End of an Era as Indianapolis Colts Release Safety Bob Sanders

When the Indianapolis Colts released safety Bob Sanders on February 18, it marked the end of a frustrating relationship that was full of highlights and pain, joy and misery, championships and disappointments. From the time Sanders was drafted in the second round by the Colts in 2004 to the day he was finally cut, Sanders represented a tantalizing fruit for the team, the ultimate "what-if" to fans hungered for more than one Super Bowl victory in the Peyton Manning era. In the end, the uncertainty outweighed all that potential.

Sanders, a muscular sparkplug at 5'8" and about 205 pounds, made his name with a frenzied pursuit of the ball and ball-carriers, punctuated by punishing hits that jarred opponents to their cores. Turns out, though, that Sanders was punished physically, too, as he found it all but impossible to stay on the field for any great length of time without suffering an injury. In his seven years with the Colts, Sanders appeared in only 47 of 112 regular-season games, including just one in 2010.

Through it all, though, fans and the team held out hope that he'd return and lead the oft-maligned Indy defense back to prominence. We kept thinking back to the interception in Super Bowl XLI. We remembered the sterling season that followed, when Sanders won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award. The team looked to the big five-year, $37.5 million contract that they gave him after that performance. It all added up to a guy that we couldn't write off, not after he missed 10 games in 2008 and not even after he missed 14 games in 2009. After following up the long rehab of a torn left biceps by tearing his right biceps in the first game of 2010, though, the writing was finally on the wall.

The Colts put Sanders on IR, and fans wondered all year whether we'd ever see him in a Colts uniform, or any uniform, again. We called into sports talk shows and opined about how much better the Colts' D and, indeed, the whole team would be were Sanders still around. We donned our #21 jerseys and headed out to Lucas Oil Stadium or the sports bar or Wal-mart. He was gone for the moment, but we still couldn't help but wonder, "What if?" Now we know that there will be no Bob Sanders magic to save our Colts, ever, and we turn the page and our eyes to Antoine Bethea and Melvin Bullitt. So long, Mr. Sanders.