In the offseason, football news was dominated by reports of the lasting effects of injuries to former NFL players. Beyond the statistics and the NFL Films memories, we were reminded by writers such as the The Sun's Ken Murray that life after football for many of these guys is a future of constant pain and financial peril as they face medical issues that drain their resources and restrict their ability to make a living.

This weekend, at least three injuries to star players brought the message home again. Seattle fullback Mack Strong's career ended Sunday. And two quarterbacks, Carolina's Jake Delhomme and Miami's Trent Green, may be finished. 

Delhomme is undergoing Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow. He's out for the year, and no one knows what's in store for him after rehab.

Green suffered a grade-three concussion, the most severe type, throwing an awkward block on Houston DL Travis Johnson. Johnson's knee inadvertently caught Green's head and he was taken off the field strapped to a stretcher. He was able to fly home with the team but Green is 37. He suffered a concussion last season, while playing for Kansas City, that forced him to sit out eight games. This one might end his career.

Strong's injury was quietly scary. The Seahawks' fullback (above) left the field against Pittsburgh on Sunday feeling a tingling throughout his extremities. Doctors told him this -- he has a cervical spine injury that could heal on its own without surgery IF he gives up football. Strong, a 15-year veteran who has spent his career sacrificing his body as a blocking back, immediately called it quits.

Strong's words, I think, sum up what so many fans -- myself included -- take for granted as we watch these games.

"I've given every ounce inside of me to football," Strong said yesterday. "I felt like I gave every ounce I had. So I have no regrets."

Photo credit: Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images