Saints’ Gleason retires

NEW ORLEANS – Steve Gleason, a scrappy special teams favorite who cemented his place in New Orleans Saints lore with a blocked punt during the Louisiana Superdome’s reopening following Hurricane Katrina, has decided to retire.

“The time’s right. I’m getting married. I can walk away with my health,” said Gleason, 30, a former Washington State University linebacker and Gonzaga Prep graduate. “I want to be active and adventurous when I’m 80 years old. If football was all I had in my life, I probably could play three or four more years. Who knows?”

Gleason, a free agent, spent 2007 on injured reserve after having microfracture surgery on his right knee. He said the operation was a success and he believes his knee will be close to fully recovered soon.

At 5-foot-11 and 212 pounds, the relatively undersized Gleason stood out on the field for two reasons – his long, light-brown hair that stuck out of the back of his helmet and the way he hurdled himself downfield on kick coverage with seemingly no regard for his own well-being. He also had the fourth blocked punt of his seven-year career in a win over Atlanta on Sept. 25, 2006 – the first game played in the rebuilt Superdome following Katrina.