i know this blog has had its share of Chris Gray detractors, but he played long and hard for the team and i wish him well. that injury sounds very scary and while it's unfortunate his career has to end this way, it's fortunate that he had the injury properly diagnosed before something awful happened on the field.

Well said.

You can criticize Chris Gray if you want, but he was a warrior for us, and gave it everything he had. He will go down in history as a great Seahawk. I don’t think he will make the ring of honor, but he is very close.

OK Mr. Ruskell, get busy. We need a backup center and Steve Vallos and Ben Claxton are not the answer.

Ditto!!! Gray's been the ol' work horse that just broke down. Congrats on a great career...

Now unless they sign someone else, I think Willis is Sims (or Wahle's) backup right?

I was one of the people screaming for Gray to be removed from the starting line...but only the starting line. He has been a key part of this team for years, not always with his physical abilities but also with his intelligence and veteren savvy. I was actually looking forward to seeing him as a backup and being a mentor to all the young'ns coming in. Sad that he had to go out like this, from an injury and not on his own terms. But thankfully like Marc said...thanksfully the severity of the injury was diagnosed before something bigger and much worse could have happened.

And long time center? Frank, he has never played center for any extended amount of time. He was a guard is entire career, and was only listed as a backup center.

and on a second note...I just read by Clare Farnsworth that the Seahawks put Gray on IR and are honoring his contract for the rest of this season.

Another classy move by the Seahawks...much like how they brought Urban back on the squad after he injured his foot and paid him the remaining of his contract to honor the effort he put in for the 'Hawks.

Then end of an era. I remember a few years ago reading about how they signed Grey as a stop-gap measure, then each year set out to draft or otherwise find his replacement, and every year he battled and won the job. It seems fitting in a way that he retires from an injury, not from getting beat out of his job.

I also remember several Seahawks player being asked who the strongest guy on the team was, and most said Grey. Even though he was at the time among the oldest on the team. They said he wasn't big and showy, maybe he couldn't lift the most on the weight machine, but he was "farm strong". He was a guy who had figured out that strength was only half muscle. The other half was in knowing how to use them.

I admire Grey. He was a great Seahawk and a great football player. He'll never be in the hall of fame, but without him the Seahawks wouldn't be where they are today. I think he definitely deserves Ring of Honor status, for his play and his tenacity.

"And long time center? Frank, he has never played center for any extended amount of time. He was a guard is entire career, and was only listed as a backup center."

Well I guess if you count the last five years or so as his entire career:

"After he joined the Seahawks in 1998, Gray started 10 games at center while playing in all 16 games and then started all 16 in 1999 in the pivot before moving to right guard for good in 2000."

http://sea.scout.com/2/775323.html?refid=400

I can hear Mike Holmgren telling Ruskell (yes, that's right) "This is one guy who's stuck with us up front a long, long time, and we're sticking with him the rest of this year, period." But actually I think the whole organization was on the same page about this one: a quality organization takes care of its quality guys.

I think a team record 121 consecutive starts should rate Chris consideration for the Ring of Honor.

Thanks for everything Chris, I'm glad the football gods saw fit to fire a warning shot across your brow (as they did with Mack), paralysis would be a terrible way to spend your hard earned retirement!

Chris Gray has been one of my favorite guys over the years. Him and Mack Strong were symbols of the Seahawk Spirit. It's sad to think these guys are starting to retire. Then again, we do have some talent waiting in the wings. Best of luck to Gray, hope the Hawks are smart and keep this guy in the fold. I'm surprised they didn't have Mack stay along to consult or anything. Hopefully they find something for Gray besides marketing.

Let's hope somebody steps up! I think the fact that Gray (kind of like Robbie Tobeck) was there so long people took him for granted. Look what happened to our O-Line when Robbie (and Hutch) left. I sure hope Rob Sims or possibly Wrotto can step up and become the rocks that Tobeck and Gray were for so long. Cuz we all know Pork Chop is a waste of a roster spot!

