GRAND CHUTE — The gaping hole in Donald Driver’s body of work had been a Super Bowl championship. He already had three Pro Bowls and Packers records for receptions and consecutive games with a catch.
Now he’s got the title.
So what’s left for a 36-year-old with 12 NFL seasons in the rearview mirror?
Plenty, according to Driver.
“James Lofton’s records,” Driver said at his annual charity softball game at Fox Cities Stadium on Sunday. “And I want to make sure that I put a nice little stamp on my legacy. My thing is, is that (there’s) some great guys that wore this number before me. I think if I can get a nice little stamp on this legacy, continue to put some stats up there … And that’s just to make sure that no one ever breaks my records. That’s what James wanted. That’s what Sterling (Sharpe) wanted. Records are meant to be broken, and I want mine to never be broken.
“If I can play two to three more years and put a nice little stamp on it, those records will stand there forever, and when it’s all said and done, maybe one day I can stand up here in Canton, Ohio, saying, ‘I made it.’”
Lofton holds the Packers record for most career receiving yards with 9,656, but Driver is just 40 yards shy and virtually certain to eclipse that mark whenever the next NFL season begins. He has 53 career touchdown receptions, No. 4 on the list, and could catch No. 2 Sterling Sharpe (65) before his career ends.
It’s a fair assumption that Don Hutson’s record 99 are safe.
Driver has previously mentioned passing Lofton and getting the No. 80 retired. Only five Packers have had their numbers retired — Don Hutson (14), Tony Canadeo (3), Bart Starr (15), Ray Nitschke (66), Reggie White (92) — with president and CEO Mark Murphy reiterating this offseason that Brett Favre (4) would join the club.
But the Pro Football Hall of Fame talk was relatively new.
Driver said he spoke to receiver Tim Brown, a finalist for the Hall of Fame in his two years of eligibility, before the Super Bowl about that very subject.
“He sat down and said, ‘If you win a Super Bowl come Sunday, they will have to look at you as a candidate for the Hall of Fame,’” Driver said. “For him to say that, that was something that made me dream about it even more. … When Tim Brown tells you they have to look at me as being a candidate, I shook my head that night and said all I have to do is win the Super Bowl and maybe I’ll get the opportunity to maybe one day be there.
“Will that dream ever come true? I don’t know. I hope it will. For me, that’s a goal. … It was never a goal early in my career. But when you get to winding down and you feel you’ve done a lot, not just for the organization, but for the community, that should stand for something. To me, that’s all that matters.”
Driver said he has recovered from the ankle injury that forced him to miss the second half of Super Bowl XLV. He may have missed normal offseason team workouts, but the lockout took those out of the equation.
But Driver said he’s ready now — with a Super Bowl in his pocket and more goals to be reached.
GBPressGazette wrote: