Derrick Mason: The Story

As NFL Training Camps are in full swing, there is only one retired player that held an entire team's season in his hands with a decision of staying, or coming out of retirement...

Or so we thought.

Brett Favre, NFL legend, has kept his fans at the edge of their seats for the last month and a half as he decided whether or not he was going to be the Quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings this season.

On July 28, Favre announced that he was going to remain retired. Although this ended the tease of football and Vikings' fans, the vikings had no more time and now have to go with a Quarterback (Tavaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels) who has never been more than mediocre.

Now, let's rewind to the 4th of July.

As Americans across the United States are Barbecuing and enjoying times with friends and family, the football world takes a stunning blow. Steve McNair is killed in a murder-suicide by his lover.

McNair was a beloved teammate and friend to almost anyone who encountered him in the NFL. As the Quarterback for the Tennessee Titans/Oilers and Baltimore Ravens, he made a name for himself being the toughest man in the sport for every year he played. At the same time, however, he made several very close friendships off the field thanks to his generosity and warm personality.

Arguably his best friend in the game was Derrick Mason. Mason was drafted by the Titans 2 years after McNair. He worked his way up to being McNair's #1 target in the passing game and helped the Titans to reach the Superbowl in 2000.

It's the offseason preceding the 2005 season. Mason is an unrestricted free agent and signs with the team with the 2nd worst receiving core in the NFL. This same team is also about to have a 6-10 season. This team is the Baltimore Ravens.

After the disappointing season in Baltimore, it happened to be that the Ravens were shopping for their first bona-fide Quarterback in the team's history. The Titans were fed up with McNair's injury issues and had just drafted NCAA phenom Vince Young.

The Ravens, then, contacted Bus Cook (McNair's agent) inquiring that they were interested in a veteran Quarterback who has had past success. Following the Ravens sending a 4th round draft pick to the Titans (saving Tennessee the money for cutting McNair) and a passed physical, McNair was a Raven.

Joining Mason and other former teammate Samari Rolle, McNair and Mason led the Ravens to their best regular season since their Superbowl year of 2000. In that same season, Mason caught a pass that set McNair over the 30,000 yard mark for his career.

After an injury plagued 2007, McNair decided to retire. This led Derrick Mason to take rookie Quarterback Joe Flacco under his wing. The new duo went on to become one of the most surprisingly efficient pass combinations of the season. Mason had a shoulder injury mid-season, but kept playing as the Ravens made it all the way to the AFC championship game. Mason went on to have surgery to repair the injured shoulder directly after the season ended.

When McNair died, it shook everyone he knew and loved in the NFL to their very core. Most of all, Derrick Mason. After being a pallbearer at McNair's funeral, Mason announced a sudden retirement through website JockLife.com on July 13.

This decision came as a shock to the Ravens due to the facts that they had gotten no hint from Mason that he was going to retire, and that he announced his retirement through an independent source, not the team.

It also frustrated a lot of fans and members of the NFL. As they understood that Mason had gone through a great loss, he was obviously not in the right mind to make such a rash decision.

This decision rattled the entire Ravens franchise. They had been rumoured to be contenders to acquire younger top-WRs such as Anquan Boldin, but they did not make any official offers due to the fact that they liked where the organization was with Mason as #1 Wide Reciever. Now, due to him retiring, it was too late to do almost any other trade. Boldin and other WRs on the market required '09 draft picks and the draft had long passed. The Ravens were stuck.

Head coach John Harbaugh visited Mason and tried to talk him out of retirement. This meeting showed promise, yet it had no definite result. Mason still was uncertain, but didn't rule out a return. The Ravens had other free agent, veteran Wide Receivers they were looking at, including future Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison. However, they thought that Mason was the best option for the team. This mindset made it very difficult for the Ravens to go out and buy a big-named receiver.

The Ravens signed veteran wideout Drew Bennett, a former teammate of Mason and McNair's, to potentially fill the spot of Mason, but also try to lure him back to the team. Unfortunately, Bennett retired less than 2 days later due to an old injury arising.

In moves of desperation, Flacco and team leader Ray Lewis both contacted Derrick to see if they could get him to return. They still didn't get any certain answers.

The reason why getting a certain answer was showing to be quite the chore was due to Mason's uncertain mental stability. After losing his former teammate and best friend, he did not know what he himself wanted. It was a harsh realization that life could end at any moment.

Mason unexpectedly showed up in Westminster, Maryland on August 1, at McDaniel College. The college just happened to be the Ravens training facility. After a meeting with coach Harbaugh and General Manager Ozzie Newsome, Mason announced his long-awaited return to the game, and could rejoin the team on the field as soon as the 2nd.

As Favre did with the Vikings, Mason held the entire season of the Ravens passing game in his hands with his decision of whether or not to remain retired.

Like Mason, McNair's death hit Favre very close to home, as just a few weeks earlier, the two had an impromptu passing competition at a Mississippi High School.

The death of Steve McNair had its effect on everyone who followed him, played with him, and knew him. Apparently it hit everyone in a different way. The impact of his death may have led Mason to retirement, but his impact of his glowing soul led him right back to the game they loved together.