Mike Alstott Done?

Today Mike Alstott and Bruce Allen had a press conference to denote that Mike had suffered a neck injury above the prior fusion and that it was serious enough to warrant placing Mike on IR. It was an emotional press conference (here) where you could tell that Mike will probably never suit up for the Bucs again. The neck is not something you really want to mess with. He rolled the dice once, and has been lucky so far, but when it gets like this, it's a signal to stop. If he were to hit it correctly now, he could end up with some paralysis, and it's just not worth it.

He says they'll review the situation later this year after it's had time to heal up, and they'll see if he's done then. But really...does anyone think he'll risk it then? I don't. He's got his family to think about, and I don't think he could live with himself if he permanently injured himself in a way that would prevent him from playing with his kids and doing other things around his home.

If he ends up leaving the game, he leaves as the Bucs second leading rusher behind Wilder, and the third leading receiver. He's also the all-time leader in TD's with 71, which will probably stand for a long time unless Caddy starts racking them up. Alstott would also leave behind tons of highlight reel runs and receptions, including the TD run against the Vikings, the 2000 (1999 season) playoff TD run against the Redskins (from one side of the goal line to the other), and 2005's two point conversion against the Redskins in the regular season to put the Bucs ahead. My favorite run, however, is the one against Cleveland in 2002 when he plowed over 6 or so Browns. That was classic. There are tons more, many of which I have forgotten, and he will always be a fan favorite.

He will be missed.


Alstott after some hard work.















After drills, Alstott appears ready for a break from the heat.












The lone soldier of the grid iron purveys the field of play for one of the last times.