Tom Brady isn’t the only Super Bowl-winning quarterback who’s missing his game jersey.
Brett Favre said he doesn’t know what happened to the jersey he wore when he led the Green Bay Packers to victory in Super Bowl XXXI.
Favre, in an appearance on Fox Business Network on Friday, explained what he thinks might have happened to the No. 4 jersey from that day.
Brett Favre doesn’t know what happened to the jersey he wore in Super Bowl XXXI 20 years ago. Andy Hayt/Getty Images
“What happens is there’s a massive celebration,” Favre said. “Of course, you go into the locker room, [and] it’s mass confusion. Unless you actually take your jersey off and your pants and stuff and you put them in a bag that is secure, you don’t know because there’s people grabbing stuff. There’s laundry, guys are going in the shower, they’re hugging, there’s champagne, so it could easily get taken.
“I didn’t even know what memorabilia meant in 1996. It’s a little more common now, so had I known then what I know [now], I would’ve placed it in a bag, because that would’ve been a nice memento to keep.”
“Whoever has it has got to be sweating,” Favre said. “Because how do you sell it?”
When asked if he’s ever seen his Super Bowl jersey on the market, he said: “The jersey would be so old, and honestly, forgers today are better. Sometimes I see my name, and I’m asked if this is actually my signature, and I have a hard time telling the difference.”
INDIANAPOLIS — They’re departing, in some fashion, one by one.
Robert Mathis (retired). D’Qwell Jackson (released).
And the list of those leaving the Indianapolis Colts this offseason could continue to grow with free agency beckoning for both veteran safety Mike Adams and linebacker Erik Walden.
The Colts have to get younger and better on defense. There’s no denying that. But they’re also in a transition period in the leadership department. The departure of some of those players will leave a void in the Colts’ locker room. You can add finding a vocal leader to a long offseason list that already features improvements on the defensive line, linebacker and in the secondary for Indianapolis.
Quarterback Andrew Luck has been and will continue to be the Colts’ best player. But ask anybody inside the locker room and they’ll tell you Mathis was the backbone and emotional leader of the team. He was the motivator.
Jackson, despite his four-game suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs, was looked up to by so many of the Colts’ young players because, while he didn’t possess the same burst he had several years ago, his knowledge of the game was something many turned to him for. Coach Chuck Pagano often looked at Adams as another coach on the field. Adams also brought the ability to relate with so many of his teammates because he was undrafted but went on to play in the Super Bowl and make back-to-back Pro Bowl appearances.
Andrew Luck has been mostly a leader by example through his first five seasons, but the Colts are in indeed of a more vocal type. Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire
Running back Frank Gore, who will be 34 in May, will likely be one of the elder statesmen next season. But like Luck, Gore is one who lets his practice habits, his workouts and how he performs in games do the talking. Gore takes losing very personally — which is what many of teammates should do, too — but he’s never been an outspoken leader.
Receiver T.Y. Hilton?
Hard to look at Hilton as a strong voice when he has a history of celebrating after scoring a touchdown when the Colts are getting blown out.
He has the capability to be a leader, but it’s difficult to lead if you can’t remain healthy.
General manager Chris Ballard has already said the Colts plan to be selective when it comes to signing outside free agents. Whoever they do sign, don’t expect any of the players to be over age 30 and on the decline. Ballard’s preference is to improve the roster through the draft.
So just as they plan to develop their own players, the Colts might end up having to develop a new leader.
Washington Redskins center Kory Lichtensteiger, a starter for most of the past seven seasons, announced his retirement Friday after two years of dealing with various injuries.
Lichtensteiger was scheduled to count $4.05 million against the salary cap. His retirement will free $3.5 million in cap space; the Redskins entered the day with approximately $60 million in cap space.
Lichtensteiger, 31, joined the Redskins in 2010 under then-coach Mike Shanahan, who had drafted him in Denver two years earlier. Lichtensteiger was an undersized player who ended up starting 75 games for the Redskins at guard and then center. He started 37 games at left guard from 2011-13 before converting to center.
Injuries ruined his last two seasons, as he missed a combined 24 regular-season games because of nerve damage in his shoulder (2015) and a calf injury (2016). He was replaced as a starter by third-year Spencer Long, whom the Redskins viewed as their center of the future.
The Redskins liked Lichtensteiger, despite his weighing approximately 295 pounds, because of his smarts at center and his mindset.
“Kory defied the odds of being undersized because of his competitive spirit, accountability and attention to detail,” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said in a statement. “It also helps to be tough as hell. We want to thank Kory for his relentless effort and leadership and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
Lichtensteiger said in a statement he told team president Bruce Allen and general manager Scot McCloughan of his plans shortly after the season ended.
“When I came to them after the season and shared my thoughts, they were extremely gracious and agreed to let me to ‘retire a Redskin,'” Lichtensteiger said in a statement. “This is a great business, but it is indeed a business. And for that reason, I am thankful to be treated as family in the final hour of my playing career.”
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos keep saying they’re comfortable with either Trevor Siemian or Paxton Lynch as starting quarterback.
As they enter the early stages of the decision-making process, offensive coordinator Mike McCoy believes he has a head start in evaluating those quarterbacks and the rest of the players on offense. McCoy just finished four seasons as Chargers head coach — he was fired at season’s end — so he spent plenty of time preparing for the Broncos’ quarterbacks as an AFC West foe.
“Being in the same division, and obviously I’ve seen more of Trevor since he played more than Paxton, I’ve seen most of those games,” McCoy said. “I had a good idea of what the two players were like.”
Mike McCoy has started the process of evaluating the staff and says the Broncos will be going with either Paxton Lynch or Trevor Siemian as the starter. Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
It means McCoy already has a foundation as he works his way through the video of last season’s games and begins to construct the playbook.
Certainly the quarterback decision will draw more attention than the other positions on the depth chart, but as the staff installs a new offense, all of the players will face the same challenges.
The quarterbacks have to learn it first while the Broncos decide if they’re going to stick to their public comments and choose a starter between the two. It was a question McCoy asked coach Vance Joseph in their first conversation.
“When I first talked to Vance on the phone I asked him about what his plans were at the quarterback position if he were to take this job, and that was one of the questions when I came in for the interview,” McCoy said. ” … We have two talented players, and we’re going to play the best guy. We’re going to let them come in and compete and go from there.”
Joseph said earlier this week he was “absolutely” committed to Siemian or Lynch being the team’s quarterback while executive vice president of football operations/general manager John Elway said last month his plan was “to proceed” with Siemian and Lynch as well.
But he said he’ll lean on some of the work he did leading up to those Chargers-Broncos games in recent seasons.
“It was nice to have seen these players play a number of times on a weekly basis during the past two seasons,” McCoy said. “[I can] say, ‘OK, I have a good idea of what these guys can do.’ … It’s our job in the next couple of months to figure out what each one of those guys do and take advantage of their strengths and try to minimize their weaknesses.”
“We’ll see what these two players do [well] and what do they like also,” McCoy said of Siemian and Lynch. “I’m big into talking to the quarterbacks, installing from a week-to-week basis and looking at our plans and being open with these players. And saying, ‘What do you really like? What are your favorites?’ When we get into the game plans at the end of the week, I’m going to ask the quarterbacks, ‘What [are] your favorite plays in these situations? Your first and second down calls, what are your favorite plays?’ Just so they have a lot of confidence when they’re under center on game day.”
