Big Willie

[WhoDey93285]

Anyone else sensing that this may be the last go around for Big Willie? I love the guy, but he's on his last foot, figuratively and literally. And now he has knee problems again. He's definately not the player he used to be. I think Willie needs to hang up the cleats and just prepare for the Hall. Thoughts?

[kingwilly]

Yes, this is the big guy's swan song.

Look for him to be grabbed by a team once he is cut, say a team like Miami, Chicago or Tennessee for a 1-yr deal and then retire.

[BengalszoneBilly]

Yes, this is the big guy's swan song.

Look for him to be grabbed by a team once he is cut, say a team like Miami, Chicago or Tennessee for a 1-yr deal and then retire.

Sounds about right. Par for a star NFL linemans career these days.

[mgilgris]

Don't think that will happen:

1) Mike Brown is too loyal to a fault

2) Would hurt the salary cap

[The PatternMaster]

Looking back they should've re-sign Steinbach instead of Big Willie..this is a business and keeping Steinbach would have made more sense. Steinbach can play damn near every position on the line, Willie can't even play more than 1 series.

[redsbengalsbucks]

Let him retire in stripes, he just needs time to heal over the bye week and hopefully he will be healthy enough to at least play in a rotation this year. I think next season he will be in a rotational/backup role if he does not retire.

[walzav29]

I'm not anti-Willie. I'm Pro-Bengals. I want to see Willie retire as a Bengal as well, but he physically can't play. If it's going to be 4 games, then ok. If he is going to play 1 series a game the entire season then you have to put him on IR. It's not personal. It' business.

[The PatternMaster]

Let him retire in stripes, he just needs time to heal over the bye week and hopefully he will be healthy enough to at least play in a rotation this year. I think next season he will be in a rotational/backup role if he does not retire.

10 days ain't going to heal what ails him. The guy has been playing football for about a quarter century or so and his body is just worn down. He probably needs to take a year off to get 100% healthy, right now he's just keeping his games started streak alive.

I'm a Big Willie fan, I love how he carries himself on and off the field. But at this point in his career he is not playing at a high level consistantly and he's past his prime.

It's like Barry Larkin staying around based off what he did in the early and mid 90's.

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

10 days ain't going to heal what ails him. The guy has been playing football for about a quarter century or so and his body is just worn down. He probably needs to take a year off to get 100% healthy, right now he's just keeping his games started streak alive.

Heck, even a year wouldn't be enough. This guy's already been through microfracture surgery, which is the last-ditch effort to get something akin to cartilage in the knees of big guys who don't have any. He's been playing on borrowed time for a while now. He'll never be healthy.

I'm a Big Willie fan, I love how he carries himself on and off the field. But at this point in his career he is not playing at a high level consistantly and he's past his prime.

Yup. Sadly, he's still got to be better than Kooistra. I'd rather install a speed bump than have that guy - the speed bump will do a better job of slowing down DEs, and it won't false start.

It's like Barry Larkin staying around based off what he did in the early and mid 90's.

That one still makes me twitch just thinking about it. Please! Just retire already!

[HairOnFire]

I'm not anti-Willie. I'm Pro-Bengals. I want to see Willie retire as a Bengal as well, but he physically can't play. If it's going to be 4 games, then ok. If he is going to play 1 series a game the entire season then you have to put him on IR. It's not personal. It' business.

Agreed on all counts. Anderson has mentioned retirement before, but as I recall his comments have been mixed. He's bounced from claiming he wants to play for as long as possible to stating that he'll hang 'em up the moment his career as a starter comes to an end. It might be interesting to scroll back and read what he said immediately after signing the contract extension. And speaking of that, I'm pretty sure the bonus money included in his last deal was very modest for a player of his reputation.

Just saying....