Let’s go on a little ghost hunt this week.
But what about the ones that never really got that chance?
He is a phantom.
A phantom of the kick off.
Step into this stathole, because we’re going to find the phantomest of them all.
May as well while we’re all stuck in the thick of the summer sports slog.
Perfect time to kill some time while we wait another 59 days before kickoff.
Plus I think these phantoms deserve some recognition.
They’ve only known positional relegation and have remained imprisoned in plain sight for you to watch and ignore.
At best, they are their own fans' Deja vu.
Here are the rules.
Regular season/Playoffs only, so no preseason heroes.
You might actually remember one of them after all.
Whoever you never were.
But let’s first set the stage.
Below is a table of the NFL players sorted by most career special teams plays.
The top-two names (Matthew Slater and Brandon Bolden) you’ve definitely heard of.
Both Bill Belichick New England Patriots' who really had to earn their way into playing their actual position.
Take note of the number of offensive/defensive snaps by all players on this list.
In fact, none of the names on this list are phantoms.
Even though they are the players who’ve been stuck playing special teams the most.
Put your ghostbusters gear on people.
It’s time to go hunting.
Let’s consumate this quest.
Here’s our phantom player of the day.
NFL Phantom #5: Dee Virgin
OK. Time out.
He played 478 special teams plays in attempt to prove himself worthy of cornerback snaps on defense.
One out of 479 plays or .2% of his career.
Just to be clear - the decimal point is not a typo.
I mean, he didn’t even show up on the stat sheet.
No mention of a sack.
And since he played corner, it’s unlikely he really ever even went inside the box.
This is some bullshit if you ask me.
How bad could Virgin have been on this one play?
Was he legally required to change his name to “No longer Virgin” before going a round two?
Anyway - I feel for Dee.
Even still, he was cut the week afterwards by the Lions.
That’s about 270K before taxes.
Pitiful in NFL terms, but elite for normies.
Dee had 15 total tackles and one forced fumble in his career.
That’s 16 instances in which you might have heard his name on TV during his five-year career.
Hopefully there will be a 17th this season.
I mean - the kid literally has experience.
Come on now GMs!
Dee Promiscuous »> Dee Virgin.
@Stathole
PS: Need some more random NFL research to get you through offseason?
Got you covered:
-What NFL player has the most transactions?
-Who’s the other player that also has 113 transactions?
-What coach is the best/worst at coin flips?
