Theismann Departure Was in Direct Contrast to His Days as Player

Joe Theismann, the Washington Redskins quarterback who rarely found himself at a loss for words during his dozen years in the NFL, was uncharacteristically silent when his football career came to an end.

“Being in front of the cameras with all the hoopla--I really didn’t want to do it that way,” said Theismann, who finally broke his silence in a conference call interview with reporters in Carlisle, Pa, the Redskins training site.

“This way was my way. I went through the back door.”

Theismann, released by the Redskins on July 25 after refusing a plea to retire from owner Jack Kent Cooke, is out of organized football for the first time since junior high school, but not completely away from the game.

CBS announced that Theismann, the Redskins’ all-time leading passer with 25,206 yards (surpassing Hall of Famers Sonny Jurgensen and Sammy Baugh), will be joining veteran sportscaster Jack Buck as a color commentator for NFL broadcasts this season, drawing a reported $185,000 salary.

While Theismann’s departure from the Redskins was made official when he was placed on waivers, his career really ended early in the second quarter of a nationally televised Monday night game against the New York Giants Nov. 18.

Theismann suffered a compound fracture of the lower right leg when he was sacked by linebackers Lawrence Taylor and Gary Reasons. After a pair of operations and a rigorous rehabilitation period, the leg healed one-quarter inch shorter than the left leg and too weak for football.

While Theismann was optimistic about returning to football in the days and weeks following the injury, he said the reality that he would not be playing this year came slowly.

“You have to accept the grim realities of life sooner or later,” Theismann said.

“I was encouraged by great progress early on. Then after about seven months, instead of progressing in time periods of days or weeks, it progresses in three-month time periods.”

The 36-year-old Theismann still does not rule out a possible comeback attempt for the 1987 season.

“Doctors said it would take 12 to 18 months for just the bones to heal. I think I’d be making a premature decision not to continue my rehabilitation,” Theismann said. “In all my physical exams, the bone was nowhere near healed. Will that bone come back to any degree? I’m willing to wait and see. I’d like to give it the full opportunity to let that happen before I announce my retirement.”

Theismann was released after he failed the team’s mandatory preseason physical, as was expected. While the bone walls of the tibia and fibula, the two bones of the lower leg, had healed adequately, doctors feared the interior of the bones are too weak to survive the stress of football.

“What the doctors are really afraid of is that my spikes will get caught in the ground and I’ll pivot and snap (the leg),” Theismann said.

Theismann said he still is not able to run and likely will not be able to play tennis or golf for another 2- 1/2 months.

The fact that Theismann was waived after failing a physical due to a football-related injury means he is eligible for a payment of $65,000 from the NFL from a fund for players whose careers are cut short by injuries.

In addition, Theismann is expected to collect on a $1.4 million insurance policy from Lloyd’s of London that he took out two years ago. If he had made the Redskins active roster and stayed there the entire 1986 season, he would have earned a reported $1.2 million, the highest salary in the NFL.

Theismann’s departure from the Redskins was pleasant on both sides.

“The waiver is one of the friendliest ever reached between an owner and a player and for all I know perhaps the only friendly one on record,” Cooke said.

Theismann’s release was announced in a statement from Cooke on July 25. Theismann, one of the most accessible players to reporters during his years in the NFL, remained silent on the action for five days.

“I think the way it transpired was the best way possible to do it,” Theismann said.

Theismann’s departure puts the spotlight on Jay Schroeder, the former minor league baseball catcher who quarterbacked the Redskins to a 5-1 record after Theismann’s injury.

“I feel a little bit more pressure,” Schroeder said. “What I have to do is convince the lineman that they have to go out and work hard again. See, when I came into the (lineup), they didn’t know what to expect and they figure, ‘Well we better pick up the slack.’ Somehow, I’ve got to tell them that we’ve got to do the same thing all over again.”

Coach Joe Gibbs said of Schroeder: “What he played last year, six games, has given him a whole different outlook. Last year at this time in camp, Jay hadn’t played, so you’re not sure. I think now we know he can win in this league.”