin’ Cajun star snared a tipped pass and raced 87 yards for a touchdown to defeat the stunned Cincinnati Bengals 12-7 in the 2009 season opener on the road. It was the longest game-winning touchdown from scrimmage in the final minute of a game in NFL history. Last Sunday, as the Broncos lost on the road at Jacksonville, Stokley was relaxing for the first opening day in years. "It wasn’t bad. It was different," Stokley said. "I took my 6-year-old (son Cameron) to one of our friend’s house and watched three games on television. It was fun watching games with my son, to see it from his perspective. "We had a good time, a good day. Then I woke up (last Monday) and I wasn’t sore. That was nice. After a while, I’m sure it would get old, though." In fact, Stokley is not yet ready to quit catching footballs as one of the NFL’s surest-handed slot receivers. "I’m going to get healthy again, then I’ll be released," he said. "Then I can sign with another team. My plan is to play again. Hopefully, I’ll get an opportunity with a team. I’ve worked too hard to hang it up now. I know I still have some football There are those who say Stokley has already beaten the odds. "I would be one of them," he said. "I never thought in my wildest dreams that I’d be able to do what I’ve done in the NFL, to play with some of the players I’ve played with and to have two Super Bowl "I’ve played for three great teams, organizations. It’s been great. I’ve had some ups and downs, but that’s part of football. I’ve had injuries and have come back better. I’ve learned a lot from every tough situation." Stokley’s first NFL catch was a 28-yard touchdown in 1999 against the St. Louis Rams as a rookie with the Baltimore Ravens. The next year his 38-yard touchdown catch over Jason Sehorn helped propel the Ravens past the New York Giants 34-7 in the Super Bowl. He signed with the Indianapolis Colts in 2003 and in 2004 enjoyed his finest season, catching 68 passes for 1,077 yards and 10 touchdowns, including the record-breaking 49th of the year for Peyton Manning. The 2006 Colts won the Super Bowl, but Stokley was hurt much of the year.
"I was injured the whole year," he said. "I had a high ankle sprain, came back too fast and hurt my knee, then tore my Achilles tendon. I was miserable. It was the low point of my career. "I was thinking about being done, that this was it for me. But I had lunch with Peyton and he said he thought I still had some football in me. That meant a lot to me for him to say that. It gave me the desire, the drive, to keep playing." Stokley quickly became popular in Denver, catching 108 passes for 1,490 yards and 12 touchdowns in three seasons. For his career, he has 307 receptions for 4,319 yards and 34 scores. He caught a TD in the 2009 season finale, which could be his final game as a pro. He was planning on another season before getting hurt in training camp. "It was just a little route," he said. "It was not even a hard cut. I felt really good before. My whole body was feeling great. It’s disappointing." That pales in comparison to losing his father, former UL coach Nelson Stokley, to complications from Alzheimer’s disease in June, at age 66. "He’d been hanging in there," Stokley told The Denver Post during training camp. "And then, just after Christmas, it took a really bad turn and just progressively got worse and worse. I think it was a blessing there at the end. It just went quickly. "I know he wouldn’t want to live like that. It’s just so tough to watch people go through that, to lose their mind. I can’t think of anything worse." Stokley has become active in the Alzheimer’s Association in Denver, where he and wife Lana have chosen to raise Cameron and little brother Carson. He also is keenly aware of his own health after suffering concussions during his career, and knowing of parallels drawn to Alzheimer’s by some experts. Nelson Stokley’s death was the second gut-wrenching loss of a parent for Stokley, whose mother Jane died during his senior season with the Ragin’ Cajuns in 1998. Despite his sorrow, and illness all week, he caught 7 passes for 181 yards and three touchdowns as the lone bright spot in a 72-20 loss to Tulane in the Louisiana Superdome. Twelve years after leaving, he remains UL’s career leader in catches (241), yards (3,702) and touchdowns (25) while playing for his father. He’d like one more year in the sun. "It’s a tough situation to be in," Stokley said. "I’ve been doing this for almost 12 years, and to be without a team is tough. I try to keep a positive attitude and frame of mind. It’s been a tough year, but that’s life. It’s what hand I’ve been dealt. "I appreciate what I have. That’s the way things go."
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