Some Chrebet Articles
Chrebet Returns To Hempstead
By Eric Allen
The player with the longest tenure on the New York Jets’ roster was back Thursday walking familiar steps at Weeb Ewbank Hall. Wayne Chrebet, an 11-year veteran who played college ball here at Hofstra, has kept a low profile since suffering a concussion against the Chargers in an early November game and then subsequently being placed on injured reserve. He re-joined his teammates today and hopes to be on the sideline with them during the Jets final two games.
“I just wanted to come up here today to be around practice, and I’m looking forward to going to the last two games just to be out there,” said the 32-year old Chrebet while standing in a first-level hallway.
Chrebet was named the recipient of The Ed Block Courage Award, as voted by his teammates. This season the Hofstra product had 15 receptions for 153 yards for a 10.2-yard average. He currently stands with the second-most pass receptions in New York Jets’ history with 580 receptions during regular season play and the third-most receiving yardage with 7,365. Chrebet is expected to announce his retirement some time during the spring in a formal setting, which will celebrate his amazing career.
“It’s just a weird thing you don’t want to accept, but I’ve had a lot of time at home with my kids and that’s been great,” he said. “It’s something that I always look forward to. The rest is just dealing with not having this in my life anymore. I think I realized now that I have to have football in my life in some capacity instead of just completely trying to ignore it.”
For the past few months, Chrebet has been in transitional mode.
“A part of it is just a little confusing. Some days you wake up and you don’t feel that anything has changed,” Chrebet said. “Then your team is playing on TV and it kind of hits you in the gut and makes it tough. Like I said, ‘I’m just accepting it and not fighting it.’
“It’s not a fight I can win right now,” he continued. “I’m not going to get back on the field and I think everybody is aware of that. I’m just thankful, and I want to let the right people know that I appreciate everything they’ve done for me and show my support.”
The November head injury was Chrebet’s latest head trauma. “Mr. Third Down” left the field following a six-yard gain on a 3rd and 5 play as the Jets attempted a comeback.
“Once day I just remembered what happened during the play, and I just remember playing and I remember seeing like a real white light,” he said. “I don’t know if it was the field or just when my head hit the ground. I remember just kind of hearing voices and that kind of stuff and the next thing you know, I’m home. It’s weird.”
Chrebet, whose 41 career touchdowns rank eighth all-time in club history among scoring by non-kickers and whose 246 career points scored place him 12th all-time in team scoring, was the ultimate gamer.
“There was nothing like game day for me. I’m hoping to find something to replace that feeling and I don’t think there ever will be. I always said I would pay so much for my friends and family to run out of the tunnel one day, just to know what it’s like to drive to a game with the music on, and you see everybody with your jersey on, the Jets chant, and being the center of that. It’s been the greatest 11 years of my life.
“Tremendous things have come out of it. I’ve had great family, friends, and teammates to enjoy it with. It’s a shame that it’s over, but I’m trying to focus on how great it was and how much it meant to me instead of being selfish and being miserable that I can’t play anymore.”
Wayne thankful fans had his number
BY KEN BERGER
STAFF WRITER
December 23, 2005
You might think the highlight for Wayne Chrebet was catching that touchdown pass from Curtis Martin against Tampa Bay in 2000, or being part of the Monday Night Miracle comeback against the Dolphins that season.
Not so. Wearing his famous No. 80 jersey wasn't nearly as meaningful to Chrebet as seeing all the fans wear it, too.
"Just to feel what it's like to drive to a game with the music on and see everybody with your jersey on and hearing the 'Jets' chant and being the center of that, it's been the greatest 11 years of my life," Chrebet said.
Chrebet's legacy will be more than just making the team as a walk-on from Hofstra and spending 15 years playing football and practicing at his alma mater's campus. His impact will live on through the fans who have made his jersey one of the most popular in team history.
Chrebet's jersey appears to be second in demand only to Joe Namath's among Jets jerseys. Namath's autographed No. 12 jersey, for example, is the only one that commands a higher price on eBay than Chrebet's. Namath's was priced at $599.99 yesterday, Chrebet's at $469.95.
Chrebet said he's grateful for the fans who "chose my number and name to wear on your back. I know what that takes, because when I was a kid, I had my favorites and I wore their jerseys religiously. It's just unbelievable that someone made that same decision about me."
