Wednesday, May 28, 2008
By Brett Grassmuck
Staff Writer
It was a quick decision, but it was the right decision for Jeff Wilkins when he decided to hang up his kicking shoes on February 29 after 14 seasons in the NFL, 11 of those with the St. Louis Rams.
Wilkins fought through one of the toughest seasons of his career in 2007, not just on the field, but off the field as he battled a back injury and possible nerve damage. He began contemplating retirement following the season and decided to go that direction in order to preserve himself and the St. Louis Rams.
“It got to the point where I didn’t want it to get worse and hurt myself or hurt the Rams if something happens in a year,” Wilkins said. “I sat down with my family and we discussed it, and it was just the best time to do it with everything that was happening with my family.”
He also knew that the Rams were entering free agency, and he knew the team needed an opportunity to go out and find his replacement. His timing was perfect as the Rams were able to snag their No. 1 rated free agent in Josh Brown.
“They knew at the end of the year that I was contemplating some stuff,” Wilkins said. “Then it was getting close to free agency, and they needed to know, and I kind of was ready to make my decision. We just kind of got together and talked it over. Whatever I wanted to do, they were for it. Once I mentioned (retirement), they said ‘ok.’ They obviously had to go get somebody, and they got a great kicker in Josh.”
Wilkins can walk away from the game knowing he was one of the best ever at his position and the most prolific kicker in Rams history. He is the Rams all-time leading scorer (1,223 points), and led the Rams in scoring for nine seasons, from 1999-2007. His 265 field goals as a Ram (307 in his career), 328 field goals attempted and 80.8 career field goal percentage all rank first in Rams history. He also holds the record for longest field goal in Rams history, a 57-yarder at Arizona on September 27, 1998.
His streak of 371 consecutive points after touchdowns is tied with Jason Elam for best in NFL history and is the Rams franchise record. He is tied for highest field goal percentage in a single season in NFL history (100 percent, 17-17; 2000) with Tony Zendejas (100 percent, 17-17; 1991).
“I have not been here for most of his career, but Jeff has been one of the best kickers that I have ever seen,” coach Scott Linehan said. “We will miss him here, but we also wish him well in retirement.”
Wilkins is happy with the success he had on the field, which is why he was comfortable with walking away from the game at this point in his life. He had the opportunity to do something a lot of players don’t, and that’s play in and win a Super Bowl, but the camaraderie and friendships with his teammates make up his greatest memories.
“The Super Bowl will always stick out,” Wilkins said. “That’s just something that you’ve seen a lot of players over the years that played 10, 15 years and never had the opportunity (to play in a Super Bowl). I had the opportunity to win one and play in another one, so that’ll definitely stick out. Then just little things, the guys in the locker room, joking with each other. That kind of stuff is what I’ll miss the most I think.”
One of Wilkins’ closest friends, wide receiver
Dane Looker, can take pride in what Wilkins was able to accomplish, as Looker was the holder on Wilkins’ field goals and extra points for the past several years. Looker, Wilkins and long-snapper
Chris Massey formed a lifelong friendship working together on the Rams field goal unit.
“We had a great relationship,” Looker said. “First we were just holder, snapper, kicker, but over the years it developed into a great friendship between Jeff, Chris and myself. Chris and I are definitely going to miss him. We have a great kicker here now. Josh is great. Hopefully we’ll build that same type of relationship with him, but on a friendship level, it’s hard to replace someone like Jeff.”
The bond extended outside of the locker room onto the golf course for Wilkins and Looker, and conversely, the golf course extended itself onto the football field during Rams games as Wilkins and Looker had a unique way of looking at the art of the field goal.
“What we’d do is, I’d kind of act like his caddy,” said Looker, an avid golfer. “It sounds kind of goofy, but I’d kind of act like his caddy and say ‘hey, this is just a smooth five-iron.’ We play a lot of golf together, so that terminology translates over to field goals. The field goal kick is kind of like a golf swing anyway. When he’d push the ball right or pull it left, we’d just talk in golf terms. That kind of just took his mind of the kick and made sure he took a smooth swing at it. It worked out pretty well for us.”
Golf will be a prominent part of Wilkins’ post-NFL life as he and his family pack up and head back to his home state of Ohio where they will make their permanent residence.
“It’s definitely the end of an era, but not the end of a friendship for us,” Looker said. “He’s not going to look back on it and regret anything that he did. The Rams treated him great, and I think it’s a situation where he’s content to move on to the next stage of his life. He has a daughter in High School, and his family is going back to Ohio to reestablish their roots there. He had a long career, and he has to be happy with the product that he put on the field every week.”
The Rams were certainly happy with Wilkins 11 years in St. Louis, and Wilkins is equally happy with his time as a Ram, but the time was right for Wilkins to move on.
“I had a great time,” Wilkins said. “The Rams were tremendous to me from day one. Even up to the time I decided to (retire) they were phenomenal. Now it’s just time to turn the page and see what else is out there.”
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