Tweet
ESPN.com news services
Junior Seau may not be retiring after all. According to a report in the San Diego Union-Tribune, two league sources confirmed that Seau will meet with the New England Patriots this week and could sign a deal with the team.
The Patriots have suffered losses at the linebacker position because of injuries and free agency. Middle linebacker is particularly thin, as starter Tedy Bruschi and backups Monty Beisel and Freddie Roach are all fighting injuries.
Seau announced his retirement Monday, saying that he didn't feel there were any teams that needed his services.
"It's pretty easy. When a team doesn't want you or need you, retire, buddy," the 12-time Pro Bowl selection told The Associated Press.
Before that news conference, though, Seau said he was physically capable to continue playing in the NFL, despite the injuries that hampered him during the last two seasons in Miami.
"I'm healthy, I can play and there are teams out there that had interest, but they just didn't need [me]," Seau told the AP. "They wanted me, but they didn't need me. I'm not a player than can play by just wanting to play the game. I'm a guy that needs to win, and they go hand in hand."
The Patriots certainly offer the prospect of winning with three Super Bowl championships in the last five years to their credit.
Seau declined to comment to the Union-Tribune on Thursday but the Chargers released a statement confirming that Seau left a message for team President Dean Spanos regarding his plans to meet with the Patriots.
The 12-time Pro Bowler played the first 13 years of his career with San Diego. He spent the last three seasons with the Miami Dolphins, who released him last March to save $2.1 million under the salary cap.
Last year, Seau, 37, played in just seven games before suffering an Achilles tendon injury in a 22-0 loss at Cleveland on Nov. 24. He finished with 43 tackles, one sack and two passes defensed.
In 2004, Seau started eight games for Miami before suffering a torn pectoral muscle.
Seau was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-Decade Team for the 1990s and was named to the Pro Bowl 12 straight years from 1992-2003.
In helping the Chargers upset the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1994 AFC Championship Game, Seau spread his 16 tackles from the first play to the next-to-last one despite a pinched nerve in his neck. His interceptions and fumble recoveries sometimes led to reckless returns, and one of his wildest was a pickoff of John Elway that saved a 37-34 win in the 1994 opener at Denver.
After an All-American career at Southern California, Seau was selected by San Diego fifth overall in the 1990 draft.
Junior Seau may not be retiring after all. According to a report in the San Diego Union-Tribune, two league sources confirmed that Seau will meet with the New England Patriots this week and could sign a deal with the team.
The Patriots have suffered losses at the linebacker position because of injuries and free agency. Middle linebacker is particularly thin, as starter Tedy Bruschi and backups Monty Beisel and Freddie Roach are all fighting injuries.
Seau announced his retirement Monday, saying that he didn't feel there were any teams that needed his services.
"It's pretty easy. When a team doesn't want you or need you, retire, buddy," the 12-time Pro Bowl selection told The Associated Press.
Before that news conference, though, Seau said he was physically capable to continue playing in the NFL, despite the injuries that hampered him during the last two seasons in Miami.
"I'm healthy, I can play and there are teams out there that had interest, but they just didn't need [me]," Seau told the AP. "They wanted me, but they didn't need me. I'm not a player than can play by just wanting to play the game. I'm a guy that needs to win, and they go hand in hand."
The Patriots certainly offer the prospect of winning with three Super Bowl championships in the last five years to their credit.
Seau declined to comment to the Union-Tribune on Thursday but the Chargers released a statement confirming that Seau left a message for team President Dean Spanos regarding his plans to meet with the Patriots.
The 12-time Pro Bowler played the first 13 years of his career with San Diego. He spent the last three seasons with the Miami Dolphins, who released him last March to save $2.1 million under the salary cap.
Last year, Seau, 37, played in just seven games before suffering an Achilles tendon injury in a 22-0 loss at Cleveland on Nov. 24. He finished with 43 tackles, one sack and two passes defensed.
In 2004, Seau started eight games for Miami before suffering a torn pectoral muscle.
Seau was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-Decade Team for the 1990s and was named to the Pro Bowl 12 straight years from 1992-2003.
In helping the Chargers upset the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1994 AFC Championship Game, Seau spread his 16 tackles from the first play to the next-to-last one despite a pinched nerve in his neck. His interceptions and fumble recoveries sometimes led to reckless returns, and one of his wildest was a pickoff of John Elway that saved a 37-34 win in the 1994 opener at Denver.
After an All-American career at Southern California, Seau was selected by San Diego fifth overall in the 1990 draft.
Comment