By PFW staff
Jan. 7, 2008

For as loud and brash as Warren Sapp was at times during a standout 13-year career that included seven Pro Bowl selections, he stepped into retirement rather quietly late last week. Rumored to be contemplating retirement for several weeks, Sapp, 35, stepped away from the game by way of a phone call to Raiders owner Al Davis. He originally told Davis, head coach Lane Kiffin and teammates of his intentions after Oakland’s season finale, but Davis asked that he ponder the decision for a week and get back to him, which Sapp did Thursday.

Sapp, a sure-fire Hall of Famer, finished second in NFL history among defensive tackles with 96½ sacks. He developed into an elite performer under the guidance of Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin and then-Bucs DL coach Rod Marinelli, who is now the head coach in Detroit. Sapp, one of the most intimidating and talkative defenders the league has seen, was named the Defensive Player of the Year in 1999 and was a focal point of the dominant Buccaneers defenses in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He owns a Super Bowl ring for his part in Tampa Bay’s conquest following the 2002 season.

The Miami (Fla.) product signed with the Raiders as a free agent after the 2003 season but failed to see the same success with the Silver & Black, as Oakland won just 15 games during his four-year stay. He notched 10 sacks in ’06 but failed to make the Pro Bowl. In ’07, his sack total dipped to just two.

Sapp said he has no immediate plans but envisions himself as a TV analyst down the road.

“If you were going to pick a football team and play on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday or whenever, and it came time for you to pick your three-technique (tackle),” Sapp told the Contra Costa Times, “you were taking me with you. That’s all I ever wanted from this game.”

The PFW spin

Lane Kiffin was appreciative of the leadership Sapp provided in his first year at the helm in Oakland, which says a lot. With the Raiders coming off a tumultuous 2-14 campaign that saw Art Shell get fired, Sapp could have just gone through the motions and largely ignored the young coach in 2007.

But instead, he was an active participant in team meetings, kept the club motivated, served as a sounding board for Kiffin and, according to the coach, who is three years Sapp's junior, “got behind us and what we were doing. It was a good experience”

What might not be as good of an experience is filling the gaping hole the Raiders now have on the interior of their defensive line. Veteran Gerard Warren is expected back, but the disappointing Terdell Sands did not live up to the healthy raise he received a year ago and Tommy Kelly, who shifted to defensive end in 2007 and looked at Sapp as a mentor, is an unrestricted free agent and coming off a season-ending torn ACL.

Expect to see the Raiders address the DT position with one of their first two picks in April’s draft and possibly add another body or two for the trenches in free agency.