There’s been a clip making the rounds on the Twitter streets this week that I have found fascinating. Last week, legendary Chicago Bears return man, Devin Hester, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As is the case with every inductee, there’s a nice little montage highlighting their career’s greatest moments. In that, we got an interesting little nugget that apparently has been shared in the Nashville market before, but I had never heard it. Hester was damn near a Tennessee Titan.
Did not know Devin Hester almost became a Tennessee Titan lol. pic.twitter.com/hWEuJGPfve
— Tre (@TreJeanNFL) August 4, 2024
This is kind of like finding out a girl you liked in high school that you were too afraid to approach actually had a crush on you the whole time. Jared Stillman quote tweeted this with some follow-up: “Jeff Fisher and Norm Chow threw a fit and Floyd hung up on Devin Hester to draft LenDale White. Thanks Jeff.” How did I miss this story throughout the years? I mean, on the surface, hell yeah you’d want a Hall of Famer in the two-tone blue. Hester was electric, man. I won’t claim to be some historian of the NFL – I really started getting into the game in the early 2000s. But, for my money, from my memory, I can’t remember another returner in the game that would strike fear into the hearts of his opponents the way Hester would. Every time he caught the ball, you’d hold your breath. People called the Colts idiots when they kicked to him on the first play of the Super Bowl.
But, the more I think about it, I don’t know. As wild as it is to imagine, I’m not sure another dynamic return man would’ve been the answer for those Titans teams. I mean, Pacman Jones wasn’t a slouch, and even with his electric playmaking in his own right, it didn’t lead to wins for the Titans. Plus, I’m a big LenDale White fan. I consider him to be one of the most underrated Titans of the last two decades. We’d never have gotten the glory of the 2008 Smash n’ Dash campaign if Floyd Reese had gotten his way with Hester! And, we’d have never gotten this awesome podcast that Zach and I did on White’s career. Some things are fun to think about in hindsight, but I won’t wish for something different in this case. I’m happy with how it turned out.
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
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