Atlanta Falcons’ tight end Tony Gonzalez says he is officially walking away from the NFL playing field after 17 seasons split between the Kansas City Chiefs and Falcons.
Selected by the Chiefs in the first round of the 1997 draft, Gonzalez has only played for two NFL teams, both of which are displayed side-by-side on a special commemorative helmet he will receive at the Week 17 matchup between the Falcons and Panthers.
The perennial Pro Bowler and future Hall of fame tight end has certainly left his mark on the league over the past 17 seasons. Gonzalez is currently sitting fifth overall in total career receiving yards with 15,071 behind four elite wide receivers in Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss and Isaac Bruce. He has also caught 111 touchdown passes in his illustrious career.
Gonzalez was actually set to retire last season and decided to come back one more time to try for that elusive Super Bowl ring. Unfortunately, Atlanta had a rough injury riddled season and it did not exactly pan out as Gonzalez and the rest of his teammates would have hoped. With talent on both sides of the ball, the Falcons were slotted to be serious contenders for the NFL South this season and instead find themselves headed into Week 17 with a dismal record of 4-11.
When asked if he regretted returning for the 2013 season by Peter King of MMQB, Gonzalez’s response was “As far as the regrets go, that’s just not part of my makeup. Once I made the decision to come back this season, I knew anything could happen and nothing was guaranteed – I still got a chance to play football. Believe it or not, I’ve had the best time I could have considering what has happened this year. It’s been miserable, don’t get me wrong. But really with the locker room, from that point of view, it’s been fun.”
Gonzalez has sure been a pleasure to watch these past 17 seasons and the game sure will miss him. Judging by his work ethic, passion and just plain love for the game, Gonzalez will probably not be walking off into the sunset once that final whistle blows on Sunday.
We will probably see him involved in the NFL in one capacity or another, whether it will be in coaching, management, or broadcasting, that’s still unclear.
One thing that is not uncertain: We will see him wearing that Hall of Fame gold jacket sooner than later.
