The Colts have named Edgerin James as an honorary captain for this weekend’s AFC Title Game. The move, purely a motivational one, was nearly identical to one made by the Saints last weekend. They named former rusher Deuce McAllister as their honorary captain before he announced his retirement this week. The moves show how classy and understanding both of these organizations are.
Edge lead the league in total yards during many of his years in Indianapolis and likely would have re-signed with Indy if not for the Players Association pressuring him to reject the contract as unacceptable for someone of his talents. Edgerin went on to Arizona and obscurity before landing as a third stringer in Seattle this year. He’s a great player and not nearly the thug you would assume just looking at him (though he does look the part of a player from The U.)
I had the fortune of being at the game in early October when the Colts met the Seahawks. Between the third and fourth quarters the audience was treated to a jumbo-tron tribute to Edge highlighting his many achievements as a Colt. The fitting finish for the video was the indication that upon his retirement the Colts would place his name in the Ring of Honor in the stadium. A fine tribute.
All of this is nice for reminissing and fond memories but I wonder if we may see the NFL get in its own way on this one. The first time someone does something nice it usually goes unnoticed. It can’t be missed that both of these teams were playing in Big GAMES™ at home, and the boost to team and fan morale were considerable. It will be interesting to see if the NFL places some ridiculous rule like ‘captains, including honorary captains, must be dressed and active for the game.’
Regardless, Seattle released him; he was unsigned and available to sign with any remaining team. It is expected he will retire upon the completion of this season and I think it would be a great way to show the respect and gratitude to keep him on the 53 man roster if the Colts happen to win this weekend and allow him to officially be counted as a man who won a Superbowl and not just someone who was given a ring through player vote.