Rod Smith retires

This wasn’t a surprise after the announcement that he was going to need another hip replacement surgery, but Denver Broncos wideout Rod Smith announced his retirement Thursday. He entered the league as a free agent with Denver in 1995 and 12 seasons later he leaves with 849 catches and two Super Bowl rings.

With some of the prima donna crap that goes on in pro sports these days Zoneblitz offers a tip of the cap to a player who, by and large, not only played well but did so in a mostly quiet and classy way. I don’t know if he’s a Hall of Famer or not, though coach Mike Shanahan thinks so.

Regardless, he made the most of his ability, he put up some solid, solid years, and he took pride in being a teammate, lining up next to Shannon Sharpe and blocking for Terrell Davis. There’s got to be something said for that. Good luck in your retirement, #80.