Bernard Pollard’s comeback attempt is admirable and absurd

When Bernard Pollard first made his first NFL start, Trent Green was locked in as the starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs. When Pollard decided to retire from the game—a full nine seasons later at the age of 30—Patrick Mahomes was a freshman in college. Now, Pollard says he’s ready to return to the league and that he’s even touched base with the Chiefs.

If you follow Pollard on Twitter, two things seem immediately clear. His attempt to officially comeback to the NFL is patently absurd after so much time away. However, if you watch his apparent dedication and the incredible shape he seems to be in, it’s also very admirable.

First, a bit of review. In case you’re new to Chiefs Kingdom or are a younger fan in general, Pollard was a sort of old-school punishing safety for a few AFC teams, starting with the Chiefs, who made him their second-round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft after watching him dominate the Big Ten during his tenure at Purdue. He played in every game as a rookie and took over the starting strong safety role in his second season. He would last three years in K.C. The Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, and Baltimore Ravens also employed Pollard over the course of a very long and productive career.

Bernard Pollard is attempting to come back to the NFL.

If you watched Pollard play, then what will stand out most is his incredible effort and toughness. While he wasn’t on the level of a Steve Atwater (who is?), Pollard was an exceptional tackler who often riled up other players with his aggressive style. He became famous for injuring Tom Brady in ’08 (torn ACL), but Pollard’s career also drew issues with coaches, opposing players, and the league office (which fined him more than once for unnecessary roughness). He also had good hands and a nose for the ball. He even blocked three punts in only three years with the Chiefs.

In short, Pollard was a player who was drive, loved the game, played it with everything he could, and didn’t care what others said. If that sounds like the makeup of a player who could return after several seasons away, you would be right. The comeback attempt is admirable.

At the same time, the idea of returning is absurd, too. The average player’s NFL career will last 3.3 years, and that total dips to 2.9 years if you switch the category to cornerback. (Remember that quarterbacks and specialists will raise that average quite a bit.) That means that Pollard not only lasted three times longer than the average defensive back, but he’s also been away for another two NFL lifetimes from the game. Generally if a player walks away from the game only to return, there’s been a single season missed. For Pollard, he’s missed the last six full seasons.

The only player (that we could find) who could compare to Pollard was the inimitable Deion Sanders, a generational talent who is enshrined in the Hall of Fame. At one point, Sanders decided to unretire and return in 2000 after being away from the game for three years. Again, that’s Neon Deion taking half the time away from the game that Pollard did. He would return for two more seasons but was a sub package player at that point. The days of being a lockdown starter were long gone.

Pollard faces very, very long odds in his attempt to come back to the NFL, but even if it’s motivation to get back into incredible shape or show what he can still do at the age of 36, it’s quite impressive. Then again, Pollard has always followed his own rhythms and maybe that will allow him to overcome the myriad hurdles in his way. Either way, it’s admirable and also absurd. We’re also interested to see how things work out.