LaDanian Tomlinson holds up his jersey at a press conference announcing that Tomlinson would re-sign with the Chargers so that he could retire a Charger. (Dennis PoRoy/AP Photo)

LaDanian Tomlinson was ready to retire after eleven seasons in the NFL, but the NFL wasn’t quite ready for him to retire.

Many teams offered Tomlinson the opportunity to continue playing, including the Denver Broncos. According to the Union Times – San Diego, Tomlinson said that the only team he considered playing for this season was the Broncos.

The only team I really gave a thought to was the Broncos, because of Peyton. We talked. . . . It made me pause a little (and think), ‘Was this what I really want to do?’ … I said, ‘They got Peyton, they have a good defense already; they went deep in the playoffs with Tim Tebow, what are they going to do with Peyton?’ I seriously thought about it.” – LaDanian Tomlinson (U-T San Diego)

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Ladanian Tomlinson greets New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre following the 48-29 at Qualcomm Stadium. (Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE)

The last time that the Broncos saw LaDanian Tomlinson in a Chargers uniform was during a 32-3 loss in Denver in November 2009. Tomlinson had a modest 20 carries for 73 yards and a touchdown, but the impact that he made on the franchise during the nine years that he played for them is what stands out most.

Tomlinson announced his retirement from the NFL Monday after 11 seasons in the league. That’s quite the run for a running back. During his time, he amassed 13,684 yards averaging 80.5 yards per game for his entire career. Tack on 145 career rushing touchdowns, 4,772 receiving yards, 17 receiving touchdowns and just 12 lost fumbles, and you have a sure fire first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Each and every time the Broncos had to prepare for a game against the Chargers, Tomlinson was close to enemy No. 1. He averaged 81.1 yards per game against the Broncos had crossed the goal line 21 times. He had multiple three and four touchdown games in the 19 times he played Denver.

Tomlinson recalled the late and great Junior Seau’s retirement announcement in 2006 and then applied it to his own announcement.

‘‘So today, I take the words of Junior Seau: I feel like I’m graduating. I really do, because I’ve got my life ahead of me, I’m healthy, I’m happy with a great family and I’m excited to now be a fan and watch you guys play.’’

Tomlinson was a class act and will surely continue to impact people’s lives off the football field.

The Jets travel to Denver for the second time in two years. (Eric Lars Bakke/Denver Broncos)

Coming off of a game in Kansas City on Sunday, the Broncos will play host to the New York Jets on Thursday night. With a short week to prepare, the Broncos will be riding high on the emotion from the Kansas City game.

This is the second consecutive season that the Rex Ryan Show is coming to Denver. Last October, the two teams met in a nail-biting game. The Broncos lost 20-24 after some controversial calls, so expect the team to seek revenge this go around.

The Jets are coming off of an 11-5 year that saw them advance to the AFC Championship Game in which they lost to the Steelers. Once again, Ryan and the Jets fell just a game short of a Super Bowl appearance.
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