One of the most important footnotes in St. Louis Rams history and the greatest quarterback ever to grow up in St. Louis retired from the NFL on Friday. Trent Green left the NFL after a wonderful 15 year career that included stints in San Diego, Washington, St. Louis, Kansas City and Miami.
Although Green is probably most remembered for being the quarterback injured that opened the door for Kurt Warner, Green will be remembered for much more than that. Green was a terrific quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs after leaving the Rams. Green threw for 118 touchdowns and was named to the Pro Bowl twice as a starter for the Chiefs.
Green did come back to St. Louis for what turned out to be his swan song last season. He became another footnote in Rams history as he quarterbacked the last game that Scott Linehan would ever coach the Rams. The Rams lost that afternoon to Buffalo 31-14.
Green wound up with over 28,000 yards in his career and was a terrific quarterback when he was not injured. What will go underrated in Green's career was his sense of confidence that he gave to the teams he played for. I heard Kurt Warner in an interview on WXOS less than a week ago say that Trent was more important to that Super Bowl Championship season than people give him credit for. He had that offense up and humming and had installed the belief that they were going to be a dominant offense long before Warner took over. Warner also credited him for helping him through that season and being a great sounding board before and after the injury.
On top of Green helping bring a championship to the Rams, he also will go down as the greatest quarterback to ever come out of the St. Louis region. It is not even close. Coming out of Vianney he was not considered the greatest quarterback to ever come out of St. Louis but he grew into a great quarterback at Indiana. Which is saying something when you can be a great quarterback for a school that has had a poor record on the football field. From there he worked his way up from being a third string quarterback to becoming a Pro Bowl player. A sign of his terrific work ethic and toughness.
Green says he wants to pursue a career in broadcasting and I think there would be a long line to hire someone like Green. A great 15 year career for a great person.
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