He is popular, productive and loves playing with the Indianapolis Colts.
None of which apparently means running Dominic Rhodes will remain there next season.
Rhodes, the team's second-leading rusher a year ago and a popular figure among players and fans, apparently will not be re-signed by the team. Rhodes' agent, Todd France, told the Indianapolis Star Thursday that the Colts don't plan to offer a deal before free agency begins Friday at 12:01 a.m.
Here's a link to the Star's story:
http://www.indystar.com/article/20090226/SPORTS03/90226038/1100
Here are Rhodes' statistics -- http://www.nfl.com/players/dominicrhodes/profile?id=RHO405538 --but they won't wow you. Rhodes, who spent a season with the Raiders in 2007 before returning to the Colts this past season, rushed for 1,000 yards just once: 2001, when he became the first free-agent in NFL history to run for more than 1,000 yards as a rookie. That season, Rhodes replaced injured Edgerrin James, and during a disappointing season recordwise established himself as a reliable, dynamic piece of one of the NFL's most sophisticated attacks.
His career since has been an intriguing one, the kind that makes you want to root for him.
Rhodes sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in 2002, and missed the entire year. He returned the following season and from 2003-2005, was a reliable backup for James. The following season, in his lone season as a starter, he rushed for 641 yards and five touchdowns, alternating with then-rookie Joseph Addai before Addai took over the starting role in the postseason.
And about that postseason:
Rhodes didn't pout, and his productivity actually increased. He didn't want to lose his starting job, and didn't believe he should have. For Rhodes, confidence was never an issue. While behind James, he believed himself capable of starting, perhaps even deserving of the role. Same when he was behind Addai in the 2006 postseason and again this past season. But Rhodes never, ever let not starting diminish his enthusiasm or his work ethic and he never was more important or valuable to the Colts than in the postseason following the 2006 season. He played a key role in the Colts' 15-6 victory in a Divisional Playoff game over the Baltimore Ravens and probably could have been the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XLI, in which he rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries in a 29-17 victory over the Chicago Bears.
But that's not what I remember about Rhodes about that season. The moment I remember came late in the Colts' 38-34 victory over New England in the AFC Championship Game. With 1:00 remaining, Addai scored on a 3-yard run to give the Colts the lead. The RCA Dome crowd was as loud that day as I've ever heard it, and after trailing 21-3, the Colts had rallied to at last take the lead and snatch the Super Bowl appearance from their hated rival. As Addai left the field, Rhodes raced toward him. The two friends leaped into the air and bumped at the hips. Neither, I think, was happier than the other.
That, above anything else, is what Rhodes brought to the Colts. Joy. Enthusiasm. A lot of guys play in the NFL. A lot of guys love it. But Rhodes not only loves it, he is keenly aware of how much he loves it and has savored every moment. The Colts let Rhodes test free agency once before. He returned after a year. Second tours with an NFL team are rare and a third tour seems unlikely, but if Rhodes' time in Indianapolis is at last done, he deserves a place in the fans' memory as a player who not only loved every moment he played there, but appreciated every one of them, too.
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