Sabbatical concept in NFL

[Bryan]

Looking at a few players who had long careers and were productive at a relatively late age, one commonality is that they took a "sabbatical".

*Too Tall Jones retired to be a boxer in 1979, came back in 1980 and according to Landry was a much better player, and remained in the NFL until 1989, racking up 10 sacks in 1987.

*John Riggins sat out 1980, came back in 81, and had some of the best mid-30's seasons that a RB had ever had up to that point.

*Claude Humphrey retired early in the 78 season, came back with Philly in 79, and played three more years through the age of 37, putting up sack season totals of 15.5 and 11.0.

*Bud McFadin played with the Rams in the 50's, retired in 56, and resurfaced with the AFL in 60. He played DT through age 37.

Ted Hendricks to a lesser extent, being mainly a benchwarmer in 1975 and playing through 1983. Does anyone think there is a causality here, or is it just coincidence?

[Jay Z]

George Blanda played 10 years for the Bears, then retired. After a year he played 16 more for the Oilers and Raiders.

Lou Groza sat out 1960 with a back injury after playing 14 years for the Browns. Then he came back as a kicker only for 7 more seasons.

[Throwin_Samoan]

A true "sabbatical" is time off you intend to come back from at some point.

Believing you are done playing and then being enticed back by financial reality or missing the game/teammates or having few other options is something different. Feels like most of the guys you mention fell into that category.

• In Blanda's case, it was a new league providing a new opportunity.

• Riggins was nothing more than a contract dispute, wasn't it?

• Sam Huff (who you didn't mention, obviously) came out of retirement for the chance to play for Vince Lombardi.

Given the amount of rea$ons players have today to keep playing, I would imagine going "one more year" (even several, one at a time) would reduce the chance of someone walking away and then walking back. Philip Rivers was not the only quarterback to be rumored to consider ending a retirement to come back because he could still play. (Aikman considered it, Brady did it, albeit after a brief retirement, and I'm sure there have been others.)

[Gary Najman]

A true "sabbatical" is time off you intend to come back from at some point.

Believing you are done playing and then being enticed back by financial reality or missing the game/teammates or having few other options is something different. Feels like most of the guys you mention fell into that category.

• In Blanda's case, it was a new league providing a new opportunity.

• Riggins was nothing more than a contract dispute, wasn't it?

• Sam Huff (who you didn't mention, obviously) came out of retirement for the chance to play for Vince Lombardi.

Given the amount of rea$ons players have today to keep playing, I would imagine going "one more year" (even several, one at a time) would reduce the chance of someone walking away and then walking back. Philip Rivers was not the only quarterback to be rumored to consider ending a retirement to come back because he could still play. (Aikman considered it, Brady did it, albeit after a brief retirement, and I'm sure there have been others.)

IIRC, Nick Buoniconti retired in 1975, then came back in 1976 at the request of Don Shula.

In the 1987 strike-replacement games there came some interesting names:
- Julius Adams had retired after Super Bowl XX, sat out in 1986, then came back for the Patriots in the scab games and remained in the rest of the season. He even switched from #69 to his traditional #85, being the last defensive lineman with a number in the 80s.
- Harold Jackson was then the Patriots' WR coach and had retired after 1983. He suited for the scab games (I remember seeing him in a game at Houston) but didn't play.
- Tony Adams was away from football for years, then came back at age 37 for the Vikings.

I'm surprised that Ron Gronkowski has not been mentioned. He sat in 2019, apparentily retired, then came back in 2020 with the Bucs and Tom Brady, and helped them to win another Super Bowl.

[JohnTurney]

Looking at a few players who had long careers and were productive at a relatively late age, one commonality is that they took a "sabbatical".

*Too Tall Jones retired to be a boxer in 1979, came back in 1980 and according to Landry was a much better player, and remained in the NFL until 1989, racking up 10 sacks in 1987.

*John Riggins sat out 1980, came back in 81, and had some of the best mid-30's seasons that a RB had ever had up to that point.

*Claude Humphrey retired early in the 78 season, came back with Philly in 79, and played three more years through the age of 37, putting up sack season totals of 15.5 and 11.0.

*Bud McFadin played with the Rams in the 50's, retired in 56, and resurfaced with the AFL in 60. He played DT through age 37.

Ted Hendricks to a lesser extent, being mainly a benchwarmer in 1975 and playing through 1983. Does anyone think there is a causality here, or is it just coincidence?

McFadin got shot in a hunting accident.

Hendricks --- benchwarmer is a little off --- he played and often on passing downs -- he wasn't a starter, though.

Humphrey didn't like playing in a 3-4 defense. And contract as well. Ironically he played base 3-4 with Philly because fo an injury to the starter. In 1978 he was supposed to do what he did in '80 and '81---be a designated pass rusher.

[Throwin_Samoan]

- Tony Adams was away from football for years, then came back at age 37 for the Vikings.

The Tony Adams one was REALLY weird. Like, there were NO more recent quarterbacks on the street? After his tri-MVP year in the WFL, he was just fair-to-middling (1-6 as a starter) with Kansas City, and hadn't played in the NFL IN NINE YEARS (though, to be fair, he had played in Canada as recently as 1981) when the Vikings said, "Okay, here's our guy."

"I've gone six years without pads," Adams said. "It's like riding a bike." (Spoiler alert: The Vikings went 0-3 in strike games and Adams was...fair to middling.)

To be fair, he WAS the best option of the guys they signed. The others were someone named Larry Miller, who was cut from an Arena Football League team (the AFL had just completed its very first, four-team season), and someone named Keith Bishop, a semi-pro player who was teaching school, but was available because Chicago teachers were on strike.

I'm surprised that Ron Gronkowski has not been mentioned. He sat in 2019, apparentily retired, then came back in 2020 with the Bucs and Tom Brady, and helped them to win another Super Bowl.

It's hard to tell what was on Gronk's mind, if he just needed time away and thought he would be back, or if he was done and the prospect of Brady and another payday (and maybe a ring, which is how it worked out) enticed him back. But then, it's always hard to tell what's on Gronk's mind at any given moment.

[RichardBak]

I think some players retire and genuinely miss the game, the camaraderie, the adulation, and of course the $$$, and decide to attempt a comeback. Here in Detroit, Doak Walker retired after 6 seasons in which he'd accomplished everything he'd set out to accomplish. After sitting out 1956, he showed up at Lions training camp in August 1957, "just messing around." He would've easily made the team, but not as a starter, and after a few days he left as quietly as he arrived. But at age 30 he could've easily played another 3-4 seasons. Anyway, the Lions won a championship w/o him that year.

[Sonny9]

A season off means injuries heal plus one less season for injuries to occur. Michael Vick was off for 2 seasons and didn't play much the first year back which I think extended his career.