Piece by: Kyle Sramek
All people that have played competitive football at any point in their lives want to have success in some way. Some may just love being out there with their friends bonding over a shared interest in the sport. Others are more competitive. They enjoy being challenged and want to beat their opponent to win a game. The goal for these people is to not just win one game, but to win multiple and become champions at their level. Football players, however, know their time on the field is limited. Some may be done after high school.
Others may be fortunate enough to play in college or some other form of the sport. Only a select few make it to the league and get to play it professionally. Even then, there is no guarantee to play a single game. Players are either talented, intelligent, or work hard enough to play in the NFL. At this point, they nave many years of fatigue on their body and may only be a rookie. That is why players that have been in the league for so long are exceptionally rare.
Almost all these players will have won one at least one Super Bowl in their career and have put a line through that achievement off their list. No matter how hard they may try, some have never done this. Whether it be for a lack of talent, injuries, being on a bad team, or in some cases just bad fortune. That is why I made this list. There are free agents in the NFL that are still in search of that illusive ring.
Adrian Peterson
I just had to kick this list off with a guy that is one of the most deserving players in the league. At the age of 36, Peterson has been in the NFL for a while now. His personal stats are amazing and is still striving to overtake Emmitt Smith for the all-time career rushing yards record. He may actually be able to do this. Sitting a little less than 4,000 yards shy and still playing at a high level it is certainly obtainable. He has been on a lot of good teams in the past, but has never gotten a ring for those campaigns. He may have to choose between getting the rushing record or winning a Super Bowl as most contenders already have a great running back or use a tandem backfield. Me personally I would say go for the ring. A Super Bowl would further solidify his place in the hall of fame. Beyond that, I am a massive Emmitt Smith fan and would love to see him hold that record forever.
Frank Gore
This guy makes other players in the league look like children. Not because of his size., 5’ 9” and 212 pounds, or his athleticism. It is because of his hard work, determination, and punishing running style that he plays with. Gore is an unheard of 38 years young and may play into his 50s if he takes care of his body well. He may even be able to play in the league at the same time as his son who currently playing in college. That would be astounding considering the shelf lite of running back is so short. He is actually closer to Smith’s rushing record than Peterson being only 2,300 yards short of his mark. Gore played on a 49ers team that made it all the way to the big game, but of course lost. Since leaving that team, he has bounced around mostly on short term contracts looking for work and chasing that dream as he goes along.
Le’Veon Bell
A name that many should know quite well at this point in his career. Bell began his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers where had great personal success. He went from a rookie breaking the franchise rushing yards record for a rookie to being an All-pro the following year. He became one of the three “Killer Bs” with teammates Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown to form a formidable set of triplets. Over the next couple of years, he battled injuries, a suspension, and of course the infamous franchise tag season that he never played a single down as he never signed the contract. He made the decision to do this as he wanted a guaranteed long-term contract and did not want to waste one of his prime years on a tagged year deal. He then signed a deal with the Jets that paid him the money that he wanted, but offered almost nothing in team success. Bell was released last season and wanted to win a championship. He ended up signing with the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs who were looking to repeat that same success. That probably would have happened if not for the Buccaneers with Tom Brady, his former teammate Brown, and a played in a similar situation, LeSean McCoy.
Larry Fitzgerald
An ageless and one of the kindest as well as intelligent players in the league, Fitzgerald has never won a Super Bowl. Being incredibly loyal, he has spent his entire career with the Arizona Cardinals hoping to win a title. He got close once in the season where he had future Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner running the offense. They ended up losing to the Steelers in that game and never got back to that game again. Since, he has signed a one-year deal season after season hoping to win one of those rings. This year he may be able to do just that. The Cardinals are a surprising contender for the Super Bowl. They have a young quarterback, Kyler Murray, on a rookie contract, a great receiving group led by DeAndre Hopkins, a stellar defense littered with stars, and an offensive-minded head coach in Kliff Kingsbury. It all seems too good to be true right? Well, that is because it is. During this offseason, they signed former Cincinnati Bengal wide receiver A.J. Green. Green fills a similar role as Fitzgerald in that he is a veteran who is physically big and can make those jump ball plays. It is not impossible, but some work would need to be done if he wants to return to the team that drafted him all those years ago.
Gerald McCoy & Geno Atkins
I made the decision to combine these two players as they come from similar backgrounds in the NFL, just for different teams. Both are explosive defensive tackles, had great individual success in terms of yearly statistics, multiple Pro Bowl selections, but their franchises have not been successful in getting them to a championship game. Neither have been suspended for any reason during their careers, but have battled injuries throughout those, especially McCoy. He had practiced for less that a week with the Dallas Cowboys before the defensive tackle was lost for the year. As crushing of a blow that was for both sides, there was still a great deal of progress made for his teammates. They had many young, talented defensive tackles and most said they learned so much from McCoy as well as his experience in the league during their limited time working together. That is what these two can bring to teams now. While both are not in their prime any longer, they can play in a limited role for a defense and provide development for other inexperienced players on the roster.