More Wonderful Woodson Musings

Charles Woodson's Hall of Fame Jersey

It seems now that retirement is all so real as is a spot in Canton Charles Woodson has changed his mind about which team he will represent when he goes into the Hall of Fame. The announcers said during the win over the Chargers that Woodson has now decided to represent both the Raiders and the Packers when he is enshrined after saying earlier he was going to represent the team he retired with, which is the Raiders.

Whatever epiphany hit Woodson between last week and this week the "Playmaker" realized one absolute truth about his storied career. If it wasn't for the Packers he probably would have been out of the league nine years ago and would never have had a Hall of Fame Career.

His first stint with the Raiders started off with a bang being named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year with 5 interceptions and 1 TD. However, the remainder of his eight-year stay with Raiders never lived up to its beginning. He picked off just 13 more interceptions, including just 1 his second year which he returned 15 yards for a TD. After that he never returned another for a TD. So he ended his first 8 years in the league with 18 interceptions and two TDs total.

After four mostly injury-plagued seasons the Raiders didn't re-sign him and he drew no, nada, none, zero interest as a free agent. His career was virtually over until Ted Thompson threw him a lifeline.

After having 12 interceptions over his last seven seasons as a Raider he picked off 8 passes and returned 1 for a TD his first year as a Packer under new Defensive Coordinator Bob Sanders. He also volunteered to return punts averaging 8.9 yards on 41 tries, including 1 for over 40 yards.

The next two years Woodson cemented himself as the "Playmaker" of the Packer defense that had its issues. He picked off 11 more passes returning 3 for TDs while also returning a fumble for a TD. His first 3 years as a Packer he had 19 interceptions (1 more than he had in 8 seasons with the Raiders) with 5 (4 interception returns and 1 fumble return) defensive TDs (3 more than with the Raiders).

Woodson continued returning punts in 2007 averaging 8.1 yards a return with 5 returns over 20 yards.

Sanders was fired after the 2008 season and Dom Capers was brought in and to his credit he made Woodson the focal point of his defense. Woodson responded with a career year with 9 interceptions returning 3 for TDs earning him Defensive Player of the Year.

Woodson fell back the Super Bowl season picking off just 2 passes (1 for a TD) and finishing with him on the sidelines in the second half of the Super Bowl against the Steelers with a broken collarbone. He came back from that disappointment to have another stellar season in 2011 with 7 interceptions with another TD return.

Sir Charles' last year with the Packers was a forgettable one with him being sidelined for the first 9 games with another broken collarbone and finishing with just 1 interception.

He ended the Packer phase of his Hall of Fame career with 38 interceptions, 9 returned for TDs and 1 fumble recovering for a TD. He became the first player in NFL history with TDs off of interceptions in six consecutive seasons (2006-2011).

The consummate businessman Thompson severed ties with the future Hall of Famer by releasing him with 2 years left on a 5-year, $55 million contract he signed after the Super Bowl.

For the second time in his career Woodson was unwanted. He said he still had some football left in him and wanted to finish his career with a Super Bowl contender targeting the Broncos and Patriots. However, they weren't interested, but it was reported that the Seahawks, Dolphins, Jets and Giants showed mild interest.

Eventually, Woodson made only one visit and that with the 49ers. Supposedly the Texans then made contact, but he never was asked to visit. He made this comment after leaving the 49ers without a contract, "I thought there would be a little more interest. (I'm) just waiting around to see what happens."

A month later he said he felt "shunned," and now says he feels "ancient." In fact he compared his situation in 2013 to his in 2006 after his release from the Raiders, "Oddly enough, it was a lot like it is right now. It was slow. I had nobody really calling."

The future Hall of Famer was now relegated to waiting for after the draft. And after the draft he commented, "When this process first started out, I needed to go to a contender. I know I am toward the end of my career. At this point, I want to play football. So if it is a rebuilding stage, at this point if that is the circumstances I have to play under, then that is what I am going to do."

Sadly the Woodson update reports on ESPN weren't about who had to choose from, but which teams didn't want him like the lowly Browns until he finally got a tryout with the Broncos on May 14, but left town without a contract. He scheduled a tryout with Raiders for the next week and on May 16 the Broncos offered him a contract for the veteran's minimum, which he found insulting.

With the market being what it was he found returning home to Oakland intriguing and ended up signing on May 21 a one-year $1.8 million contract that included a $700,000 signed bonus. After playing his first 13 seasons as a cornerback/slot corner he was moved to strong safety next to Nick Collins his last season as a Packer and won the free safety spot for this Raiders in his first. He finished with 1 interception, but tied Rod Woodson's NFL record of 13 defensive TDs with a returned fumble.

The Raiders took their time to re-sign Woodson for the 2014 season. So in typical Woodson fashion he then picked off 4 passes in 2014 and after signing another one-year contract has picked off 5 passes this season so far. He has one game left.

He is definitely going into retirement in the only way Charles Woodson knows how in "Woodson Style".

Retired Football Player to Full-Time Vintner

You were a class act and still are. so I would like to say have fun in retirement and don't be a stranger in Green Bay. Finally, make a "21" variety to go with your normal "24" variety. If not then, "Have some Green Bay cheese with that "24" wine."