By Bill Coats
03/27/2008 2:45 pm
Trent Green didn’t need directions to Rams Park for the start of the offseason conditioning program this week. Still, he said it almost felt like unfamiliar territory.
“Driving into the parking lot and coming into the building, it’s quite a bit different,” said Green, the former Vianney High star who signed a free-agent deal to back up quarterback
Marc Bulger. “Leonard (Little) and I were laughing, because there aren’t many guys around” from Green’s previous stint here, in 1999 and 2000.
In fact, Green, defensive end Little, wide receiver
Torry Holt and tackle
Orlando Pace are the only holdovers from the Super Bowl championship team.
“It’s a good and a bad thing,” Green said. “That good thing is, it means we’ve lasted a long time. The bad thing is, a lot of our friends and close teammates that we’ve had over the years have moved to different (teams) or different places in life.”
***
Green, 37, is preparing for his 15th NFL season. Before his first go-round here, he spent one year in San Diego and then four in Washington. After leaving the Rams, he was with Kansas City for six years before playing the ’07 season in Miami.
At each stop, Green has moved his family with him, a practice he plans to continue here. “I’m going house-hunting, start looking around,” he said. “Fortunately we’ve already sold our home in Florida. We’ll be staying down there until the kids are out of school in June, and then we’ll relocate up here.”
Trent and his wife, Julie, have three children: sons T.J. and Derek, and daughter Janelle.
***
Once he gets the family here, “I’ll try to get them over to as many (Vianney) games as I can,” Green said.
“I’ve tried to stay involved with the school as much as I can and have helped out with some of the projects that they have going on over there,” he explained. “There’s a lot of competition going on in the St. Louis-area high schools ever since CBC built their campus, and you look at some of the expansion that DeSmet’s done and SLUH’s done. Vianney’s trying to keep up as best they can, and they’re doing a good job of it.”
***
After suffering several concussions, Green decided to consult with Dr. Robert Cantu, a specialist in the field, before deciding whether to continue playing. Green chose him because Cantu is known to be particularly cautious with athletes who have had multiple concussions.
“I knew his history, I knew his background, and I knew how tough he was on giving guys clearance,” Green explained. “So when he gave me that clearance, that gave me confidence about wanting to come back. I knew I wanted to play, but I also wasn’t going to put my health or my family in jeopardy of something happening. When he felt comfortable with it and gave me the assurances that he did . . . it made everyone comfortable with it.
“Hopefully that chapter is closed and we’ve moved on from it.”
All for now…
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