New York Jets Hall of Fame running back Curtis Martin has peeled back the curtains to reveal that he played through a significant injury when he won the 2004 NFL rushing title.
Martin became the oldest player in league history to win the regular-season rushing title that year. It turns out that he did so while playing on with a torn MCL.
“My MCL had almost a grade 3 tear in it,” Martin told Tim Benz of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “It was so loose. I played with it from I believe the sixth or seventh game throughout the rest of the season. At the time, the doctors were telling me that I needed to sit out and let it rest and I may need surgery.”
At the age of 31, Martin ran the ball 371 times for 1,697 yards and 12 touchdowns. He helped lead the Jets to a 10-6 record on the season, which ended in a divisional-round loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Before Martin could lead his team to the playoffs, he was at a crossroads. The Jets running back was unsure of whether he should continue to play through the injury or get surgery, so he sought out the counsel of a familiar face — Bill Parcells. He had coached Martin in New England and New York and was in his second season as the Dallas Cowboys’ head coach.
Martin could handle the pain but wanted to know if he was doing the best thing for his career.
“He told me, ‘Take care of your body. That’s your priority,’” Martin said. “‘But on the other hand, you never want to come out of the huddle because you never know who is coming into the huddle.”
Martin never did remove himself from that huddle and his career may have suffered because of it. In 2005, he suffered a right knee sprain in the Jets’ second game of the season. He continued to play on the injury, as he did the season before, and his production took a noticeable dip. The severity of the injury forced Martin to undergo season-ending knee surgery. He was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list by Gang Green and was never taken off of it. He would never suit up again and retired in July of 2007.
Playing on the injury put Martin in the NFL record books and was yet another reason for him to be inducted in Canton. Betting on himself had its consquences, but Martin surely personified toughness during his 11-year career.