31-years-old is too young to retire, even for a professional athlete. Yet when Maurkice Pouncey broke the news through his long-time teammate-turned-radio host Ramon Foster, it came as no surprise.
Turns out Pouncey had told teammates during the season, even while the Steelers were winning their first 11 games, that this season would be it for him. That's why we heard an emotional Ben Roethlisberger telling Pouncey "I didn't want it to end this way" on NFL Films after the playoff loss to the Browns.
I asked Roethlisberger in his postgame news conference if "by the end" he meant the end of the season or end of a career. Ben fibbed by saying "season" but he knew his long-time center who grew into a close friend would more than likely call it a career and now he has.
It can be difficult to quantify and offensive lineman's career but over his 10 season, Pouncey was named to 9 Pro Bowls. He was voted All Pro 5 times, twice first team, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame named him to its all-decade team for the 2010s. He will be, at the very least, in the Hall of Fame discussion.
But there are other things that set Pouncey apart.
He declared for the NFL draft early so his twin brother Mike, who also formally retired Friday, could slide over the center at Florida and improve his draft stock which he did. Mike was drafted 15th overall by Miami a year later while the Steelers took Maurkice 18th.
The team's plan, as it was back then, was to bring the rookie along slowly. Veteran Justin Hartwig was serviceable – an average to above-average center – so there was no rush, at least not until Pouncey forced the issue.
Right away, even a relatively untrained eye could see he was different. Pouncey would take care of one defender at the line of scrimmage then burst into the second level and take out one or two more. Within a couple of weeks, maybe less, Pouncey was running with the first team looking very much the next great center in a long line of great Pittsburgh centers.
Pouncey let his play do his talking – for real. He had just turned 21as training camp opened and was reluctant to open up to the media. Not in a nasty way; he was simply shy. Nonetheless, I found him fun to talk to. a
His answers were so short sometimes I could get 10 questions into a 60-second chat. So, when I would Pouncey and say, "Hey Maurkice, got a minute?" he knew that it would be one minute. Thus "In Depth With Maurkice Pouncey" was born even though there wasn't a whole lot of depth to it..
Yet, in another way, there was. It became a weekly staple on The Fan Morning Show and we had some fun with it, enough so that he kept going on with it. That the Steelers won pretty much every week didn't hurt; in fact, he helped them to a Super Bowl that first season.
The problem was that Pouncey suffered a foot injury in the AFC Championship game and, despite the extra week, he was unable to play. But his injury was enough of a storyline that you'd often see this photo of an "In Depth" conversation that week as a backdrop when they talked about Pouncey on the NFL Network!
Colony and PounceyJim Colony
Of course, without Pouncey, the Steelers lost to the Packers and never made it back to a Super Bowl when it appeared they'd be primed for several.
"In Depth With Maurkice Pouncey" didn't last all that long because he actually did have a lot to say. That once-shy 21-year old grew into a team leader fairly quickly and eventually became a go-to guy for local reporters. Pouncey famously called out James Harrison for quitting on the team toward the end of the 2017 season, yet was more forgiving when Le'Veon Bell held out the following year.
More importantly, though, Pouncey was there for his teammates. The most recent example – he attacked Myles Garrett after Garrett had assaulted Mason Rudolph in 2019 and had to serve a 3-game suspension for what was doing the right thing, especially in the eyes of his peers.
I imagine that when many Steelers of the last decade are asked about Maurkice Pouncey, their answer will either start or end with these words - "Pounce was the best teammate I ever had."
Exactly the way he'd want it.
