Sapp’s Few Words… I Quit

Warren Sapp’s career was an enigma. Sapp should have been a top five selection. Following a marijuana episode, he was chosen twelfth. Sapp was a defining force. Yet, bombast overshadowed his brilliance. Ultimately, Sapp retired sans a press conference and photographs. Instead, two words announced his exodus. “I’m done.”

On Thursday, Sapp retired. According to him, his talent had diminished. “Every defensive tackle that's drafted in the top five is supposed to be the next [me],” Sapp said. “All of them have that tag. ... I've played the game pretty well, so if I'm the standard by which [they'll] be judged, that's tough, because I'd like to relive that guy, too. He's a bad boy. He's dead now. I give you flashes of him every now and then but, nah, that guy was sick.”

During his career, Sapp amassed 573 tackles and 96 ½ sacks. He recorded four fifty-plus tackle and ten-plus sack seasons. He won the 1999 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award. In Tampa Bay (9 seasons), Sapp racked 401 tackles and 79 sacks. In Oakland (4 seasons), he registered 172 tackles and 17 ½ sacks.

According to Oakland Raiders Linebacker Kirk Morrison, Sapp was an example. “I felt like having him here made me a better football player,” Morrison said. “He was the leader of this defense. They say the middle linebacker is supposed to lead, but the guy has been in the league 13 years and he's seen it all. I leaned on him. There's so much more for me to learn from him I don't want him to leave yet.”

Sapp possessed immense talent. He was athletic, physical, and quick. Unfortunately, he courted controversy. He marred his excellent career. Sapp’s penultimate legacy is unknown. However, his remembrance is clear. Sapp’s reality never mirrored expectations… his own or otherwise.