- For his immediate future, he said he is going to do perhaps some marketing for the team. "Kind of like what Brett Favre is doing," Gray said. "Except I won't be getting $20 million."-

LMAO. You can tell he played next to Tobeck for more than a few years.

Sad to see go. He's been a Seahawk a long time. Good luck Chris. Thanks for all the years.

For sure Dane...everyone has put our Oline woes on Hutch leaving, but I personally think that the biggest overall contributor to our problems was the retirement of Tobeck. Sure we lost a lot in Hutch, he was/is a beast of a LG. But Hutch wasn't calling the shots, he just did the dirty work. It was Tobeck who was not only a great/nasty blocker, but he read the defense and called the shots for the offensive line. Hass was always talking about how cereberal Tobeck was and how without him the line wouldn't be nearly as dominate.

Yeah Hutch had a part of our Oline downfall...but loosing Tobeck's skill and intelligence is what really hurt us IMO. If we still had Tobeck, Sims would have been leaps and bounds better than him having to play next to the very green Spencer. Not either Sims or Spencer's fault...they just have a long way to go to match Hutch and Tobeck and now Gray.

So I wrote way too much unnecessary crap to get my point across. So with that... *cheers* to Tobeck, the underrated contributor and loss of the Seahawks.

Please, I love the long service Chris Gray had for the organization but the guy had only one decent year and that was in 2005. The rest of the time he was adequate at best. The fact he never made the pro-bowl says it all. There's no need to "crown his ass".

Just because someone doesn't make the pro-bowl doesn't mean that they aren't a good player. Gray was a very solid lineman for us up until the last two years when he started to break down physically. 2005 and prior he was a good lineman...there's a reason he started for so long. If he was as crappy as you say, then he wouldn't hold the record for consecutive starts by a Seahawk, he would of either been demoted, beaten by a different player or cut.

Get a clue Richmond ... You don't start 121 consecutive games in the NFL by only having one decent season. Any lineman he ever played with or lined up against would laugh you out of the room for a statement like that.

The fact that he never made the Pro Bowl doesn't say S.
It's a popularity contest.

That's not to say he was All World but his contributions to this football team have been substantial and significant.
Don't diminish that on his retirement day.

Thanks for the effort, Chris - it is appreciated.

Good Luck with the next phase.

Wow what a great career for a guy we just picked up on waivers. Give some credit for Randy Mueller and Dennis Erickson spotting the guys' talent.

So long Chris. It was a great run.

Actually, let's make him a crown.

Let me guess Richmondhawk, you probably jumped on the Hawks wagon about oh...maybe 3 years ago. You probably don't realize that loyalty means more to a fan than the Pro Bowl, which half the players feign injuries so they don't have to attend it.

You're probably president of the Brett Favre fan club for Washington too because that's your type of player.

Gray had everything you'd want in a good team mate: quiet leadership, practiced hard, played injured, played smart, and was a mentor for the line. Of course Tobeck did a bunch too. Hutch got the flash because the media gravitates to dynamic personalities, and he had one.

So don't knock a guy for not getting to the Popularity Bowl, and don't knock the fans and supporters of guys like this, they are rare these days.

The NFL is all about injuries these days. It's amazing he lasted 15 years.

And, it's time to stop crying about Hutch.

Well Done Chris - looking forward to you raising the Number 12 flag this year for us!
Awesome tenure - congrats. True Blue Pride!

"Get a clue Richmond ... You don't start 121 consecutive games in the NFL by only having one decent season. Any lineman he ever played with or lined up against would laugh you out of the room for a statement like that."

Sorry to tell you this but every offensive line has its weak link and Gray; unfortunately, was it. That's not saying he was bad but I wouldn't use words like great, good or excellent rather acceptable or decent. He was a wily veteran like Tobeck who racked up a lot of holding calls, etc. because he didn't have the talent to block top quality players. You like to refer to 121 starts but really what competition did he have for his spot? Pork Chop?

