ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The dogged determination that helped
transform Rod Smith from an unknown and undrafted wide receiver out
of Missouri Southern into a Pro Bowler and a two-time Super Bowl
champion might ultimately spell the end of his career.
The 37-year-old Denver Broncos co-captain revealed Friday that
his surgically repaired left hip hurts more than ever and that a
specialist in Los Angeles will resurface or replace the joint in
January.
"It has not healed," said Smith, who's been out all season.
"It's not healing at all.
"Honestly, I don't even like walking on it," he said. "It's
that bad right now to me, and it's a matter of the hip socket has
been bone-on-bone for a while. That's [difficult], especially
trying to play pro football on it. And, honestly, I think I did for
a while without knowing it was probably doing more damage to it
than good."
An artificial hip replacement almost certainly would mean he's
caught his last NFL pass.
"I was always told you play this game as long as you can and if
I've played my last football game, I did that," Smith said. "And
so I'm OK with that."
Smith, who has more catches, touchdown receptions and receiving
yards than any undrafted player in NFL history, first felt pain in
the hip in 2004 but said nothing.
After undergoing microfracture surgery in February, he revealed
he had played in agonizing pain all of last season and had been
unable to get a good night's sleep for nearly a year.
The hip was such a mess -- torn labrum, frayed cartilage, bone
spurs, floating fragments -- that his surgeon at the Steadman
Hawkins Clinic in Vail, Colo., couldn't believe he had played on it
at all.
Smith rehabbed all summer and hoped to return for the last half
of this season. But after working his way up to running routes in
October, he said he couldn't get out of bed most mornings and
realized the hip wasn't healing.
"My mentality is what kept me here this long, being able to
withstand pain and play hurt," he said. "But when you get
injured, it's a different thing. And that same tenacity that helped
me stay in the league this long is probably going to be the same
thing that takes me out of the league."
While stressing he hasn't decided to have the hip replacement,
Smith sounded very much like a man who's pondering retirement. He
said he realized while spending Christmas with his children that
he's been missing out on so much.
"It wasn't really about gifts. It was about being around
them," he said. "Their lives are changing so much because they're
getting older, and I've got to be a part of that. I've missed a lot
of things. My son had his first high school football [season] as a
freshman this year, and I didn't see not one game. And that's very
important to me. I got the tape, but that's not the same thing.
"And my daughter is about to get out of high school and
thinking about going to college. Those things are important. Those
decisions are coming up in their life, and I need to be a part of
it, as well. Whether football works out or not, I need to be a part
of those things."
Smith holds franchise records for career receptions (849),
receiving yards (11,389), touchdown catches (68), touchdowns (71)
and 100-yard games (31). He leads all undrafted players in every
major receiving category.
He spent this season as a sideline spectator in sweats, talking
technique and sharing advice with his teammates, but he said it
pained him to watch the Broncos (6-9) slide to their first losing
season since 1999 despite a talented team that fancied itself a
contender back in camp.
"I've always been this way: if we're going to get our butt
kicked, then I want to get mine kicked, too," Smith said. "But
trust me, I'm definitely taking my lumps either way, on the
sideline or out there."