Teammates are shocked by news but certain he'll land on his feet.
By JOANNE KORTH
Published March 12, 2004
It just won't seem right.
For years, cornerback Brian Kelly glanced over his right shoulder to see John Lynch, familiar No.47, patrolling the Bucs secondary. Now, Lynch will wear another uniform after announcing he and the Bucs soon will part after 11 seasons.
For Lynch's longtime teammates, Thursday was a sad day.
"I was shocked," said Kelly, a teammate for six seasons. "It's definitely tough for us as players. I've played my whole career with John and looked up to him as a player and person on the field and off the field. He's a great human being. He'll definitely land on his feet and go play football elsewhere, but it's hard not to see him in pewter and red."
Quarterback Brad Johnson, who roomed with Lynch for more than a month during training camp at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex, also expressed sorrow at the imminent departure of one of the franchise's most respected and beloved players.
"I'll miss my roommate," Johnson said. "He's one of the best teammates I've had, of all the players I've played with. He's definitely been the heartbeat of the defense and the team. We're all going to miss him and wish him well, and he's going to go down as one of the greatest players to ever play for the Bucs."
Kelly and Johnson have no doubt Lynch, a five-time Pro Bowl player, will continue his career after offseason surgery to repair nerve damage in his right shoulder that caused numbness in his arm and hand. The injury plagued Lynch for much of 2003, forcing him to miss two midseason games and parts of others. More often than not, he played through pain.
"There were times driving to the stadium when I said, "John, you're out of your mind,"' Johnson said. "Then we'd be 20 minutes before warmups and, son-of-a-gun, if he hadn't laced them up and was coming out of the tunnel. And he's done it before. This last one was just too much on him. Now with the surgery, he should turn out great and will be a great player for someone else."
Lynch, with linebacker Derrick Brooks and defensive tackle Warren Sapp, made up the core of a defense that helped turn the Bucs from laughable losers into Super Bowl XXXVII champions. Soon, Brooks might be the only one left.
Sapp, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection who played his first nine seasons in Tampa Bay, is a free agent and might not return.
"Right now ... I don't feel comfortable commenting on this particular situation," Brooks said in a statement. "We had private conversations that will remain private. I will say this: I love John Lynch as a person and as a teammate. I wish him the best in the future."
When training camp begins, the roster could bear little resemblance to the one that won the Super Bowl two years ago. Fans alarmed by the apparent dismantling, Kelly said, should trust coach Jon Gruden and first-year general manager Bruce Allen.
"They know what they're doing," Kelly said. "They have a plan, and they're sticking to their plan. Throughout this plan they're going to have to step on some toes and make some tough decisions, and this was definitely one of them.
"But we'll put a team out on the field that will compete and definitely be back to our championship level."
- Times staff writer Rick Stroud contributed to this report.
