FanHouse Dan Morgan

Perhaps the Saints should stop looking at damaged goods to fix their weakside linebacker position?

In 2006, they brought in Anthony Simmons, a former Pro Bowler, to play there. It didn't matter that Simmons missed most of '04 and all of '05 with injury; he was supposedly healthy and low-risk/high-reward. He retired before his first game as a Saint ever came.

In '08, they brought in Dan Morgan, a former Pro Bowler. It didn't matter that Morgan had a list of concussions that would make Steve Young commiserate, as well as a partially torn Achilles tendon, the collaborative effects of which forced him to miss almost all of '06 and '07. He was supposedly healthy and low-risk/high-reward. He retired before his first game as a Saint ever came.

Morgan then unretired earlier this year and claimed that the Saints, who still had his rights, were getting a healthy and motivated player. On Monday, he retired. Again.

New Orleans Saints linebacker Dan Morgan retired on Monday, ending a productive, albeit oft-injured career. Morgan played his entire seven-year career with the Carolina Panthers before signing with the Saints this offseason.

"When we signed Dan, he was committed to making a fresh start, and he was making every effort to rehabilitate the leg injury that he suffered last year," said Coach Sean Payton in a statement. "But it wasn't responding as well as he had hoped it would. We wish him well in his continued recovery, and he will be remembered for the excellent player he was during his career."

Indeed. Morgan was one of those guys who was a great leader on the field ... but he just couldn't stay there. He was the Panthers #11 overall choice in the 2001 NFL Draft and quickly became a huge part of the team's eventual run to Super Bowl XXXVIII. He would become a Pro Bowler in 2004.

But injuries kept him from continuing to perform at a high level. He had an estimated five concussions that sidelined him at various times and nearly ended his career. An partian tear in his Achilles tendon forced him to miss Carolina's final 13 games last year. He never played a full season ... and played in just four games over the past two seasons.

Morgan won the Butkus, Nagurski and Bednarik Awards in college at Miami, becoming the first player to win all three awards during his career (and he did so in just one season).

Former Carolina Panther Dan Morgan will stay in the division and join the New Orleans Saints:

When reached last week, Morgan said he'd been working out in Phoenix rehabbing an Achilles tendon injury and that he wanted to make sure he was completely healthy before signing with another team. But sensing an opportunity to start, Morgan apparently felt it was the right time to sign.

"I'm feeling pretty good and I'm getting better with each day," Morgan said last week. "I definitely want to play again and I hope I get that chance."

Morgan ... who was a middle linebacker for the Panthers ... will play the weakside LB spot for the Saints. Newly acquired Jonathan Vilma will man the middle while Scott Fujita will play the strong side.

The question is Morgan's health. He has played in just four games over the past two seasons and has never played a full NFL slate. He's also had quite a few concussions and he's rehabbing the Achilles injury which led to his release last month.

Panthers linebacker Dan Morgan was back on the football field Friday night, and although there are serious concerns about his frequent concussions, Morgan says he feels good and is confident that he's doing the right thing:

"Nobody really knows how I feel," Morgan said. "Unless you're in my shoes and know how I feel, then that's something somebody can't talk about because they don't know. As far as people having doubts about me coming back, everybody's entitled to their opinion. We live in America, so I'll let them have it.

"I took the necessary steps to come back. I'm smarter than that. I do care more about my future with my family than anything. They're No. 1 in my life and if I felt like it was a threat for me to come back and I was going to put my health in great danger for my family, I wouldn't have been back. ...

"There's been a lot of talk about concussions, more so this offseason than any other," Morgan said. "I think people are concerned about it, which they should be. It is something not to mess with. I know that. I took the necessary steps. When I feel like it is harmful to myself, that's when I won't be playing anymore."

Morgan's toughness is admirable, but it's hard to shake the concern that in 10 or 20 or 30 years, he'll regret his decision to keep playing. Aside from Michael Vick and Pacman Jones, the biggest story of the NFL off-season was the way retired NFL players came forward to say their service to the league had caused them lifelong health problems. Let's hope Morgan isn't the poster boy for the long-term brain damage of NFL players some day.