At age 35, Hines Ward is probably getting close to the end of his career. But Ward says he needs to be sure he’s had his fill of the game before he’s ready to retire.
Ward told Jim Rome that he won’t be the guy who announces his retirement hastily, only to change his mind and try to come back.
“I don’t want to walk away from the game and sit there and say I still miss it,” Ward said. “I don’t want to do a Brett Favre or something. When I walk away I want to be completely walked away from it, say I gave it all I got, I miss being around the guys but I don’t miss the game anymore.”
Prior to the Super Bowl, Ward was talking about retirement, and hinting that he’d love to have a Super Bowl victory as his last NFL game, the way his friend and former teammate Jerome Bettis did. After the Steelers lost to the Packers, Ward is still saying he needs another ring before he’ll quit playing.
“I want one more. I want one more,” Ward told Rome. “To win three Super Bowls, man, only a small few guys can say that. I’ve been blessed to play in three Super Bowls, I’ve won two.”
Ward has been surpassed by Mike Wallace as the Steelers’ No. 1 wide receiver, but he says he still views himself as an important part of the Steelers’ offense, and he doesn’t expect to quit as long as that’s the case.
“I’ll walk away from the game when I know I can’t play anymore,” Ward said. “There’s still a lot of football left in me.”
