30 greatest players to never win a Super Bowl

 29. Curtis Martin, RB, New England Patriots/New York Jets

You may recall that running back Curtis Martin was a talented performer at the University at Pittsburgh. But concerns over his durability caused his draft stock to slip a bit when the time came.

The New England Patriots and head coach Bill Parcells liked what they saw when they used a third-round draft choice in 1995 on the talented prospect. And he would reward the Pro Football Hall of Fame sideline leader for many years and two different franchises.

As a rookie in ’95, he totaled 368 carries for 1,487 yards and 14 touchdowns. A year later, Martin and the Pats would win the AFC East and parlay a hot finish into an appearance in Super Bowl XXXI. The talented runner would score a third-quarter touchdown to get his team within six points of the favored Green Bay Packers. But Brett Favre and company would pull away for a 35-21 victory.

Parcells would move onto the New York Jets in 1997 but one year later Martin would join him with the Green and White as the Patriots failed to match an offer sheet for the restricted free agent. The versatile and reliable performer would play his final eight seasons with the Green and White. In 2004 and at the age of 31, he ran for a career-best 1,697 yards and became the oldest player in league history to win a rushing title.

He and Barry Sanders are the only players in NFL history to begin their careers with 10 straight seasons of 1,000-plus yards on the ground.