NFL Players Who Retired with the Team They Were Drafted by

In an era of free agency in professional sports, players who are "lifers" and remain with the team that drafted them for an entire career have become increasingly rare.

Behind NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw, the players went on strike during the 1987 season, leading to a debacle of replacement players and some notable picket-line crossers, including Hall of Famers Joe Montana, Lawrence Taylor and Steve Largent. By 1989, a half-baked idea called "Plan B" free agency was introduced, and the players more or less gained full free agency by 1993.

The NFL instituted the salary cap in 1994, a humbler time when the cap sat at a measly $34.6 million, which pales in comparison to 2015's salary cap, which will rise to $143.28 million. The hard cap also forces teams to avail of cost-saving measures, evidenced by the offseason release of talented veterans, including Andre Johnson, Darnell Dockett, Steven Jackson, Reggie Bush and Jake Long.

In order to remain with the same team for an entire career, a player must be talented enough to warrant his team retaining him while also being willing to forego the potential of a higher salary gained through free agency. Each of these loyal veterans played for more than eight years during the open free-agency period and stayed right where they began.

Jason Hanson, K, Detroit Lions (1992-2012)

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When the Detroit Lions selected Jason Hanson late in the second round of the 1992 draft, he hardly could have imagined that he'd play for that franchise for the next 21 seasons.

While some may like to treat kickers as an exception to all NFL standards of longevity, loyalty and general regard, Hanson enjoyed an incredible career. He also deserves credit for remaining in Detroit of all places, a surprising choice for someone who grew up in the Pacific Northwest. 

Hanson played all 16 games in each season from 1992 until 2012, booting 495 field goals and scoring 2,150 points in total. Understandably, the team inducted him into the Ford Field Ring of Honor in 2013.

ClickOnDetroit.com's Rob Parker reported in October 2014 that Hanson even offered to come out of retirement to help stabilize the team's kicking situation, but the team declined for fear of the 44-year-old kicker getting injured. You certainly can't deny Hanson's dedication. 

Darrell Green, CB, Washington Redskins (1983-2002)

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One way of demonstrating how incredibly fast Darrell Green was involves explaining a little bit about Willie Gault. A track star at Tennessee, Gault was part of the 4x100-meter relay team, along with Carl Lewis, that set a world record at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki. Gault joined the Chicago Bears as a wide receiver in 1983, and Green still won the NFL's fastest man competition four times. 

Even at age 40, he could still run a blazing 40-yard dash in just 4.2 seconds. 

While standing just 5'9", Green was picked in the first round in 1983 and put together a Hall of Fame resume that included seven Pro Bowls and two Super Bowls. During his tenure in Washington, he played for six different head coaches, and they probably should have just given Green the opportunity to run the team. 

Bruce Matthews, OL, Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans (1983-2001)

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Bruce Matthews played for so long, the Associated Press' images of him during his sophomore season are in black and white. He saw the Houston Oilers move to Tennessee, and he played for the short-lived Tennessee Oilers until everyone agreed that the name was no longer applicable to the Nashville-based franchise. He finished his career as a Tennessee Titan, but though the uniforms changed, his allegiance to the franchise did not. 

Matthews comes from one of the game's preeminent football families, as his father, Clay Matthews Sr., played for the San Francisco 49ers during the '50s, and his brother, Clay Matthews Jr., spent 19 seasons in NFL, though he eventually departed from the Cleveland Browns. Bruce's son, lineman Jake Matthews, was drafted sixth overall by the Atlanta Falcons in 2014, and his nephews Clay Matthews III and Casey Matthews are both NFL linebackers.

Matthews was named All-Pro 10 times and earned 14 Pro Bowl nods. His career on the O-line spanned numerous potent running backs, from Earl Campbell to Lorenzo White to Eddie George. He was enshrined in Canton in 2007, and Matthews has since worked as a coach for none other than the Titans and Houston Texans. He's not just loyal to a team, he's loyal to the city as well. 

Derrick Brooks, LB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1995-2008)

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In 1994, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished with a 6-10 record and had not enjoyed a winning season since 1981.

At the 1995 draft, they selected Warren Sapp No. 12 overall and Derrick Brooks at No. 28. Those two spurred a total transformation of the franchise's fortunes over the next eight years, and 1997 began a run of six seasons at or above .500, including five playoff appearances.

In 2002, Brooks had a banner season in numerous facets, leaving little choice but to name him Defensive Player of the Year. He recorded 117 tackles, five interceptions and a staggering four touchdowns, three off of interceptions and one from a fumble. The team's leading rusher that year, Michael Pittman, scored only one touchdown during the regular season.

It was fitting that Brooks would return a Rich Gannon interception for a score to cap the Bucs' dominating 48-21 win over the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII, putting that team among the most fearsome defenses of all time. 

