Warren Sapp Retiring

The NFL Network has reported that Warren Sapp has told teammates he intends to retire from the NFL. That makes the 2nd former Cane to retire in the past week. Sapp, like Testaverde, began his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, he enjoyed a far more successful career, including a Super Bowl victory in the 2002 season.

Sapp finishes his illustrious career with 573 tackles and just shy of 100 sacks. Having been named to 8 Pro Bowls and having won one defensive player of the year award, Warren is a strong candidate to get into Canton. Probably not in the first ballot, as the 100 sack mark is a nice round number that would have given him a stronger resume. But there's no doubt in my mind that eventually he will join several of his fellow Canes in the Hall of Fame.

Warren's NFL career modeled that of his college career at UM. There, he dominated opposing linemen enough to warrant an All-American selection as well as being selected early in the first round of the 1995 draft. Because of his all-around talents, people will always compare Miami DTs like Vince Wilfork and soon-to-be Marcus Forston to Sapp. High praise indeed, because Sapp will always be recognized as one of the best defenders to play in his time.