For about 16 years, Terrell Davis relied upon the peaks of his career and the friendships he made to hold off the nagging question of whether he wished he could have extended his career.
His Pro Football Hall of Fame candidacy had been perennially hampered by his longevity, and Davis knew that those doubts could have been quashed if he could have played another year or two.
But now, with less than a month before he is officially enshrined, Davis no longer has to face those questions.
"Now that this has happened, I don't ever have to worry about that being an issue anymore," Davis said on a Thursday conference call, "because it was in the back of my mind that maybe I didn't play long enough and maybe that would be the one thing that the voters would hold against me.