Former Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson says he's healthy and ready for the 2011 NFL season
Charles Woodson became a Super Bowl champion in February. Back in Ann Arbor for his annual Brian Griese/Steve Hutchinson/Charles Woodson Champions for Children's Hearts charity weekend, the 2009 NFL Defensive Player of the Year said he isn’t done playing.
Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com
When asked how much longer he'll play, the 14-year NFL veteran was somewhat vague and left it in the hands of his current team, the Green Bay Packers.
“I don’t know,” Woodson said. “As many as they’ll have me in Green Bay.”
Woodson broke his left collarbone in the first half of Green Bay’s 31-25 win over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV and afterward was in considerable pain as documented by reporters there.
On Sunday, Woodson said the collarbone “feels fine” and anticipates being ready to start the 2011 season, whenever that happens.
There is one thing Woodson knows now, though. He’ll be forever known as a champion.
To him, that’s a big deal. He won the 1997 Heisman Trophy at Michigan and won a national championship with the Wolverines the same year.
He had also been to the Super Bowl once before with Oakland, losing to Tampa Bay, 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII.
He waited eight seasons to return to the Super Bowl.
“It feels good,” Woodson said. “It’s what you play the game for, what I always played the game for on any level, to try and win the championship. Finally, this year I was on a team that was able to get it done.
“It’s a thing where from now on, for the rest of history, I’ll be a champion, always looked at as a champion. That says it all.”
Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by email at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein