Baltimore Ravens

Steve Smith Sr. on winning a Super Bowl: '[Expletive] that ring'

Published Jul. 29, 2016 3:19 p.m. ET

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At Steve Smith Sr.'s age, you cash in your chips and tip your dealer in the NFL.

You weren't supposed to get this far, make this much money or even be here in the first place. But that is not what Steve Smith does, and when the universe dealt him a double snake-eyes Achilles rupture last November, the then-36-year-old Baltimore Ravens receiver's mind didn't wander to retirement. It was focused on what it would take for him to go out on his terms.

Bleacher Report's Dan Pompeii published a feature Friday on Smith's long road to recovery, his Achilles that looked like "shredded chicken" after the injury and the final reserves of fury he's burning through in order to return to the NFL for one last season.

One of the most poignant expressions of who Smith is as a player and person reside in his words on why he can't just retire and enjoy life with his wife and four children. As Smith says, it isn't even a choice.

"I wouldn't say the ability to overcome things is important to me," Smith told Pompeii. "I'd say its been the difference between life and death for me." 

Another interesting tidbit is Smith's stance on winning a Super Bowl ring—a jewel he came agonizingly close to grasping nearly a decade ago with the Carolina Panthers in a 32-29 loss to the New England Patriots.

Dan is on Twitter. Steve Smith don't want no part of your of your tight-wad Super Bowl country club.

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