NY Jets Curtis Martin May Have To Retire Due To Knees - Newsday

Curtis' knee in bad shape
12-year veteran has 'virtually no cartilage' and walking with limp

BY KEN BERGER
Newsday Staff Writer

August 9, 2006

Curtis Martin has a "bone-on-bone" condition in his surgically repaired right knee, a setback that has the Jets' coaching staff privately wondering if the future Hall of Famer will be able to suit up for the start of his 12th season.

"The guy is bone-on-bone on the knee and can't play," a person with knowledge of Martin's injury said yesterday, speaking on condition of anonymity. "No one has said he's not going to play, but I don't know how much more they're going to get out of the guy."


The person confirmed earlier reports that Martin has virtually no cartilage in his right knee, which was repaired arthroscopically in December.

Coach Eric Mangini said yesterday that Martin's status hasn't changed and that he's at the complex every day for rehab, all of which is done out of the media's view. Martin is attending all team meetings and functions, Mangini said.

But when asked about Martin's recovery and demeanor, several players said they haven't seen Martin much at all. "I've been going from the meetings to eating and back to meetings," Chad Pennington said. "Our schedule has been so full."

Martin was seen walking with a distinct limp Sunday at Giants Stadium, where the Jets held an intrasquad scrimmage. It was quite a contrast to the last time reporters saw Martin for any extended period, at the June minicamp, when he ran and did individual drills.

It is not known if Martin has had further surgery on the knee. Mangini declines to address the specifics of injuries, and a high-ranking team official with knowledge of Martin's condition declined comment yesterday on whether he had to have another scope.

"We know what Curtis means to us as an organization, especially to me as a person with all the things I've gone through these last three years," Pennington said. "He's been a solid rock for me to lean upon and we just can't wait to see him out here."

Martin has not been available for comment since July 29, when he said the situation hasn't forced him to think about how much longer he can play. "My fire will burn until the day that I'm done with football," Martin said.

The Jets continue to explore the running backs market. The latest names added to the list are the Cardinals' Marcel Shipp and the Chargers' Michael Turner, who worked with Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer the past two years.

Martin, the NFL's No. 4 career rusher and the Jets' most accomplished player since Joe Namath, has slipped into the past tense in the minds of some teammates.

"He was a mainstay, he was a guy you could look to to be a professional," linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. "That's what he still is. He's a bona fide professional and always did the job right. It's different right now in training camp not having him around."

Notes & quotes: Mangini refused to confirm that S Erik Coleman had his appendix removed ... WR Justin McCareins, already in Mangini's doghouse, had two drops ... WR Dequawn Mobley, an undrafted rookie from the Bronx, was waived.