Does Anyone Remember....?| Terrence Wilkins

After not writing a Does Anyone Remember....?| for quite a while, I have come back to continue to the series. Here it is: Does anyone remember Terrence Wilkins? I do--and surely well, as always. As always, I tell you why I picked Terrence Wilkins for this edition of Does Anyone Remember...?|. Well, I haven't written a real Colts' article for a while and I was thinking of some great guy on the Colts who was a huge asset towards the team. And there he was, Terrence Wilkins: one of the most underrated punt/kick returners in NFL history. And here's his story: It all started in Virginia. Wilkins was a star at not just a wide receiver, but also a returner. After a pretty successful career in College, Terrence went on to find a path towards the NFL to have a new future. But he didn't. Well, not at the start he did. He went un-drafted in the 1999 NFL Draft. This draft featured players like Donovan McNabb, Torry Holt, and even Edgerrin James. But Terrence wasn't part of the group. His size hurts him, as he was 5?8? and and 180 pounds, according to ColtPower.com. He wasn't drafted with the elite members that he should have been with for how successful he was going to be. And he was going to prove people wrong, oh yesiree. In his first year of existence in the NFL, Terrence Wilkins had a pretty solid season for a rookie. He had 42 catches for 565 yards and four touchdowns. He also averaged about 14 yards per catch. Wilkins also was solid in the long pass as he had an 80-yard touchdown that year as well. Now that is pretty stellar, don't you think? Especially for a rookie. But wait, Wilkins had more that year, and it wasn't just in the passing, but also in the return. He had 41 punt returns for 388 yards and one touchdown. His longest punt return was 39 yards. But that was just in the punt return, the kick return was much greater. In the kick return, Wilkins had 51 kick returns for 1,134 yards and one touchdown. The touchdown came on a 97-yard kickoff return, which is extraordinary as well. It was a good season for him that year. He and the Colts went 13-3 but lost in the Divisional Round of the playoffs to the Tennessee Titans. Wilkins looked to expand even further in 2000. And he did. He had 43 catches for 569 yards and three touchdowns. You might think it's not that big but he did these stats in just 14 games. In his rookie year, he played all 16. So just think about that. In the punt and kick return, Terrence couldn't play that much there. He had 29 punt returns for 240 yards and his longest punt return was 36 yards. In the kick return, he had only 15 kickoff returns for 279 yards. See what I mean? He didn't play that much in the return. And what was also not that good was that his longest kick return was only 30 yards. It was just one okay year, right? Wrong. It got worse the next year as Wilkins only played eleven games that season. He was going lower and lower each season now. In 2001, he had 34 catches for 332 yards. He didn't have any touchdowns that year. Bummer. In the punt and kick returns, Wilkins went back to his old ways, and with old ways, he was doing great. He had 21 punt returns for 219 yards and one touchdown. The touchdown came off a spectacular 78-yard punt return, which was his longest punt return of the season and his second-longest of his career. In the kickoff returns, Wilkins did even better with 44 kick returns for 1,007 yards. There were no touchdowns involved but he did at least have 50-yard return, which was his longest. His longest punt-return was larger than his kick-return. You really don't see that everyday. With three pretty good seasons with the Indianapolis Colts from 1999-2001, the Colts had to let him go. Wilkins was gone. Gone from the heart and soul of the white and blue. Bleeding it deeply. It was all gone. But light came. It came from St. Louis. There it came, the St. Louis Rams as Wilkins was offered a deal in 2002. And he took it, and why not? But in 2002, Wilkins might have been better if he hadn't signed the deal. He wasn't very good with the Rams in the receiving game and only played 13 games. The stats didn't even reach the peak of average in 2002 as he had five catches for 31 yards and, of course, there wouldn't be any touchdowns. His longest catch was only 14 yards, that wasn't very good at all. But hey, stats don't matter. Wilkins was a pretty good asset to the team in the return. He had 24 punt returns for 242 yards with a 55-yard return being his longest. He didn't have a touchdown there, but you don't really expect to have a punt or kick return for a touchdown every year anyways. In the kick returns, he had 47 of them returned for 1,074 yards as well as a 42-yard return, but no touchdown. So Wilkins really didn't have to regret it, right? Well, no, but not exactly. He only stayed with St. Louis for one year, and had to move on. And he did move on. Entering his fifth year and just waived by the Rams, Wilkins found some more light. He actually did. And it was with the Colts. And now with a new future, he didn't want to give it up. But he probably had to regret this season ten times more than what he had in 2002 with the Rams. He had only played three games. That wasn't good, not one single bit. He didn't do anything in receiving. Nothing. If you look at the stats, he did nothing. And I am serious. That wasn't good, it was horrible. In the return, it wasn't that good either. He had seven punt returns for only 25 yards with a 16-yarder being his longest. It would pretty much be impossible for him to have a touchdown if you look at it. The kick return was his best statistical category. He had only 14 returns for 325 yards with a 42-yarder being his longest. No touchdowns involved in the process. You think he regretted this? Of course. But that is how life is. Not everything is fair. Wilkins was released and didn't play in the NFL from 2004-2005. He played in the CFL, with the Calgary Stampeders. According to what I have found, Wilkins didn't do anything in the CFL. Well he did, but I couldn't find any sources for his stats. After a pretty good time in the CFL, it was time to make comeback to the NFL. And there he was, in his sixth season and at 32 years old, he would have to act like a mentoring veteran he was. But guess what team he was on? The Indianapolis Colts. He returned to them for a third straight time, and this time, he was not going to let them down. And this season, Wilkins never did. And it was his best season of his career. He had played 15 games that year but didn't take any part in the receiving category as the Colts mainly wanted him to do his thing in the return. And he did great. In the punt returns, he had 21 of them for 193 yards, including an 82-yard punt return for a touchdown against a the Jacksonville Jaguars in a 21-14 win. It was exciting and it Wilkins longest punt return of his career and his first punt return for a touchdown in the NFL since 2001. In the kick returns, he returned 52 of them for 1,272 yards and zero touchdowns. Although there were no touchdowns there, he did have a 70-yard return. In the kick return, he had a career-high of kick returns returned and kick return yards. His 70-yard return was the second-longest of his career. It was certainly good season statistically, but also in the playoffs, as his Colts went on to win the Super Bowl. Wilkins had a great career. He won a Super Bowl, had 1,000 kick return yards multiple times. He was just doing great. The Colts expected to have Wilkins in 2007 as well. In 2007, Wilkins was ranked the 42nd best receiver in the NFL. Wilkins didn't play for the Colts in 2007 but he was labeled on the team. In 2008, Wilkins was officially retired. Wilkins had a wonderful career and was never labeled as bad player. He has never let anyone down. Wilkins will always be remembered as one of the most underrated and best return specialists in the NFL and as a Super Bowl champion, or to put in a better way: a winner. Wilkins now is just relaxing in his home and now that he is close to turning 34, a comeback could come. Now do you remember Terrence Wilkins? Still one of the most underrated and best return specialists, still a winner.