Dec. 21, 2015. Mark it down in your calendar. Because on this day, this particular Monday in an NFL season full of innocuous Mondays, Oakland Raiders safety, Heisman Trophy-winner, Super Bowl XLV champion and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson announced to the world that the 2015 season would be his last in an NFL uniform.
"An incredible career, man," Woodson said at a press conference Monday evening, per ESPN. "It goes beyond words. I never intended on playing as long as I have, but this is the way it's happened and I'm so grateful for it."
18 years in the NFL brought Woodson plenty of hardware. There was the Lombardi Trophy earned in 2010 with the Green Bay Packers, the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award, garnered in 2009, not to mention the four first-team All-Pro selections, three second-team All-Pro nods, and eight Pro Bowls.
Woodson, walking away from the game that has given him so much after nearly two decades, said that it was a decision made more difficult by the success he's seen out of the new-look Raiders, under head coach Jack Del Rio and GM Reggie McKenzie, and the heights to which he believes they're headed. And while he feels his body is still capable, could provide one more year, one more season worth of jarring hits and game-sealing interceptions, his mind, his heart, simply isn't in it.
"So many of [my] teammates throughout this year have talked to me about next year. 'Come back next year, I know you're coming back next year,' and I would love to, because it's what I feel about the organization, where I feel like it's headed. Where it's going, it would be great to grow with this group of guys," Woodson told reporters. "Honestly, I think physically I could do it. My body has responded, but mentally it's not there, not going to happen."
For his career, the 39-year-old Woodson has 65 interceptions and 13 touchdowns. Woodson is also the only player in NFL history to record more than 50 interceptions and more than 20 sacks during his career. He developed a reputation throughout his playing days for a brash, win-at-all costs mentality and a willingness to do or say whatever he needed to in order to get on the field and stay there.
According to ESPN, that's likely to continue even in his post-playing days, though Woodson many not have to push trainers to "get me to Sunday." Woodson has apparently signed on with a television talent agency, meaning we'll probably still be seeing him on Saturdays or Sundays.
McKenzie, already dealing with a mediocre defensive backfield, was probably none-too-pleased to learn that Woodson was heading off into the great blue yonder after this season. But he was gracious and effusive in his praise of his All-World safety nonetheless.
"Charles Woodson is one of those players that comes along and reminds you why you love the game," McKenzie said in a prepared statement. "He is truly a one of a kind player that goes above and beyond his Heisman trophy and future gold jacket. It has been an honor to have worked alongside Charles for so many years and have the confidence to call him what he truly is: the G.O.A.T. He is, without a doubt, the embodiment of what it means to be a Raider."
