The final week of the NFL regular season may have been dominated by the New England Patriots and their quest for a perfect record, but quietly and without much fanfare two of the league's longest tenured and classiest players slipped into retirement. Bryant Young (36-years-old, with 14 seasons behind him, and Vinny Testaverde (44, 21 seasons), went out in games against Cleveland and Tampa Bay, respectively. In stark contrast to the start of their careers, barely anyone watched them go.
Testaverde came into the league in 1987 as a number one draft pick and with a Heisman Trophy tucked under his arm. Young was drafted in 1994, seventh overall by a team destined to win that year's championship. Both had the football world at their feet. It didn't quite work out as planned for either of them, but for different reasons.
Vinny Testaverde came out of the University of Miami, hot on the heels of Bernie Kosar and Jim Kelly. He had the stronger arm of the three, but had some question marks about his composure and decision making, mostly on the strength of his 5 interceptions in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl against Penn State. Like Kosar, he wasn't fleet-footed and needed a solid offensive line to protect him. Unfortunately for Testaverde, he was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had a poor team and an offensive line with more holes than a Die Hard movie plot.
He never really stunk in Tampa, despite the regular cacophony of boos from the crowd. He didn't have it in him to carry a bad team either, but then not many quarterbacks do.
Troy Aikman had a poor first year in Dallas, but the front office were shrewd enough to realize they had a difference-maker behind center, so they constructed a roster to help him play to his strengths. The Bucs couldn't, or wouldn't, do that and Testaverde paid the price.
I've often been of the opinion that quarterbacking is about the time and the place. Would that well-known shelf-stacker Kurt Warner have emerged from complete obscurity to have two of the greatest seasons in NFL history if Trent Green hadn't gone down early in 1999? Or if Dick Vermeil had preferred Joe Germaine as his backup? Or if Adam Timmerman, Orlando Pace, and Ryan Tucker hadn't been in front of him for those two glorious years?
Testaverde was no Brett Favre, Troy Aikman, or even Kurt Warner. He wasn't Trent Dilfer or Jeff Hostetler, either, but he was at least as good. But they have the rings because they were in the right place at the right time.
He followed his Miami predecessor Kosar to the Cleveland (then Baltimore) Browns, where he enjoyed some success, going to the 1996 Pro Bowl. He moved on to the Jets and again made a Pro Bowl. Nothing that will get you a seat at Canton, but a solid career and long enough to rank him sixth all-time in passing yards, attempts, and completions. But he was at his physical peak during his time in Tampa where there was no supporting cast.
My abiding memory of Vinny will be that unbelievable night in the Meadowlands in October 2000. Down 30-7 in the fourth quarter, Testaverde suddenly became Joe Montana for 15 minutes, throwing four touchdown passes to four different receivers, including fleet-footed eligible tackle Jumbo Elliot. John Hall nailed a 40-yarder in OT to complete the comeback.
In complete contrast to that night in New Jersey, Testaverde ended his career on a final play kneel down, "six-tight diamond," called into his headset by his son Vincent in the city where it all started.
Through all the hype about his Heisman, the number one pick, the booing, the questions about his eyesight, and everything that goes with a high-profile NFL career, Testaverde remained dignified and grounded.
''No matter what, even through everything, he is a gentleman and always will be,'' said his wife of 16 years, Mitzi.
The exact same thing could be said of Bryant Young. In an era where the stories of NFL players often appear in the news rather than sports section, Young was a consummate professional and a leader in the locker room. He won a record eight Len Eshmont Awards, voted by his fellow Niners to the most courageous player on the team. These meant as much to him as his four Pro Bowl selections.
Young was a standout high school player in Illinois. Notre Dame and Lou Holtz came calling, and in the late-'80s/early-'90s, it was hard to say no to such a national powerhouse. He started for three-years and looked ready for the pros from day one. He had the size, the quick feet, and was disciplined. Nobody, even Mel Kiper, Jr., was surprised when his name was called out seventh on draft day 1994 by Paul Tagliabue.
His career couldn't have begun any better. Surrounded by a great roster, one of the best of the decade, the Niners steamrolled San Diego 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX. Bryant Young must have thought that Lombardi Trophy was the first of many. Instead, it was his career highlight as the team succumbed to financial chicanery, front office mismanagement, the coaching carousel, and the aging of key personnel.
Young could have caused a stink, forced a trade, or whined to the press about "respect" and wanting to win. He didn't — to the Niners' credit — both sides stayed loyal even after a sickening double leg fracture in 1998. Young switched from being the highlighted DE in a 4-3 system to being a lunch pail grinder in a 3-4 without a whimper. His main task was to hold up offensive linemen whilst LBs like Patrick Willis made the glory plays.
Ultimately, his role descended into doing the selfless, dirty work in the trenches, something that goes unnoticed in the stats box on Monday morning.
"Regardless of what his stats are, his opponents will tell you he's the best in the game," linebacker Jeff Ulbrich said. "He's constantly doing little things that don't get noticed on the field."
That sort of work makes it tough to get to Canton, but Young's career is at least as meritorious (though less high-profile) as both Dan Hampton's and Howie Long's who are both enshrined.
He hung up his cleats because there is no end in sight to the Niners' futility and at 36-years-old, the future is now.
"I felt I couldn't muster up another year. I really felt this was the year we turn it around and make something happen. I felt this was the year we turned the corner. For whatever reason, it hasn't been what we'd hoped," said Bryant before his last game at Candlestick.
In one way, Bryant Young is a lucky man. The Niners moved up in the 1994 draft to select him and he got a Super Bowl ring in his first season. Dan Wilkinson, the first overall selection, enjoyed a fruitless career with four different teams. Young played his entire professional life in the same city and came to be loved by the community. But the final feeling is of a man, like Testaverde, who left the game without achieving what he deserved, given his stellar commitment to his profession.
"Bryant Young is the ultimate professional and ultimate 49er," said former teammate Jeff Garcia. "The guy has been an ambassador for the team in the sense he is everything you want, not out of a player, but out of a person. He is the type of person you want your son to be like."
In any era, there is no finer compliment than that.
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