Reggie Wayne Leaves Unique Legacy Behind in Indianapolis

In 2015, the Indianapolis Colts will open up the season without Reggie Wayne on the roster for the first time since 2000.

Fifteen years.

In 2000, the average price of gas was $1.26 per gallon. Hillary Clinton was elected to the U.S. Senate. Tiger Woods became the youngest golfer to win a Grand Slam. Shaq and Kobe won their first title together.

It's been a long time.

Wayne has been back in the news lately for a number of reasons.

Last week, Indianapolis mayor Greg Ballard presented Wayne with the key to the city, honoring him for his contributions to the community over his 14-year career.

Though Wayne's accomplishments on the field are well-known, a spokesman for Mayor Ballard told Mike Chappell of Indy Sports Central that Wayne's leadership spread off the field as well:

"

Most people are familiar with the leadership role Reggie played within the Colts organization. But over the years, he also has played an important role in our Indianapolis community. From causes involving homelessness, cancer research and at-risk youth to name just a few, Reggie showed Indianapolis the value of community service.

[The Key to the City] is to show our appreciation for all that he has done in Indianapolis during his many seasons with the Colts.

"

After going unnoticed for much of the offseason, it's been rumored that Wayne is currently speaking to a number of teams about playing in 2015, according to NFL.com's Conor Orr. The veteran looked spent at the end of 2014, with a body that simply would no longer cooperate.

Originally, the New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos were all mentioned as showing interest. But since the initial report, the Texans, Broncos and Ravens have all dropped out of the "race." Wayne's chances of playing in the league for one more season are diminishing quickly.

Selfishly, Colts fans hope that Wayne calls it quits before the season begins. It was painful to watch Wayne try to get on the field every week last year, and it's difficult to imagine it being any easier in 2015 and beyond. Of course, seeing Wayne trot out in a Patriots uniform would be the ultimate heartbreak.

Sure, it would bring things full circle, considering the Colts signed former Texans great and division rival Andre Johnson to replace Wayne this offseason, but let's put a pin in that.

Still, Wayne has created a unique, timeless reputation in Indianapolis, one that won't be tarnished by a throwaway year in New England.

The legacy started as a sidekick, the efficient No. 2 receiver that took advantage of defenses paying so much attention to Marvin Harrison and running back Edgerrin James. In his first three seasons, Wayne averaged just 76 targets, 48 catches, 633 yards and just under four touchdowns. He would average nearly double the targets per year (135) for the rest of his career.

Wayne's first 1,000-yard season came in 2004, the record-breaking season that saw three Indianapolis receivers eclipse the 1,000-yard and 10-touchdown mark. Wayne had 77 catches and 12 touchdowns that season to go along with 1,210 yards, the most explosive season of his career on a per-catch basis (15.7 yards per reception).

Joe Mahoney/Associated Press

But from there on out, Wayne began to forge his own legacy as an NFL great. He made his first Pro Bowl in 2006, one of six selections in his lifetime. He caught over 100 passes four times, something only accomplished by five other receivers in NFL history (Jerry Rice, Marvin Harrison, Andre Johnson, Brandon Marshall and Wes Welker).

What really stood out about Wayne, however, was his consistency.

From 2004-2012, Wayne had nine straight seasons with at least 75 catches, the second-longest streak in NFL history only to Tim Brown's 10-year streak. During the latter half of his career, Wayne also set the league record for consecutive games with three or more receptions at 82 straight games. Cris Carter, who formerly held the record, had 58 consecutive games. 

He was Iron Man, going 11 years without missing a game and seven years without missing a practice.

We could go on and on about Wayne's place in history based on the numbers. Playing with Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck has helped put him among the most prolific wide receivers in NFL history.

But it was the intangibles, the little things, that stuck out with Reggie Wayne.

Marvin Harrison was always a better receiver, from his peak to his overarching career picture. But Reggie Wayne will always be remembered as the better Colt.

