Aaron Schobel: One Of Few Bright Spots On the Buffalo Bills This Decade

Will he or won't he?  That's been the question for a certain player for a majority of the offseason up until this past week. 

No, I'm not talking about Brett Favre.  I'm talking about Aaron Schobel, who may as well be the "Brett Favre" of defensive ends over this NFL offseason.  

Aaron Schobel said nearing the end of last season that he was considering retirement, which was a shock to some fans seeing as Schobel is only 32, likely exiting the prime of his career, but still young enough to play at a high level for a few more years.

However, when you look at Aaron Schobel's career, you see a winning player on a losing team.  

Drafted in 2001, Schobel's stats over the past decade with the Bills mark him as one of the better pass rushers in the league, logging 78 sacks, 333 tackles, two interceptions, and 26 pass deflections in 133 games.  Over Schobel's career with Buffalo, however, he only saw one winning season in his career record with the Bills: 58-86. 

Although many thought he had lost his game, Schobel came out with one of the better seasons of his career last season.  He contributed 10 sacks, the fourth time he's gotten to the double digits in sacks in his career.  He also forced three fumbles.  However, he finished with yet another losing season with the Bills. 

One has to think that Schobel grew tired of losing all the time.

Never once was Schobel part of a playoff team, something that all players should aspire to do over the course of their NFL careers.  Only once did he and Bills ever beat the Patriots over his nine year NFL career with the Bills.  

Schobel has been holding back on his decision to come back and play this season for months now.  Last week, he finally broke his silence and came out saying that he was leaning more towards playing this season.  However, he told the Bills that he needed a little more time to make a decision.

Buddy Nix would not allow Schobel to make that decision on his team, though.  The Bills went on record to say that they were officially moving on from Schobel as a team this past week, effectively ending Schobel's career with the Bills. 

In the wake of his decision, many thought that Schobel simply wanted a change of scenery.  He probably wanted some place to win.

He's going to get that chance, as the Bills announced today that they have released Aaron Schobel from the roster, making him a free agent to sign with any team. It is believed that the Bills sought out a trade with little interest, and had no choice but to release Schobel from the team.  

Many see Schobel as one of the lone bright spots in an otherwise dull decade from the Buffalo Bills.  There are some that consider him a Bills Wall of Fame candidate, as well. He is second all-time for the Bills in sacks, behind Bruce Smith.  He was a contributor from the start of his career and to the finish of his career with Buffalo.  He brought his game week in and week out.  He was never the hardest worker when it comes to practice and training camp.  He's on record saying that he really doesn't like it.  However, Schobel knew what to do on Sundays.  

Go after the quarterback.  

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