Lance Briggs was a quality football player. That’s not in doubt. Some, might have even called him great. Across his 12-year career the ex-Chicago Bear - who had over 900 tackles in his career and was a seven-time Pro Bowler - accomplished plenty on the playing field.
He also lost a lot in the process.
For every trademark Briggs burst through the line of scrimmage to bring a running back down for a loss, there was a toll. For every sack of a quarterback, there were consequences. For very single individual seemingly inconsequential block or pop, even on the other side of the field completely away from a play, there was an impact - it just wasn’t felt immediately.