Largent Back for One More NFL Season

There’s not much left for Steve Largent to accomplish on the football field. But the Seattle Seahawks’ record-setting receiver says last year’s injury problems only strengthened his resolve to come back for a 14th--and final--NFL season.

“Last year was just a series of freak deals,” Largent said. “I got poked in the eye. I got knocked out. I tore a ligament in my thumb. Those things can happen to anybody.”

Largent, who turns 35 on Sept. 28, had a relatively injury-free career--until last season.

The sight of Largent in pain made some of his fans grimace. They wrote him letters pleading with him to retire and expressed fear about his health.

“I got a lot of letters when I was going through the process of whether I was going to play or not,” Largent said at the Seahawks’ training camp. “They said, ‘Don’t play.’ They said, ‘We love you.’ They said, ‘We’ve enjoyed your career.’ They said, ‘It’s been a good one.”’

“A good one” is putting it mildly.

In 13 seasons with the Seahawks, Largent has caught 791 passes for 12,686 yards, both NFL records. His 97 touchdowns in 190 regular-season games are two short on Don Hutson’s league record. He has caught at least one pass in 167 straight regular-season games, another NFL mark.

Largent disregarded the well-intentioned advice and decided to return for one more season after the least productive year of his career.

For the first time in 13 years with the Seahawks, Largent did not lead the team in receiving. He caught just 39 passes for 645 yards and two touchdowns in 15 games, down from 58 for 912 yards and eight touchdowns in 13 games in 1987.

The season got off to a bad start for Largent when he he suffered a concussion, a chipped tooth and a knee sprain in a violent collision with Broncos safety Mike Harden in the season-opener. Largent’s face mask was bent by the force of the blow. Harden was fined $5,000 for the hit.

Two weeks later, Largent was poked in the eye by San Diego cornerback Elvis Patterson, leaving Largent looking like he had lost a confrontation with heavyweight champ Mike Tyson.

In the AFC divisional playoff game in Cincinnati, he suffered a back injury that kept him on the sidelines in the second half. After the game, which the Seahawks lost, he couldn’t straighten up. At the end of the season, he underwent foot and thumb surgery.

Despite the litany of injuries, Largent decided to play another season, although he conceded that he doesn’t recover from injuries as quickly as he did when he was younger.

“I think the injuries would have happened if I was 24 or 34,” Largent said.

Brian Blades, Largent’s running mate at wide receiver, said he’s glad his partner is coming back, and that he’s not worried about Largent’s health.