I like to live in the real world which Gray was an average lineman not some fantasy world where he was one of the best. But if that's what you believe then by all means...

Like I said earlier I admire Gray for his long tenure but don't make him out to be something he wasn't.

Gray worked himself into the starting lineup, despite not being the strongest, toughest, or fastest. He got there with hard work, and stayed for most of 8 years. He was a fine football player untill 2006, when age began to catch up with him. Last year he was flat bad, but he always gave his best effort. Lost in the missed blocks and blown up plays was his mentoring of Chris Spencer, who still cannot make line calls like Gray. Chris Gray was a true Seahawk, and he will be missed. While no longer starting material, he still had more to give. Its really too bad his body wore out.

Gray was as solid as you get for years. You dont have to be Pro Bowl caliber every year to be a good player. And Gray was Pro Bowl worthy for years, he just never really got the attention. And he woulndt have stayed on as his skills diminished if the Hawks handt needed whatever he had to give so badly.

There is nothing wrong with being merely good, not great.

DSAHawker---Ruskell only paid Urban after Hasselbeck and several other players got angry. Hasselbeck even went upstairs and screamed at him for being hipporcritical...while he did the right thing eventually, it wasnt untill the team MVP chewed his ass...so dont be gilding the lilly too much.

This is just like them honoring Engrams contract when he had the thyroid condition though, and youre right, its as classy as it gets. Go Hawks!

Yep Richmondhawk definitly jumped on the bandwagon back in 2005, because his knowledge of football is just that shallow. I hear the Broncos need a few fans this year, why don't you go root for them.

It's about time. Glad I'm not the only one the recognized Gray was at best an average lineman. It's amazing how many people don't want Krieg in the Hall of Fame saying longevity shouldn't get you in there, but now these posts sound like the homers think he should be the next guy in Canton. The Ring of Honor? Maybe but I don't think he deserves it based on his play. That's really great, accuse a guy of being a bandwagoner because he's not on someone's nuts. The fact that no on beat him out as a starting guard says more about this management team's inability draft talent at guard than it doesn't about Gray's greatness. For years I've seen Gray be the weakest link on the o-line (well, until Sims and Spencer) and get manhandled with bull rushes, but I guess it was someone else out there wearing #62 not moving the pile from reading these rose petals being strewn in his path. I'm glad he's retiring before he gets hurt, but it's a decision he should have made years ago.

"Yep Richmondhawk definitly jumped on the bandwagon back in 2005, because his knowledge of football is just that shallow. I hear the Broncos need a few fans this year, why don't you go root for them."

Please I'm been a Seahawk fan forever. I probably know about the Hawks than everybody in Alaska combined but I guess that's not saying much.

"Gray had everything you'd want in a good team mate: quiet leadership, practiced hard, played injured, played smart, and was a mentor for the line. Of course Tobeck did a bunch too. Hutch got the flash because the media gravitates to dynamic personalities, and he had one."

This is one the most stupidest things I've ever heard. So what you're trying to say is the media favored Hutch because types like to salivate over him? Wrong. Hutch got the media coverage because he was a waaaaaaaaaaaay better player than Tobeck and Gray combined.

Its a good attempt at trying to say some how Gray and Tobeck were Hutch's equal though.

Tobeck and Gray didn't want to be bothered, so they stayed out of the limelight. Hutch liked the attention, and he loved all the hype around the whole poison pill contract story a couple of years ago. Tobeck and Gray were lunch pail guys, they came in, did their jobs without cryin, busted their butts making everyone around them better, then went home. The media doesn't write about guys like that hardly at all. The point of my comment to begin with was that this was a good guy who helped the team out in many ways, and he deserves any and all kudos without people like you richmondhawk saying essentially he shouldn't be praised.

Thank you Chris Gray. Solid career. You should be proud.