TexasTerror
March 23rd, 2006, 07:11 AM
From the Payton Award to an NFL fifth rounder to a pretty solid Pro Bowl return man. Jerry Azumah's career has come to an end and that's unfortunate.
Bad hip ends Azumah's career
Kick returner, cornerback played 7 years with Bears
By John Mullin
Tribune staff reporter
March 23, 2006
As the Bears welcomed Brian Griese and settled in with Israel Idonije on Wednesday, they also prepared to say farewell to cornerback and Pro Bowl kick returner Jerry Azumah.
His retirement because of an arthritic hip condition that flared in training camp and cost him the best part of last season will be announced Thursday.
Azumah, 28, missed most of the preseason after what was considered minor surgery on his hip and lost his starting job to Nathan Vasher. He managed to play in the first 15 games and averaged 22 yards per kickoff return but was clearly not 100 percent in his free-agent year.
"It's unfortunate because you see some of the deals being done and Jerry would have been one of the top corners on the market," agent Jonathan Feinberg said. "Nathan Vasher probably never would've seen the field."
Azumah, a fifth-round pick in the 1999 draft, was the Walter Payton Award winner as the top player in Division I-AA football after his senior year as a running back at New Hampshire. The Bears converted him to a defensive back and in 2002 he won a starting job opposite cornerback R.W. McQuarters.
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/cs-0603230180mar23,1,972640.story?coll=cs-football-print
Bad hip ends Azumah's career
Kick returner, cornerback played 7 years with Bears
By John Mullin
Tribune staff reporter
March 23, 2006
As the Bears welcomed Brian Griese and settled in with Israel Idonije on Wednesday, they also prepared to say farewell to cornerback and Pro Bowl kick returner Jerry Azumah.
His retirement because of an arthritic hip condition that flared in training camp and cost him the best part of last season will be announced Thursday.
Azumah, 28, missed most of the preseason after what was considered minor surgery on his hip and lost his starting job to Nathan Vasher. He managed to play in the first 15 games and averaged 22 yards per kickoff return but was clearly not 100 percent in his free-agent year.
"It's unfortunate because you see some of the deals being done and Jerry would have been one of the top corners on the market," agent Jonathan Feinberg said. "Nathan Vasher probably never would've seen the field."
Azumah, a fifth-round pick in the 1999 draft, was the Walter Payton Award winner as the top player in Division I-AA football after his senior year as a running back at New Hampshire. The Bears converted him to a defensive back and in 2002 he won a starting job opposite cornerback R.W. McQuarters.
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/cs-0603230180mar23,1,972640.story?coll=cs-football-print