PA Season Ticket Holder
05-08-2003, 08:23 PM
May 8, 2003) -- A soon-to-be-35-year-old NFL player announcing he plans to stick around for another season doesn't often qualify as significant news.
Given that the salary cap tends to make it difficult for teams to keep players that age, it's a wonder there is one out there who could believe he is in any position to make such an announcement. Usually the fate of his career lies almost exclusively within the numbers on a calculator. The older the player, the larger the cap number. The larger the cap number, the less chance for that player to remain on that, or any team.
Yet Shannon Sharpe was not at all out of place when he recently made public his decision -- yes, his -- to return to the Denver Broncos for another season, his 14th in the NFL. It put to rest an issue that had lingered since the end of the 2002 season, when Sharpe was noncommittal about returning. It gave members of the Broncos' hierarchy reason to smile; "excited" was the word general manager Ted Sundquist used to describe the club's reaction.
It was, to be certain, significant news.
Sharpe is an integral part of the Broncos' chances for success in 2003 and perhaps beyond. He is the league's all-time leader among tight ends in receptions (753) and yards receiving (9,290). By all indications, he has more than one productive year ahead of him.
Sharpe did miss three games last season with a dislocated elbow, but that isn't the type of injury that figures to have any sort of aftereffects. Even playing in 13 games, he managed to rank third on the Broncos with 61 receptions for 686 yards and three touchdowns. He still was a big-play force, contributing an 82-yard catch that tight ends rarely have. He still was someone opposing defensive coordinators had to account for in their game plans.
Sharpe remains a remarkable physical specimen. He has always taken tremendous care of himself. He has always been meticulous about his preparation for each season and each game.
Given that the salary cap tends to make it difficult for teams to keep players that age, it's a wonder there is one out there who could believe he is in any position to make such an announcement. Usually the fate of his career lies almost exclusively within the numbers on a calculator. The older the player, the larger the cap number. The larger the cap number, the less chance for that player to remain on that, or any team.
Yet Shannon Sharpe was not at all out of place when he recently made public his decision -- yes, his -- to return to the Denver Broncos for another season, his 14th in the NFL. It put to rest an issue that had lingered since the end of the 2002 season, when Sharpe was noncommittal about returning. It gave members of the Broncos' hierarchy reason to smile; "excited" was the word general manager Ted Sundquist used to describe the club's reaction.
It was, to be certain, significant news.
Sharpe is an integral part of the Broncos' chances for success in 2003 and perhaps beyond. He is the league's all-time leader among tight ends in receptions (753) and yards receiving (9,290). By all indications, he has more than one productive year ahead of him.
Sharpe did miss three games last season with a dislocated elbow, but that isn't the type of injury that figures to have any sort of aftereffects. Even playing in 13 games, he managed to rank third on the Broncos with 61 receptions for 686 yards and three touchdowns. He still was a big-play force, contributing an 82-yard catch that tight ends rarely have. He still was someone opposing defensive coordinators had to account for in their game plans.
Sharpe remains a remarkable physical specimen. He has always taken tremendous care of himself. He has always been meticulous about his preparation for each season and each game.