Jackson retires as a Steelers player
Steelers coach Bill Cowher met with a free agent offensive tackle Monday, but it had nothing to do with the hole that the team may have to fill later this year at left tackle.
Former Steelers offensive left tackle John Jackson spent time at the Steelers' practice facility, meeting with Cowher, president Dan Rooney and other officials and announced his retirement after a 14-year NFL career.
"I'm done. You can stick a fork in me," said Jackson, who played in 203 games for the Steelers, San Diego Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals. "I'm not trying to come back, unless we go play golf somewhere. That's about the only thing I'll play."
Jackson was the Steelers' 10th-round draft choice in 1988 and played in 153 games (130 starts) through 10 seasons in Pittsburgh. He left the team following the 1997 season to sign a six-year, $25 million contract with the Chargers that included a signing bonus of more than $4 million.
Some Steelers officials were actually surprised by the magnitude of the contract, because Jackson had never played in the Pro Bowl. At that time, Jackson's agent Richard Katz said it was the largest contract for an offensive lineman in the history of the game.
"We were sorry to see John leave," said Rooney, who appeared with Jackson yesterday at a news conference. "We know why he left — for his family. But we always felt he was a Steeler."
"It was very tough to leave the Steelers," Jackson said, "but I had an obligation as far as my family and I took care of that obligation."
Jackson received only a fraction of the $25 million, however, before the Chargers released him after two seasons for salary cap purposes. Then, he spent two years (2000 and 2001) with his hometown Cincinnati Bengals.
He had re-signed with the Bengals for 2002, but he was released before the start of the season after he had an abnormal stress test on his heart. He was subsequently cleared medically, but he spent last season out of football.
He had scheduled a news conference in Pittsburgh last year to announce his retirement but canceled it at the last minute, hoping to resume his career.
"I felt I had to get it out of my system," he said. "Now, it's out of my system, and I don't want to play anymore."
Jackson, 38, said his most memorable moment in Pittsburgh was sitting with center Dermontti Dawson in Three Rivers Stadium after beating the Indianapolis Colts in the 1996 AFC Championship Game and crying.
"It was a great moment, especially two grown men sitting there crying," he said.
Yesterday, he completed the circle of his career.
"To me, it's a great honor to come back here and finish what I started," he said. "It means a lot to me to wear this championship ring and being known as a Pittsburgh Steeler. I always wanted to be a Pittsburgh Steeler for life."