Unfortunately, the Buccaneers have not won a playoff game since that Super Bowl, but Brooks remained with the team until 2008, unlike Sapp, who availed of free agency and landed with the Raiders. 

Jonathan Ogden, OL, Baltimore Ravens (1996-2007)

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The Baltimore Ravens drafted Jonathan Ogden with the fourth overall pick in the 1996 draft, the very first draft pick following the franchise's move from Cleveland. The next season, Ogden made the Pro Bowl, just as he would in every year that followed. 

While the Ravens team that won Super Bowl XXXV was known primarily for its defense, Ogden anchored an offensive line that kept pedestrian quarterback Trent Dilfer upright and out of harm's way that season, capped by a 34-7 blowout of the New York Giants. 

In 2003, Ogden and his fellow linemen blew open huge rushing lanes for running back Jamal Lewis as he rumbled his way to 2,066 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground. Unfortunately, a toe injury cut short the 6'9" behemoth's career, but that only served to hasten his induction to the Hall of Fame, which came in 2013. 

Ray Lewis, LB, Baltimore Ravens (1996-2012)

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The Baltimore Ravens drafted Ray Lewis 26th overall in 1996, 22 picks after Ogden. Together, they anchored the offensive and defensive units and helped transform the team into a perennial AFC contender.

Lewis slipped to the bottom portion of the first round because he was perceived to be undersized for the NFL, and teams were keener on edge-rushers over middle linebackers. In his second season, Lewis recorded 184 tackles and four sacks, and that was only the tip of the iceberg. 

Lewis won two titles with the Ravens and was named MVP of Super Bowl XXXV. A 13-time Pro Bowler, he won Defensive Player of Year in both 2000 and 2003.

Though he will be forever tied to the 2000 incident when two young men were stabbed to death, he did fulfill the terms of his plea agreement for misdemeanor obstruction of justice. In the eyes of many, Lewis has restored his reputation over the intervening years, as shown by the success he's found already in his second career. 

With his magnetic personality and revival-tent oratory style, Lewis made the jump to television after retirement. In 2013, he joined ESPN as a contributor on its NFL coverage, and his reality series Coaching Bad premiered on Spike TV in February.

Walter Jones, OL, Seattle Seahawks (1997-2009)

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Seattle Seahawks lineman Walter Jones (not to be confused with the congressman from North Carolina's third district) was born too early. While his presence did help turn around a struggling franchise, he departed a few years before the savior known as Russell Wilson arrived. 

While he never earned a championship ring, slightly different officiating in Super Bowl XL could have changed that. Still, Jones' impressive career included an avalanche of distinctions. He started every game he ever played in and went to nine Pro Bowls, earning a bust in the Hall of Fame on his first ballot in 2014.

He ascended to elite status at a time when left tackle had become of one of the most important positions on the field, and in addition to protecting the blind side, he aided Shaun Alexander in rushing for a then-record 27 touchdowns in 2005.

As noted by ESPN's Mike Sando in 2010, Jones' former coach Mike Holmgren "once called Reggie White the best defensive player he coached and Jones the best on offense, a statement so profound that Holmgren said he heard from some of the other greats he coached." Holmgren had been an offensive coach with the San Francisco 49ers with Joe Montana and Steve Young at quarterback, and he was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the Brett Favre era. 

Michael Strahan, DE, New York Giants (1993-2007)

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Very few athletes retire on top as a world champion, and such a graceful exit is even rarer in New York sports. It eluded baseball greats Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter, and the New York Giants' own Lawrence Taylor saw his transformative abilities diminish before hanging it up in 1993. 

Michael Strahan, on the other hand, went out on the highest of high notes. The Giants pulled off the unthinkable in Super Bowl XLII, knocking off the unbeaten New England Patriots in a 17-14 upset for the ages. 

Eli Manning took home MVP honors, but the nod just as easily could have gone to Big Blue's entire defensive line, bookended by Strahan and Justin Tuck. They hounded Tom Brady all day and thwarted an offensive attack that had rolled over 17 consecutive opponents. 

As Strahan will eagerly remind anyone who asks about that victory, they "stomped them out." And his bicep-flexing celebration after sacking Brady remains one of the iconic moments from the win. That was his final game in the NFL. After being a second-round pick in 1993, he made seven Pro Bowls and set the single-season sack record with 22.5 in 2001 (earning him Defensive Player of the Year) during his Hall of Fame career. 

Somewhat improbably, Strahan and his signature gap-toothed grin have now found a home on ABC as a syndicated morning talk show host with Kelly Ripa on Live! with Kelly and Michael. He represents a significant athletic upgrade from previous host Regis Philbin.