[bigboydan]

ts not often that you feel bad for a professional athlete, but I do kind of feel for Ricky Proehl. Proehl's never been a superstar by any stretch of the imagination, but he's played in a pair of Super Bowls and was 10th among active receivers in catches by the end of last season. He was apparently told by the Panthers that he'd be back. And then they traded for Keyshawn and that all changed.

"It was disappointing," he says in this article. "I was told 'Hey, we want you back.' And I said, 'I'll come back.' And then things happened, and it was, 'Well, we're going in a different direction, but we'd love to have you if something happens in August.'... Being a part of it one minute, you feel like you're still going to be a part of it, [then] the rug gets pulled out under your feet. Sometimes it's hard to swallow."

Still, if it is the end, Proehl had a pretty good career, don't you think?

WESTFIELD -- Ricky Proehl doesn't want his football career to end, but he knows it's going to end. And maybe for the first time in his 16 years in the NFL, he thinks it might be soon.

Proehl will wait by the phone at his home in Greensboro this week for a job offer, and it won't be from the Carolina Panthers and it won't be as an NFL wide receiver. The 38-year-old Wake Forest graduate is facing the hardest thing for an athlete to do.

"I might just walk away," he said Monday.

After three seasons in Charlotte, Proehl was hoping for a fourth and final season with the Panthers. A late-night phone call only hours before Carolina signed veteran wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson in March reminded him what he knew in the back of his mind all along: Football is a business.

Sometimes a cruel business.

"It's frustrating," Proehl said. "I was ready to play. I was going to play."

He thought the Panthers wanted him. Proehl says he was told as much.

"It was disappointing," he said. "I was told 'Hey, we want you back.' And I said, 'I'll come back.' And then things happened, and it was, 'Well, we're going in a different direction, but we'd love to have you if something happens in August.' "

In other words, if somebody gets hurt or if Keyshawn turns out to be a bad fit, the Panthers might call him. Proehl said he might not be waiting by then.

He hopes to be working in television or radio, possibly working for an NFL team. It's what he planned to do all along once his playing career ended. Proehl said he'll probably know something in the coming week.

"It's an opportunity to do something I wanted to do when I was done playing," he said Monday during a community appearance at Camp Sertoma near Hanging Rock State Park. "It makes it easy to walk away."

Proehl will walk away after a career that saw him play for five NFL teams, saw him play in two Super Bowls, saw him rise to 10th in receptions among active receivers. He assumed those numbers would keep going up, and he believes the Panthers did him wrong.

But he won't dwell on it. Proehl said he will move on with the understanding that it's a business, and his career in Carolina ended with a business decision.

"Being a part of it one minute, you feel like you're still going to be a part of it," he said. "The rug gets pulled out under your feet. Sometimes it's hard to swallow."

Proehl knows there's no loyalty in pro football. Even though he came back the past two seasons to play for Carolina, at the request of the Panthers, he knew deep down this might be a different summer. Still, the way he was informed bothers him because he thought the Carolina organization was somehow different from the other 31 in the NFL.

"Then you get a call at 11 o'clock at night saying, 'Hey, we're getting ready to sign Keyshawn and go in a different direction,' " Proehl said. "I've got a tremendous amount of respect for Keyshawn. He's a great player. I just don't see how that changes my situation. I'm not a high-paid guy. That's what was frustrating. I didn't expect that."

He talks as if his career is over. He talks as if he wants it to be over. He says, deep down, this feels like the end.

"It does because I'm excited about this opportunity," he said.

He was talking about the new job, not the old job.

Proehl stood before a group of youngsters Monday morning and advised them on practical money skills. He answered questions about playing football and told stories about his career. He didn't look like a former NFL player, but he sounded like one.

"My whole mental state now is football is taking second place," he said afterward.

He knows that can change with a phone call. In pro football, the end is always a phone call away. But that's also where the next opportunity comes from.

Proehl has been contacted by several NFL teams looking for help. He just doesn't think the Panthers will call.

"I'm not bitter," Proehl said. "I'm still going to be a Panthers fan. I love the organization, the coaching staff, the players. I guess it's just disappointment more than anything because I was planning on playing. But it is a business, and you realize that."

Some realize it the hard way. Unlike most former NFL players, Proehl can ultimately walk away on his own terms.

[Razz]

I'm trying to figure out how Key is an upgrade.

[isetcap]

I'm trying to figure out how Key is an upgrade.

The Panthers sorely missed MM and they wanted to bring in someone of that mold. I certainly understand their logic but their execution appears to be flawed.

I'm very happy to see you're back, Razz!

[slacker00]

I'm trying to figure out how Key is an upgrade.

I'm skeptical too, Razz. Key has lost too much speed to be an effective NFL WR.