Wayne was a leader, taking pride in that role as his career moved into its latter half. When the media needed a quote about anything, from the good to the bad, it was Reggie Wayne's locker they crowded around.

When each season started in training camp, it was Reggie Wayne who showed up in some creative way to help motivate his younger teammates and set the tone for the season. He had seen guys like Marvin Harrison and Peyton Manning work tirelessly on the practice field and turned that into his character as well.

"The quality of those practices was surreal," former linebacker Gary Brackett told Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star. "Reggie saw that those guys were always in game mode, so that became his approach too."

"Marvin Harrison told me one time that you earn your money in practice," Wayne said. "The games? Those are for free."

There's a reason that Wayne's name was chanted with a particular vigor at home games, and not just because he happened to share a name with former Indiana Pacers great Reggie Miller.

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Wayne made Indianapolis home.

From his off-field appearances, countless acts of charity in the community and embracing of his role as a face of the Indianapolis Colts, Wayne became a Hoosier through and through.

And Hoosiers loved him for it.

On the field, there's no better example of this than what happened in 2011 and 2012.

When Peyton Manning missed the entire 2011 season, Wayne suffered. The then-33-year-old's time in this league was quickly running out, and he wasted one of his few remaining top-quality years with the Frankenstein-like corpse of Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky throwing him the ball. It was the first time in seven years that he did not reach 1,000 yards.

Wayne didn't owe the Colts anything.

In what many thought was his final home game as an Indianapolis Colt, Wane was tremendous. He caught eight passes for 106 yards and the game-winning touchdown on that day, powering the final drive that led to one of the coolest moments in the last decade of Colts football.

It was the penultimate game in a 2-14 season. It meant nothing. Yet it meant everything.

If you didn't watch every game of that painful season, it's hard to describe why that moment meant so much. It was a season full of close calls and disappointment after disappointment. (There is zero chance that anybody on that roster was intentionally taking part in "Suck for Luck." Don't let anybody tell you otherwise.)

Colts fans knew that Manning was likely going to be gone after the season. At the very least, the future was completely unknown. An all-time great era was coming to a close.

But for one afternoon, Wayne brought back the familiar feeling. A game-winning drive, one that preserved the Colts' unbeaten home streak against the Houston Texans. The perfect ending to a storied career in Indianapolis.

Nobody would have blamed Wayne for leaving. With just a few years left, of course Wayne would want to play for a contender. The Colts were going to be rebuilding, with a new staff, new coaches and a completely overhauled roster. He could have joined Manning in Denver, or gone to play with Tom Brady in New England.

Fellow Colts veteran Robert Mathis called. Incoming head coach Chuck Pagano, who coached Wayne back in Miami, made a call.

And Reggie Wayne stayed.

This is why Colts fans love him, above all else. He stayed. Wayne bridged the gap from old to new.

AJ Mast/Associated Press

Without Wayne, the Colts don't go 11-5 in Andrew Luck's rookie year. Without Wayne, the Colts don't come back to beat the Green Bay Packers after learning of Pagano's leukemia diagnosis just days before.

Without Wayne, T.Y. Hilton probably doesn't become the route-runner he is today, bridging the gap between generations of great Colts receivers. Without Wayne, Luck's start to his career might just look a little different.

On the field, off the field. In the locker room, in the city. With Andrew Luck, with Peyton Manning.

You could depend on Reggie Wayne.

Even when he somehow let go of the ball during a game-winning drive in the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots, letting it fly into the air between defenders, you knew he'd get it back.

When it seemed like it was the end, like it was time to move on, he came back.

Now, it seems like it really is over. Father Time, as they say, is undefeated.

But his legacy will remain.

And whenever Wayne returns to Lucas Oil Stadium, whether it be for a Ring of Honor induction or some other deserving award, there will be a "Reg-gie, Reg-gie, Reg-gie" chant waiting for him.