Seattle Seahawks: 6 Franchise Legends Who Left with Clipped Wings

Unfortunately the Seattle Seahawks have been a franchise that is often associated with disappointment, even devastation—on and off the field—as a result of 11 playoff appearances and no Super Bowl victories.

The Seahawks became a threat in the AFC during the Chuck Knox era in the 1980s and didn’t make a Super Bowl. Seattle lost to Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XL during its mid 2000s reign atop the NFC West during the Mike Holmgren regime.

Not a shortage of opportunity—rather, a shortage of league-wide championship success.

Additionally, some players have appropriately shared a twisted but similar fate to the end of their careers; success derailed by injury.

To finish painting a bleak picture, most players on the list played every career game with Seattle, their injuries largely corresponding with the dark days of Seahawks football.

On to a not-so-July 4th-like look at Seahawks history.

Tragedy Strikes Before the Team Steps on the Field

Seahawks majority owner Lloyd W. Nordstrom—representing the family—died of a heart attack vacationing in Mexico in early 1976, months before the team played its first game.

The family, based in Seattle, had a major role in the franchise’s inception.

Not the most promising first twist of fate for the Seahawks.

Kenny Easley, DB, 1981-1987

The Seahawks' first flirtation with championship success came in the 1980s, and the fourth pick in the 1981 draft was a primary factor in creating those winning ways.

Kenny Easley was the 1981 AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year, ’83 AFC Defensive Player of the Year, ’84 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and a four-time first-team All-Pro and occupied a spot on the 1980s All-Decade Team. Easley was a potential Hall of Famer.

A Hall of Famer Easley would not become. 1987 would prove to be one of Easley’s least productive years since 1981—still a Pro Bowler and second-team All-Pro—and the Seahawks decided then was the time to trade their star player.

The team traded Easley to the Cardinals for quarterback Kelly Stouffer, but the trade fell through: Easley failed his physical due to a newly discovered bum kidney, the result of too much Advil during his 1986 recovery from ankle surgery. Seattle still acquired Stouffer, albeit without losing Easley.

Technically, the team did lose Easley, as he was forced to retire before the 1988 season—he received a new kidney in 1990. Additionally, the team and Easley's relationship had been scarred for the next decade-plus.

The team would make the playoffs once in the decade following his retirement, and the Seahawks' run of success would soon come to a temporary end.

Note: The video above is a must-watch to get a full picture of Kenny Easley. 

Brian Bosworth, LB, 1987-1989

Huge expectations and a huge disappointment describe the career of Brian Bosworth in a nutshell—not a legend because of play, but because of his persona.

Bosworth was a beast in college, a two-time Dick Butkus Award winner and two-time first-team All-American. A member of the Sports Illustrated NCAA All-Century team, he had the all-century, outlandish personality to go with his play.

“The Boz” graduated from Oklahoma early and was eligible for the 1987 supplemental draft, fresh off a suspension due to a positive steroid test. Before the 1987 supplemental draft he wrote teams he would not play for telling them so, and he even sued to wear his college number in the pros—he lost.

As signified by his historic 10-year, $11 million rookie deal, the Seahawks were counting on Bosworth’s play for years to come.

Bosworth called out Bo Jackson before a 1987 Monday Night Football game, and Jackson rushed for 221 yards and three touchdowns—video of Jackson’s performance above. Quickly Bosworth showed his time in the NFL might be more about the flash and cash.

At the same time Seattle was forced to trade disgruntled All-Pro linebacker Fredd Young for two first-round picks in September of 1988, as Young was displeased with Bosworth’s contract.

Young signed a deal for $350,000 plus incentives just weeks before Bosworth got his historic deal; fittingly, Bosworth stepped into Young’s spot in 1988, and the team made the playoffs, but then the shoulder injuries began.

Bosworth played 10 games in 1988 and only two in 1989; steroids and size 9.5 feet proved to be a poor marriage. The Boz's body broke for good—the weight of NFL expectations crushed his shoulders.

The team would lose a potential Hall of Fame safety and All-Pro linebacker in the same year, and about a year later Seattle would learn that it broke both the bank and its back for Bosworth.

Steve Largent, WR, 1976-1989

As the team came off a 10-win year in 1986 followed by two consecutive playoff appearances, face of the franchise and all-time great Steve Largent came back for one more year in 1989.

With 800 career receptions, 13,000 receiving yards and 100 touchdowns milestones in sight, the stage was set for the swan song everyone in the Emerald City hoped for.

Little did they know Largent was about to complete a trio of late 1980s injuries that would help send the franchise into a playoff-free tailspin, ending in 1999.

Largent broke his elbow in the season opener against the Eagles at the old “Vet,” where the Phillies played as well; Largent dove for a ball over the middle and landed on top of the covered second base mound.

He would miss six games and post career lows in receptions and yards.

Despite productive seasons from many on the team—including receiver Brian Blades, who earned his only career Pro Bowl berth—the team had their first losing season under Chuck Knox and was forced to go forward without "a bearing stud in the franchise's foundation."

A Seattle hero’s disappointing goodbye signified the beginning of the darkest decade of Seahawks football.

Dave Brown's Passing in 2006

We move back off the field to acknowledge the passing of cornerback Dave Brown, a hard-working leader for the Seahawks from 1976-1986 and the franchise leader with 50 interceptions—his death another unforeseen twist in the Seahawks' history.

Brown’s passing due to a heart attack, six days shy of his 53rd birthday, came just four days before the Seahawks started their 2006 playoff run to the Super Bowl—more eerily, 10 days shy of the 30th anniversary of L.W. Nordstrom’s passing.

