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Minter ends 10-year career with Panthers

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

(Updated Friday, July 18, 2008 - 11:46 pm)

By Mike Cranston
Associated Press

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Mike Minter hoped to play the game he loves for one more year, even after the pain in his knees seemed unbearable at the end of last season.

"Coming into the offseason, you figure you will get healthy, get your knees back and try to get some more magic out of them legs," Minter said Tuesday. "At the end of the day, there wasn't anything left."

The 33-year-old safety ended his 10-year career with the Carolina Panthers by announcing his retirement Tuesday as his teammates, the team's office staff, security guards -- and even the Panthers' owner -- cried with him.

"I want to say this is probably the second hardest thing that I've ever had to do," Minter said as his wife and four children sat nearby. "The first thing was losing my mom, and the second thing is losing football. This is a game I love, a game I have been playing for a long time and it was a hard decision to come to."

Minter leaves sitting atop the Panthers' record book in tackles, games started, fumble recoveries and interception returns for touchdowns. He also departs as the team's most respected leader.

Minter had all the qualities of an underdog. He was small -- 5-foot-10, 190 pounds -- and had little cartilage left in his knees after three surgeries and a staph infection. What Minter lacked in size and speed, he made up for with his toughness, crowd-pleasing hard hits and his work in the community.

While Minter never made the Pro Bowl, he has 467 more tackles than any other player in franchise history. His 141 starts and 94 consecutive starts are team records. So, too, are his nine fumble recoveries and four interception returns for touchdowns.

Minter had not missed a game since 2001 season. He had a career-best 18 tackles in Carolina's loss to New England in the Super Bowl at the end of the 2003 season while playing with a torn biceps muscle and a broken foot.

PANTHERS CAMP
When: Through Aug. 22
Where: Wofford College, Spartanburg, S.C.
More online: http://www.panthers.com
Saturday's exhibition game: Panthers at New York Giants, 8 p.m. (WFMY-2)MIKE MINTER: A TIMELINE
April 1997 -- Former Carolina GM Bill Polian takes the 5-foot-10 safety from Nebraska in the second round of the draft.
August 1997 -- Minter knocks receiver Rocket Ismail out of training camp for several days with a hard hit in practice.
October 1997 -- Becomes a starter at strong safety in the sixth game of his rookie season. He's one of two rookies to start at least 11 games at safety.
September 1998 -- Develops a staph infection as a complication from surgery on his left knee. "I thought my career was over right then," Minter said.
1999 season -- Returns to start all 16 games at free safety for new coach George Seifert.
2000 -- Switches to strong safety, starts all 16 games and leads the Panthers with a career-high 142 tackles.
2001 -- After signing an extension, misses the first two games with a knee injury, the last time he would miss a game in his career. He has a team-best 108 tackles as Carolina sets an NFL record by losing its final 15 games.
2002 -- Begins a streak of five consecutive years as defensive team captain. Starts all 16 games for new coach John Fox and has a career-high four interceptions.
2003 -- Blocks a field-goal attempt on the final play against Jacksonville to preserve season-opening win. Has 124 tackles and two interception returns for touchdowns as the Panthers reach the Super Bowl.
2004 -- Records 94 tackles, two sacks and two fumble recoveries.
2005 -- Signs a contract extension, moves to free safety and becomes the franchise's all-time leader in games started.
2006 -- Battling knee pain that limits his practice time, starts all 16 games to extend his consecutive-game streak to 94. Has 92 tackles and one interception.
March 2007 -- Takes a pay cut and announces he'll retire after the 2007 season.
Friday -- After missing several training-camp practices, says he is considering retiring before the start of the season because of chronic knee pain.
Tuesday -- Announces his immediate retirement during a tearful news conference.

"Coming into the offseason, you figure you will get healthy ... try to get some more magic out of them legs. At the end of the day, there wasn't anything left."
Mike Minter, talking about his decision to retire