In an emotional interview with Bob Pompeani of KDKA-TV, safety Ryan Clark expressed just how much he will miss his former teammates and how glad he is that he was able to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“I’m just so grateful to God that he let me be there,” said Clark, who signed a one-year deal with the Washington Redskins this offseason after playing eight seasons in Pittsburgh.
During the interview, Clark had trouble fighting back tears when talking about his former teammates, who he really grew close to when he nearly died after a 2007 game in Denver due to complications stemming from his sickle-cell trait.
“Ike [Taylor], Troy and Will Gay, they’re my brothers man, and I think that’s the hard part about this game, because I don’t want people here [in Washington] to think that I’m not excited about it, because I am,” Clark said. “But when I was sick, they came to the hospital. Troy cried with me and prayed with me. So, it’s not like I’m ungrateful for my new opportunity, but that’s the things that I’ll miss, that’s the things that I’ll remember.”
The Super Bowl that Clark won with the Steelers will always be one of his best memories, but when asked to choose another great memory outside of that, he chose one single play.
“Beyond the championship, it would have to be Troy intercepting a pass in 08-09 AFC Championship and scoring, what was basically the winning and sealing touchdown for us to go to the Super Bowl,” said Clark. “There’s no play that I think about more than that, because for me, that year was like, everything was awesome. I come off from being in the hospital and thinking I’d never play football again.”
Clark entered the league with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2002. In 2004 he signed with the Redskins and played two seasons in Washington before being signed by the Steelers in 2006.
