By Nick Wagoner
Staff Writer
In this day of free agency and big money contracts, it is rare for a player to stay in one place his entire career.
Gone are the days of Dan Marino, Jim Kelly and John Elway, who played their entire careers in one place. Even Emmitt Smith, who was the defining player for the Dallas’ dynasty of the 1990s, is playing for Arizona. The sight of someone like Michael Jordan in a Washington Wizards’ uniform will forever haunt Bulls’ fans, who grew accustomed to Jordan winning championships in their black and red.
Grant Wistrom seemed to be the kind of player who could spend his whole career in one place. The defensive end played his college football at Nebraska, and was drafted by the Rams in 1998 as the sixth pick overall. After six productive and winning seasons, Wistrom signed with the Seahawks on March 4.
Wistrom said he always envisioned being the rare athlete to play from start to finish in the same city.
“I always envied the old (football) Cardinals that I’d see around town, the guys that got to play there their whole career and got to retire there,” Wistrom said. “I always wanted to be one of those guys. I don’t think there could’ve been anything better, but obviously, the opportunity didn’t present itself."
“I couldn’t imagine being in a better situation than I’m in right now. I’m playing for a great organization. I’m playing for a great football team, in a city that I’m really starting to like. It would have been nice to have stayed in St. Louis, but those things don’t always work out, so I couldn’t imagine being happier anywhere else.”
Some might ask why Wistrom would leave if he was so happy in St. Louis. If he was a free agent and had the right to choose, why wouldn’t he choose to stay in a place he was so happy?
The answer is free agency, money and a perfect opportunity. Wistrom was wanted in St. Louis as much as he wanted to stay. St. Louis wanted to keep him, but when push came to shove, Seattle made an offer that nobody else was even close to. Desperate for a leader on a young defensive line, the Seahawks were intent on making sure Wistrom didn’t leave the Emerald City without putting pen to paper.
The offer contained more numbers than Wistrom ever thought possible. He didn’t leave. He signed a six-year, $33 million contract, with a $14 million signing bonus. That might seem like a lot of money for a defensive end who has never had more than 11 sacks. That kind of cash is usually reserved for the high-end pass rushers, but as Rams’ coach Mike Martz is quick to point out, Wistrom is well worth the money.
“So many of these guys that get the money that Grant gets, they are pass rushers,” Martz said. “That’s how they see themselves, as a specialist. That’s not Grant. He’s the whole package, as we all know. He makes tackles, because he chases the...
-10-08-2004, 08:11 PM
Tweet
)
I have one on my right chest of my own rams design, although, i really like the idea of the clan ram logo though.
Comment