CHICAGO — If anyone can empathize with Larry Ogunjobi after the Chicago Bears announced Friday that they rescinded a contract offer that would have made him the ninth-highest paid defensive tackle in the NFL, it is retired offensive lineman Roberto Garza.
Of course, the economics of the league have changed dramatically since Garza was in Baltimore at the start of the free-agency period in 2005 when he failed a physical with the Ravens, pulling a three-year $7 million offer that was to pay him $4 million in the first season.
General manager Ozzie Newsome informed Garza that when the Ravens put him through a physical, they determined he had no anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Garza and his wife, Ashley, already had lined up a real estate agent to take them shopping for a home in Maryland. He was devastated and wondered if his career was over.
