[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

It has nothing to do with a trade.

He said in training camp that he thinks about retirement daily, and is not committed to a single snap past the 2009 season.

He was looking forward to retirement well before he asked for a trade 3 weeks ago...

That is not entirely accurate

This is from 9-24-2008

Q: Do you worry that you might be a Charles Barkley and not get a title?

GONZALEZ: “I think about it. I keep using the word frustrating, but that’s pretty much the way to describe it. It’s frustrating to me, because I want to win. This is my 12th year and I don’t know how many years I have left. I don’t want to sit out here and go out with a losing record. But at the same time, I’m going to go out there and enjoy the moment. At the very least, I’m looking for the positives here, I get to play football. I love playing football, there’s no doubt about it, I still feel like I can perform at a high level. Twelve years, but I’m only 32 years old. I’ve got a lot of football left in me if I want to play that much longer. I’m just trying to go out there and perform. And have fun with it, if we’re not going to win, then get mad about it and next week hopefully we can win.”

Q: How much longer do you want to keep playing?
GONZALEZ: “Right now, I’m definitely coming back next year, but then after that we’ll reevaluate and see. I feel pretty good right now. Barring any serious injury, I know I could come back after next year, but we’ll see how it goes, I don’t really know right now.”