Teammates honor LA Rams All-Time great Kevin Greene

Teammates and the NFL honor the passing of LA Rams All-Time great, HOF’er Kevin Greene

LA Rams All-Time great Keven Greene passed away this week, on Monday, December 21, 2020, at the age of 58.  Thus closes the book to one of the greatest players to suit up for the Rams.  At a time when the NFL earned the nickname ‘No Fun League’, Greene was the constant source of fun and entertainment.  He was a passionate player, a man who knew how to turn it on when he stepped onto the football field.

He was a tactician. A detail oriented precision instrument at a time when the game was just beginning to understand the importance of an edge rusher.  He made sacking the quarterback an art form. In fact, in 15 NFL seasons, he amassed 160 sacks. That averages nearly 11 sacks per year for his career.  That’s an incredible pace.

Aaron Donald passed Greene on All-Time Rams sack list

To start the NFL season, Aaron Donald needed just one quarterback sack to pass Greene on the Rams All-Time franchise list for quarterback sacks. Donald is just three sacks from the team’s All-Time leader Leonard Little.  But Greene did not stop terrorizing quarterbacks after eight years of playing for the Rams. He continued his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Carolina Panthers.

He recorded 72.5 quarterback sacks for the Rams in eight years.  He sacked the quarterback 41.5 times for the Panthers in three years. He got 35.5 sacks while playing for the Steelers for three years. And in one season for the 49ers, he sacked the quarterback 10.5 times. Four different teams, and he was talented enough to be a defensive star on each team

Legacy

Greene leaves a legacy behind in all four NFL teams he played for. But he also touched the lives of so many more. When the Philadelphia Eagles switched from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 defense, there he was helping their linebackers to understand the new role and ease their transition. Whenever a team, coach or player needed a hand, Kevin Greene was there.

He had an unmatched passion for football, and an identical passion for life. He could not be contained by one blocker. Nor could he be contained by one team. In fact, he could not be contained by one sport, as he followed up his NFL career with a career in Championship Wrestling.

Unmatched outpouring of love

Greene is survived by his wife, Tara, and his two children, Gavin and Gabrielle. He was a member of the NFL’s 1990s All-Decade Team, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016. But the true measure of a person’s life is the number of lives positively impacted. That being said, Greene touched millions of lives in a positive way.

Just see the outpouring of love, honor, and respect for him, and you will find it hard to keep your eyes from misting up.

One of the NFL’s greatest running backs, Eric Dickerson shared these thoughts about his teammate and friend over the news.

So too did former Rams quarterback Jim Everett share his thoughts upon learning the news of his fallen comrade.

The NFL itself honored Kevin Greene as well when the news of his passing became official.

2020 has been a tragic year for so many and for so many reasons. And it will soon return to be a burden to so many who seek employment, safety, health, and justice. But for one moment, the eyes across the nation turned to heaven to say a prayer for one of us who no longer will share the burden of this earth.

Yes, NFL legend Kevin Greene passed at a very young age of 58. But he lived each day to the fullest for 58 years. And in the process, he touched all of us in a positive way. It takes a miraculous player to inspire the fans of the Steelers, Panthers, 49ers, and Rams to honor him equally. Kevin Greene was such a miraculous player and man. Rest In Peace, Kevin Greene.