Brown’s death prompted the Seattle Post-Intelligencer to say, "In their greatest season, the Seahawks have lost one of their greatest players."

Some could say he helped guide them through their playoff run—especially given his devotion to religion discovered during his playing days and his role as a part of the coaching staff in the mid 1990s—but there is no denying the Seahawks would have rather had him by their side.

Shaun Alexander, RB, 2000-2007

For five straight seasons, 2001 to 2005, Shaun Alexander touched the ball more than 350 times and was the main set of legs in a Super Bowl-caliber running game.

Rightfully so, it earned him a historically fat new contract in 2006, and he became the first player ever—Larry Fitzgerald since joining him—to appear on the cover of EA Sports' NCAA and NFL games.

So what happens when one combines the trio of a Super Bowl loss letdown, the curse of the Madden cover and the expectations that come with eight years, $62 million—$15 million in year one—into a karma-heavy package, tossing the hopes of the franchise into fate’s ring of fire? Remember, the signing of Alexander ultimately meant the loss of All-Pro left guard Steve Hutchinson.

Career-threatening/ending injuries to the franchise fullback, left tackle and running back in three consecutive years are what followed.

Though Alexander left Seattle after the 2007 season, the troubles started in 2006; he broke his foot in Week 3 and played only 10 games, the next season starting with a broken wrist in Week 1, followed by ankle and knee sprains in Week 9. The wheels of the Super Bowl-caliber running game literally fell off in 2007.

Mack Strong, FB, 1993-2007

Strong played the role of a road-paving Mack truck during his 15 years with Seattle, an undrafted free agent that built a reputation as one of the NFL’s best blocking fullbacks. He blocked for a 1,000-yard rusher from 1998-2005, 10 times total in his career.

As an aging fullback, Strong finally got the recognition he deserved, shown by a 2005 All-Pro selection, with 2005 and 2006 Pro Bowl berths. With Shaun Alexander getting injured the year after his massive contract extension, Strong appeared as important as ever in guiding the way for the fresh faces in the backfield.

Five games into the 2007 season, Strong suffered a herniated disk in his neck—paralysis not an issue if he retired from football.

Strong signed onto the coaching staff, and Leonard Weaver emerged as a star in the making at the fullback position, only to go unsigned by Seattle after 2008, a Pro Bowler with the Eagles the following season.

The loss of an identity of toughness since the darkest days of the 1990s and the failure to attain his budding replacement paved the way for a major hole to exist at the position—a question mark heading into 2011.

While Strong’s injury is not a huge surprise given his position, nature of play and age, he hadn’t missed a game since 1999. One day he was a Pro Bowler, the next day a retiree—an unfortunate ending to a strong career.

Walter Jones, OT, 1997-2009

A little over a year after the Seahawks lost the road-paver in the backfield, the strongest piece of machinery in the trenches unexpectedly crumbled.

Jones was possibly one of the best left tackles to ever play, exemplifying the meaning of “manning” one's position. He started each of the 180 games he played and was a nine-time Pro Bowler, four-time first team All-Pro and a member of the 2000s All-Decade Team.

An integral piece of the Mike Holmgren era, it was hoped Jones could finish his career while aiding the transition beyond Holmgren’s retirement in 2008.

As quickly as the expectations that Jones could help usher in the new era of Seahawks football were placed upon him, his health was ironically taken away on Thanksgiving of 2008, along with the stability on the offensive line.

He tried to play in 2009 after microfracture surgery on his left knee but never appeared in a game. Jones was placed on IR in October, and he retired in April 2010, the week after the Seahawks drafted left tackle Russell Okung—the future protector of the blind side devoid of the locker room leader most hoped would aid the transition at left tackle.

While Okung projects to be at worst a solid starter in the league, the guidance of Jones on a day-to-day basis would have been a huge asset for the organization.

Even though he has been missed greatly on the field, his off-the-field presence still means something to the Seahawks organization and fanbase.

The Seahawks came from 14 and 10 points down, first against the Panthers in Week 13 and later hosting the Saints in the Wild Card Round respectively, to win when Jones was a part of pregame festivities in 2010. Jones’ jersey was retired—the only other jersey retiree in franchise history being Steve Largent—in Week 13, and Jones raised the 12th man flag against New Orleans.

Make what you will of those two examples, but Jones’ off-the-field presence in 2010 slightly softened the blow left by his slow, painful departure—the next step in the Seahawks' recovery process being the maturation of Okung.

The Injury Bug Bit in 2008 and Still Remains a Problem in the Present Day

As noted previously, the injury plague struck the Seahawks right after their Super Bowl appearance.

While the team was still able to make the playoffs in 2006 and 2007, the Seahawks officially crashed in 2008. As reported in this article highlighting the team’s injury troubles, the final year of the Holmgren regime brought hurtin’ of historic proportions.

According the Football Outsiders statistic of “adjusted games lost,” the injuries resulted in the worst offensive AGL since 1996—remember, the Patriots lost Tom Brady in 2008. Only Koren Robinson, Floyd Womack and Walter Jones started 12 games or more on offense in 2008, Jones injured in his 12th game.

The first year of the Jim Mora regime didn’t fare much better, Marcus Trufant missing the first six games of the season and Lofa Tatupu missing the second half of the season. Throw in Matt Hasselbeck with the current faces of the franchise that are battling injuries and poor play to the present day.

Luckily, the present-day regime is an organization driven to bring success to Seattle, as the 12th man collectively knocks on wood in hopes that the new regime will be able to shake a history of hard luck and historic injuries.