Bert102176
09-05-2002, 07:17 PM
Distraught over the death of his wife and unborn daughter, Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Lewis Kelly had to be talked out of retirement last week and still might walk away from the game for at least one year, sources close to the third-year veteran told ESPN.com on Thursday.
"He's not sure right now if he'll be ready to play football anytime soon, and maybe not at all, at least for this season," said the source. "He was all set to (retire) last week and family members told him to take some time to grieve and then worry about football. His head isn't into football at all. There's no telling when, or if, it will be."
Kelly, whose 24-year-old wife Rakiva died Aug. 25 of complications from pregnancy, informed head coach Mike Tice early on Wednesday morning that he is not yet ready to return to the team. Because of that, the league has granted the Vikings a two-week roster exemption for Kelly, meaning he will not count against the 53-player limit.
Rakiva Kelly carried the couple's unborn daughter until about two hours before her death.
"Lewis has to find out, in his heart, what is best for him," said his agent, Jonathan Feinsod. "That's hard to do, of course, when your heart is hurting as much as his is right now."
The offensive tackle practiced Monday and the Vikings, like most teams around the NFL, had Tuesday off. Kelly phoned Tice in the pre-dawn hours Wednesday to tell the coach he could not yet resume playing.
"To lose your wife and your (unborn) child . . . I mean how do you begin to recover from that?" said Vikings center Matt Birk. "It's devastating."
"He's not sure right now if he'll be ready to play football anytime soon, and maybe not at all, at least for this season," said the source. "He was all set to (retire) last week and family members told him to take some time to grieve and then worry about football. His head isn't into football at all. There's no telling when, or if, it will be."
Kelly, whose 24-year-old wife Rakiva died Aug. 25 of complications from pregnancy, informed head coach Mike Tice early on Wednesday morning that he is not yet ready to return to the team. Because of that, the league has granted the Vikings a two-week roster exemption for Kelly, meaning he will not count against the 53-player limit.
Rakiva Kelly carried the couple's unborn daughter until about two hours before her death.
"Lewis has to find out, in his heart, what is best for him," said his agent, Jonathan Feinsod. "That's hard to do, of course, when your heart is hurting as much as his is right now."
The offensive tackle practiced Monday and the Vikings, like most teams around the NFL, had Tuesday off. Kelly phoned Tice in the pre-dawn hours Wednesday to tell the coach he could not yet resume playing.
"To lose your wife and your (unborn) child . . . I mean how do you begin to recover from that?" said Vikings center Matt Birk. "It's devastating."