Seahawks Don’t Need Tofflemire; Feeling Is Mutual

As his pro football career skidded upon a downward spiral of frustration, unfulfilled expectations and physical pain, Joe Tofflemire recalled a line from a movie he’d once seen.

Broken legs can be healed; broken arms mended.

“But there’s nothing that can be done to fix a broken spirit,” Tofflemire said.

That’s how it should have appeared in the newspaper transactions: “Seattle Seahawks waived center Joe Tofflemire (broken spirit).”

That spirit snapped one night early this month after the Post Falls native agreed to a hastily mandated pay cut.

During the sleepless night that followed, Tofflemire was finally able to put a price tag on his pride.

The next morning, he rejected the offer - a move that most likely was a decision to retire.

What he provides for us, now, is a view of the NFL that fans don’t see on Sundays - from inside the belly of the beast.

Tofflemire, entering his seventh season with the team, agreed to a contract last spring for $325,000 - a good deal for a backup.

But two weeks into training camp, after having come back from a shoulder injury that hinted of previous problems, he was called into the Seahawks’ front office.

“They told me they were signing (holdout guard) Jeff Blackshear and they said I had 10 minutes to make a decision on a $110,000 pay cut,” Tofflemire said. “I thought, ‘What choice do I have?’ and I agreed to it.”

But he was haunted by second thoughts.

“I went up the next morning and told them it was something I just couldn’t do,” Tofflemire said. “It wasn’t about the money, it was because I had just signed a contract with them three months earlier when they told me I’d have a chance to compete for the starting job - which I never got.

“So, I don’t have any regrets; it was the right thing to do, even if I never play another down.”

Which may be the case, as he is not certain his shoulder could pass a physical even if he decided he wanted to continue.

Tofflemire invites no one to sing mournful songs for him, considering he’s made close to $2 million from the Hawks, but the disappointment comes from never having created an impact on the field.

At Arizona, Tofflemire had one of the best careers of any Pacific-10 Conference center, being named firstteam all-conference for three straight years after being second-team as a freshman.

Second-round draft choices - as Tofflemire was in 1989 - generally are tabbed for immediate action.

But coach Chuck Knox revered veterans and Tofflemire never got a chance to displace incumbent Grant Feasel until Tom Flores took over.

“People would not believe that there’s so much more to this league than just being a good player and doing your best,” Tofflemire said. “So much of it is about personalities. I was disappointed to come in and see guys who were out of shape and performing poorly who never lost their jobs.

“And from my first day here, with coaches and front office, the right hand never knew what the left was doing. It was unbelievable.”

Sixteen starts during the dismal 1992 season stand as the bulk of Tofflemire’s action as back, shoulder and wrist injuries mounted.

“I don’t know, maybe they think I can’t stay healthy for the whole season,” Tofflemire said of the Hawks’ ultimatum.

His decision on retirement will come next week, but it’s clear he will not end up driving a beer truck.

With a degree in business, Tofflemire has been studying the stock and bond markets during his playing days. “And I have talked to several companies over the years and I could call tomorrow and start working somewhere if I needed.”

So the closing of one door means the opening of another, and it comes with no lament.

“Sure, I wish things could have worked out better here, but there’s a lot of things you don’t have control over,” Tofflemire said. “I can look back, though, and know that I was good enough to stick around here for a long time.”

You can contact Dave Boling by voice mail at 459-5577, extension 5504.

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