TDBH:Graham reflects on retiring as a Bengal

When Shayne Graham said good-bye to the Bengals seven years ago, he never really said hello. But when he retires from football this week and asks to do it as a Bengal, he has experienced enough to do both in graciously stepping away with many more points (1,260 to be exact) than regrets (a Frank Sinatra few) as the Bengals’ most accurate kicker ever and the tenth of all-time, Bengals.com observes. “I at least know I learned from my mistakes,” says Graham today. “I can be proud and feel very blessed and fortunate with the opportunities I got in the first place.” In his last walk-off attempt, Graham offers compelling candor that takes more than a few guts. “One of the great regrets I have in my career is that I didn’t realize how good I had it in Cincinnati,” Graham says. “There was a time I fooled myself into thinking there were other things more important than what they were. I lost grasp of what true reality was. When I look back on it I feel like I could have been there a lot longer if I made different decisions. But think it made me a better person, made me a better professional.”

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