Linebacker Matt Blair, who played with the Minnesota Vikings for 12 seasons, died on Thursday. He was 70.
Ex-Vikings coach Bud Grant talked to the Des Moines Register about his former player.
“If he wouldn’t have been hurt in college, no question, he would have been one of the top three players selected in the draft,” former Vikings coach Bud Grant said. “But Matt hurt his knee in college and I don’t think he ever fully recovered. He had it surgically repaired, but it never had the same flexibility.”
“In spite of that, he was a great player for us. Right from the start of his career, we knew we had something special.”
Blair finished his career as a six-time Pro Bowler and a first-team All-Pro in 1980. Vikings Owner Mark Wilf recently released a statement on Blair’s death:
“Matt Blair was a great presence at Vikings events and a tremendous teammate long after playing. He embodied the best of what it means to be a Viking,” Wilf said. “Matt is a Ring of Honor player whose legacy will live on forever with the franchise and in the community he loved.”