WI: Pat Tillman lived

Before we go off on a tangent about how a surviving Pat Tillman would reshape the NFL... Would he even be able to make a comeback. I mean even if he stayed in shape and somehow managed to practice his routines for the two years he was in service, he would still be playing 2001 style football in 2004, he could as well have broken his back on his last game and then spent two years in and out of a hospital getting back in shape.

Also, Tillman was no Manning brother. It is not as if two years in Afghanistan would give him superpowers. He'd still be a fairly decent player but by now two years older then anyone comparable, and in the NFL, unless you're Tom Brady, two years really is a lot of wear and tear and seriously reduces your average playing time.

2001 football in 2005 actually. He enlisted in May of 2002, so assuming he doesn't reenlist or otherwise end up with some sort of extension, the soonest he could possibly return to the NFL would be the 2005 season. If he doesn't actually leave the service until late in 2005, he might even have to wait until the 2006 season. Considering many NFL players don't last more then a decade or so unless they're very successful, or unless they're really lucky about being kept on as bench warmers or one or two odd positions, a 3 or 4 season gap could well kill any future NFL career
 


Tillman joined in May of 2002 and would have finished in the same month of 2005. That leaves four months until football season starts, probably too short to get signed and then train back up. Him coming back in 2006 might be more realistic.

The guy was a pro bowl (NFL all star) player and it would have been eight years since he started playing in 1998. That’s not quite pushing it for a safety, at least not yet. He was also an icon of patriotism, and given how much the league likes to wrap itself in the American flag, that would have been a bonus. I think there’s a pretty good chance he plays again, even if it’s for the Detroit Lions or the Jacksonville Jaguars (the Browns would be too depressing).
 
Tillman joined in May of 2002 and would have finished in the same month of 2005. That leaves four months until football season starts, probably too short to get signed and then train back up. Him coming back in 2006 might be more realistic.

The guy was a pro bowl (NFL all star) player and it would have been eight years since he started playing in 1998. That’s not quite pushing it for a safety, at least not yet. He was also an icon of patriotism, and given how much the league likes to wrap itself in the American flag, that would have been a bonus. I think there’s a pretty good chance he plays again, even if it’s for the Detroit Lions or the Jacksonville Jaguars (the Browns would be too depressing).

I know he enlisted in May, but he did not actually finish basic training until September of 2002, not sure when exactly he left for boot camp. I would have thought that his contract would have ended around the time he either started or ended boot camp.
 
2001 football in 2005 actually. He enlisted in May of 2002, so assuming he doesn't reenlist or otherwise end up with some sort of extension, the soonest he could possibly return to the NFL would be the 2005 season. If he doesn't actually leave the service until late in 2005, he might even have to wait until the 2006 season. Considering many NFL players don't last more then a decade or so unless they're very successful, or unless they're really lucky about being kept on as bench warmers or one or two odd positions, a 3 or 4 season gap could well kill any future NFL career

It'd be an impediment, yes, but not impossible to come back from — Michael Vick, Ricky Williams, Deion Sanders, Plaxico Burress, Robert Edwards, Tim Hightower, Josh Gordon, and Danny Lansanah all managed to come back to the league after being out of it for 3-4 seasons; some of which were spent in jail (Vick, Burress) or rehabbing from injury (Edwards, Hightower). Tillman would be in shape, presumably, from being enlisted; I could see some team taking a flier on him, if only for the publicity.
 
It'd be an impediment, yes, but not impossible to come back from — Michael Vick, Ricky Williams, Deion Sanders, Plaxico Burress, Robert Edwards, Tim Hightower, Josh Gordon, and Danny Lansanah all managed to come back to the league after being out of it for 3-4 seasons; some of which were spent in jail (Vick, Burress) or rehabbing from injury (Edwards, Hightower). Tillman would be in shape, presumably, from being enlisted; I could see some team taking a flier on him, if only for the publicity.

Heck, Roger Staubach did full five years on active duty after graduating from the USNA before going to the NFL. Yes I realize the early 1970s were a slightly different time.
 
I know he enlisted in May, but he did not actually finish basic training until September of 2002, not sure when exactly he left for boot camp. I would have thought that his contract would have ended around the time he either started or ended boot camp.

No, time spent in boot camp is counted on the contract.
 
Top