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Tedy Bruschi, Kenny Easley named honorary captains for Super Bowl 49

By Patrick Schmidt

Jan 18, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (left) is congratulated by former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi (right) after the AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 18, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (left) is congratulated by former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi (right) after the AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports /
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 The Patriots and Seahawks named their honorary captains for Super Bowl 49.

Tedy Bruschi and Kenny Easley have been named honorary captains for the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, respectively, for Super Bowl 49 on Feb. 1, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

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Bruschi was a third round pick of the Patriots in the 1996 NFL Draft and played al 13 of his NFL career with the Patriots. He was a two-time All-Pro selection in 2003 and 2004 and made his lone Pro Bowl in 2004. But the highlight of his career was playing in five Super Bowls and winning three (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) as the leader and the face of the Patriots defense.

He won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award in 2005 after suffering a stroke days after the 2005 Pro Bowl. Bruschi is a member of the Patriots All-2000s team and their 50th anniversary team. He currently works as an analyst for ESPN.

The Seahawks honorary captain is a name that may not be familiar to new Seahawks fans who hopped on the bandwagon in recent years with the team being so successful, but for longtime fans they know Kenny Easley was as good of a safety as there was in the 1980s.

Easley played all seven of his seasons in the NFL with the Seahawks from 1981-1987 after they made him the fourth overall pick in the 1981 draft after three All-American seasons at UCLA.

He was selected to five Pro Bowls and was a four-time All-Pro pick from 1982-1985. His finest season came in 1984 when he won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award.

He was traded from the Seahawks after his seventh year to the Cardinals for quarterback Kelly Stouffer which led to Easley severing ties to the organization. He believed his role in the 1987 player’s strike led to his trade and later filed a lawsuit against the organization, trainers and team doctors stating an overdoes of Advil led to his kidney failure.

Easley received a kidney transplant two years later after his failed physical with the Cardinals threatened to void the trade and part of his severing ties with the organization was no one from the team extended their condolences after the procedure.

He had 32 interceptions in his seven-year career that saw him named to the NFL’s 1980s All-Decade Team and Seahawks 35th anniversary team and was inducted into the Seahawks Ring of Honor.

Next: 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame Finalists: Who Gets Call to the Hall?

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