Over the offseason, thousands of fans voted in our "Team For the Ages" contest to construct the best imaginable 50-man roster from the NFL’s modern era, which began in 1967. The votes have been counted, and we’re unveiling one player each weekday between now and the kickoff of the 2018 NFL season.
The entire Team For the Ages roster will be unveiled at "Football Legends LIVE!" Sept. 8 in Crystal Lake, Ill. Tickets are on sale now: https://shawmediaevents.com/e/pfw50
Steelers, 49ers, Ravens, Raiders CB/S Rod Woodson
Legacy one-liner
The 2009 Hall of Fame inductee was voted to 11 Pro Bowls, making it multiple times at two positions. After going seven times as a cornerback, including six straight years (1989-94), he then went in each of his first four years (1999-2002) as a safety. He was a first-team All-Pro five times as a corner and once more as a safety, in 2002, when he was 37 years old and led the NFL that year with eight interceptions.
They said it
"There has never been a more complete football player -- not as a cornerback, a defensive tackle, a receiver, quarterback, whatever. He could do it all."
-- Longtime NFL defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.
Key stat
Woodson’s 12 career interception-return touchdowns are the NFL record, his 1,483 interception-return yards are second best of all time and his 71 interceptions are third in NFL history. Only Devin Hester (20) and Deion Sanders (19) scored more non-offensive touchdowns than Woodson’s 17. He played in Super Bowls with three teams; the Steelers, Ravens and Raiders.
Did you know?
Woodson also scored two touchdowns on punt returns and two on kickoff returns, plus one on a fumble return, all during the first six of his 17-season career. He led the NFL with a 27.3-yard kickoff-return average in 1989. He was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1993. In high school, he was the Indiana state champion in the high and low hurdles as a junior and senior, and he was a two-time track All-American at Purdue and qualified for the Olympic trials in the 110-meter hurdles. Woodson played in Super Bowl XXX, just 19 weeks after having reconstructive knee surgery. He suffered a torn ACL in the season opener while trying to tackle Barry Sanders.
Signature game
On Dec. 2, 2001, his third of four seasons with the Ravens, Woodson broke the previous record of nine interception-return touchdowns held by Hall of Fame S Ken Houston. He stopped a late Colts comeback when he intercepted Peyton Manning and returned the pick 47 yards for a TD to clinch Baltimore’s win.
Previous "Team for the Ages" player announcements
