Football - New York Jets Career Is Over

Following a successful season, New York Jets’ players cleaned out their lockers and Curtis Martin could be emptying out his for the last time.

NFL’s no. 4 acknowledged that he most probably has played his last game because of the bone on bone injury in his right knee which saw him sidelined for the entire season.
Martin said that he has finally accepted that his career in NFL is most probably over and he was grateful to have been able to play and give the game all he had. He was also grateful to have helped his team win games, and said that he had no regrets about leaving the game.
Martin tore the cartilage in his right knee in the second week of the last season when the Jets were playing against Miami. The knee got aggravated two games later during a game against Baltimore. He continued playing even though he was in great deal of pain but decided to stop after the twelfth game.
From a torn cartilage, the injury became a bone on bone injury after the damaged cartilage was removed in an operation in December 2005. His recovery was extremely slow and he was placed on the physically unable to perform list before the training camp so that he could rehabilitate his knee. In November 2006, Martin was placed on the injured reserve list.
Martin said that the most difficult thing for him was to accept the fact that his career might be over.
Martin spent his first three seasons with New England and joined the Jets as a restricted free agent in 1998. His best year was in 2004 which was also his last healthy season. He led the league in rushing with 1,697 yards and equaled Barry Sanders’ record of 10 straight 10,000 yard seasons.
Although his pro football days might be over, Martin would like be involved with the Jets in some way or the other. He has been round the team the entire season. He mentored Leon Washington and Cedric Houston and also took part in the team meetings.