All-Time Greats Who Could Have Been Better: Barry Sanders
In part 3 of the series, I examine the career of Barry Sanders who was on pace to become the NFL’s all-time leading rusher until his abrupt retirement.
Asking if someone could have had a better career seems dumb. Of course, everyone could have been better. I don’t agree with that.
There are some players who I think reached the absolute pinnacle of their powers. Even players that aren’t in the GOAT conversation but are GOAT adjacent usually left no lingering questions after they retired. You kind of know where everyone stands.
When I wanted to write about one of the NFL’s all-timers who could have had a better career, one name stuck out the most; Barry Sanders. He was still balling when he retired after 10 seasons. In what would be his final season he rushed for 1,491 yards. That is a career-high for most running backs. For Sanders, it was a down year.
But what made his exit even more shocking was that he was only 1,457 yards behind Walter Payton’s career rushing yards record. How could you walk away from a prestigious accolade like that?
Sanders is the most humble superstar in history so records didn’t matter as much to him. Fans wanted it…
