Barry Sanders has had one of the most storied pro football careers in the history of the sport. He was the most dynamic player each week he took the field, and despite his game-changing performances, his Lions teams were still bad in the win-loss column.
Sanders retired just 10 years into one of the greatest careers experienced by a running back. Not once, including his 1989 rookie season, did produce a season where he finished with less than 1,000 yards on the ground. He missed five games in the 1993 campaign and still managed to rush for 1,100 yards.
When he retired, many wondered why the league’s best player would call it quits so close to the peak of his game. Recently, Sanders answered the question many have speculated about since 1999.
I retired because... @BarrySanders: "I was young and foolish."https://t.co/Q56A0qIKBz
— NFL UK (@NFLUK) November 2, 2015
The Lions could use a rusher like Barry right now, but not even he could turn the franchise into a winning one with the condition it is in. Luckily for NFL defenses, Sanders didn’t return from retirement early in Michael Jordan fashion.
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