ORLANDO, Fla. — Tony Gonzalez finished his 17-year NFL career as one of the all-time great tight ends with more than 1,300 catches, more than 15,000 receiving yards and playing in a record-tying 12 Pro Bowls.
Despite making more catches than any other receiver not named Jerry Rice, the closest Gonzalez ever got to the Super Bowl came after the 2012 season, when the Atlanta Falcons lost 28-24 to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC final.
When it comes to the Super Bowl, Gonzalez was no Tom Brady. No shame there. Nobody has been, not with Brady preparing for his record seventh Super Bowl as a player when he leads the New England Patriots against the Falcons on Feb. 5 in Houston.
“I think he is going to make the Hall of Fame now,” Gonzalez joked at a media event in Orlando as part of Pro Bowl week. “He is a special, special football player, and to go along with Bill Belichick, both of those guys together, it’s almost not fair at times.
“Those guys are on a different planet, the way they approach the game.”
Gonzalez will be a legends captain for the Pro Bowl on Sunday.
Brady, a seemingly ageless 39, can match former 49ers and Cowboys defensive lineman Charles Haley for the most Super Bowls (five) won by a player, and break a tie with Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana for the most won by a quarterback.
Matt Ryan of the Falcons will be the sixth quarterback to play chess against Brady for the NFL’s most prized possession. Only Eli Manning of the Giants has called checkmate against him. Russell Wilson came inches away, and Kurt Warner, Jake Delhomme and Donovan McNabb are retired.
Brady is going strong.
“He’s already said he wants to play until he’s 45,” said Gonzalez, who at age 40 has not played in three seasons. “To me, if I were in that position, if I had five rings – I am going for the Falcons but let’s say he does win – I’m walking away. It’s like, ‘What is there left to do?’ But he has just got that crazy, crazy work ethic and passion for football.”
That’s why Gonzalez doesn’t see this Super Bowl as the last time Brady will play in the NFL’s last game of the year.
“I don’t know if it ever will be matched,” Gonzalez said. “It’s almost like the Jerry Rice receiving record (22,895 career yards).”
SEAHAWKS: Assistant coach Rocky Seto, who for the past two seasons was the assistant head coach for defense, left the team to enter the ministry.
Seto has worked as an assistant for Pete Carroll since Carroll’s first year at USC in 2001.
His official role the past two years was to work with defensive coordinator Kris Richard to help devise weekly game plans, a promotion he received when Richard was picked as defensive coordinator following the departure of Dan Quinn to Atlanta. Quinn had been Seattle’s defensive coordinator in 2013-14 before becoming head coach of the Falcons. A source said the decision to leave was solely that of Seto’s as he has long had a desire to enter the ministry.
BENGALS: Cincinnati signed kicker Randy Bullock to a two-year deal, giving him a chance to compete for the job next season.
Bullock filled in for the last three games last season after Mike Nugent was released. Bullock would have become an unrestricted free agent.
INJURIES: Emphasizing that players are doing more self-reporting of head injuries, the league released data that show overall concussions for the preseason and regular season were down from 275 in 2015 to 244 in 2016.
The 275 diagnosed concussions in 2015 was a high over the past five years and an increase of 69 over the previous season. But the NFL enhanced its detection and examination protocols in that span.
PACKERS: Tom Clements is leaving Green Bay after 11 seasons as one of Coach Mike McCarthy’s top offensive assistants.
McCarthy said Clements’ contract expired and he was moving on to other interests.
Clements spent the past two seasons as the associate head coach/offense. McCarthy handed Clements’ play-calling duties before the 2015 season, then took play-calling back at midseason with offensive production down following the knee injury that season to receiver Jordy Nelson.
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