Jets' Chrebet Says His Career Is Over
By ANDREA ADELSON
AP Sports Writer
December 23, 2005, 3:45 AM EST
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- The thought of going back into the locker room, seeing his teammates, his uniform, his old life was too much to bear for Wayne Chrebet.
The veteran Jets receiver stayed away for over a month so he could come to terms with the inevitable -- that he would never be a part of that locker room again. Once Chrebet made his way to the Jets facility Thursday for the first time since sustaining another concussion Nov. 6, he realized how long he had been away.
Dust caked the boxes in his locker, and mail overflowed from adoring fans sharing their well wishes. Chrebet confirmed his 11-year career was over, ending a love story between the little receiver that could and the fans that embraced the hometown hero.
"Some days you wake up and you don't feel like anything's changed," Chrebet said, his lips quivering and eyes watering. "And then your team is playing on TV and it hits you in the gut and makes it tough. Just accepting it and not fighting it -- it's not a fight I can win right now. I'm not going to get back on the field. I think everybody's aware of that."
Chrebet signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent out of Hofstra, the same place the Jets practice. Though he was undersized at 5-foot-10, he quickly became a clutch possession receiver, working his way up the team record charts.
He would go across the middle, making big third-down conversions, just about everything anyone ever asked of him. His hard work and everyman persona endeared him to Jets fans, who bought his No. 80 jerseys in bulk.
"When you come in the stadium now, that's all you see is the No. 80 jersey there," said receiver Laveranues Coles, one of his closest friends on the team. "It's difficult knowing he's not ever going to come out of the tunnel with me again."
The decision to walk away was difficult and painful. Chrebet had a series of head injuries that plagued him the last three seasons, and sustained at least six concussions in his NFL career. He had a post-traumatic migraine early in the 2003 season and missed the final eight games that season with postconcussion syndrome.
He considered retiring, but instead came back last season. Chrebet played in all 16 games, but sustained a mild concussion in the regular-season finale against St. Louis. Though he knew the risks, he came back for 2005, knowing one more hit would mean the end.
It happened against the Chargers on -- what else -- a clutch third-down play that got the Jets a first down. He stayed down on the field for several minutes, with a scary, glazed look in his eyes. Chrebet remembers waking up the next morning and seeing how calm his wife, Amy, and his sister were. He knew something was wrong.
"I asked them, 'Have you talked to the doctors?'" he said. "They're like, 'Yeah.' Do you know something I don't know? And they're like, 'Yeah.' And I said, 'So I'm done?' And my wife was like, 'Yeah.'"
Chrebet was racked with guilt.
"You ever just look at somebody and you see the look on their face and it just makes you feel bad?" Chrebet said. "There's something about what she's been through with me, she's the one who has to take me to these doctor visits and try to encourage me to get out of bed. She's seen the darkest moments that have come from the concussions.
"I never wanted people to worry about me."
Chrebet said he is feeling fine. He spends his days with his two sons, 5-year-old Lukas and 3-year-old Cade, and said, "It's unbelievable the amount of love they've been giving me. It's almost like they know I need it."
Still, Chrebet finds himself bored at home. A few weeks ago, he needed to keep busy so he went into the yard and picked up sticks. All those stats -- he finishes second on the all-time team list with 580 receptions -- mean nothing with time on your hands.
It also was little consolation when his teammates selected him the recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award. Chrebet said he will wait until the season ends before filing his retirement papers with the NFL.
Of course, old friend Vinny Testaverde has a plan that would send them both out in style. Testaverde also will end his career when the season ends.
"I told him that if I get in the game, he's going to come out of the tunnel, I'm going to overthrow everybody and hit him in the end zone," Testaverde said. "He said he was afraid he was going to drop it, though."
Knowing Chrebet, he would hang on tight and never want to let go of the ball.
"There was nothing like game day for me," Chrebet said. "I'm hoping to find something to replace that feeling. I don't think there ever will be. I would pay so much just for my friends and family to run out of the tunnel one day, to know what it feels like to drive to a game with the music on, you see everybody with the jersey on, hearing the Jets chant, being the center of that, it's been the greatest 11 years of my life. It's a shame that it's over."