Wright attitude

Victoria Sun

Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2000 | 9:22 a.m.

While much of America celebrated the success of the St. Louis Rams' victory over the Tennessee Titans in the 2000 Super Bowl, Las Vegas Outlaws safety Toby Wright couldn't bring himself to join the party.

You see, they don't give Super Bowl rings to former team members -- such as Wright -- who were released because of nagging injuries.

Though he toiled for the Super Bowl champs from the time he was drafted by the Rams out of Nebraska in the second round of the 1994 NFL draft up until 1998, when he was placed on the injured reserve three games into the season and then released, Wright never got to share in the team's glory.

Wright, a 1996 Pro Bowl alternate, deflected the pain he felt during that time with laughter while talking about it Monday at Foothill High School after the Outlaws finished the second day of their minicamp.

"It hurts," Wright said. "I couldn't be seen. With me, it just came down to the fact that I know how the business is, and I was happy for my guys. I didn't want to become a hater.

"And I was so happy for my guys, but to be honest I was still kind of hurt. I had spent all those years with them. I felt like I should have been there.

"It hurt, but I had to keep fighting. That's the biggest thing. I think it was a big, big, big gut check for me."

It was the third time Wright's character was tested.

He played two years for the Cornhuskers in 1992 and 1993, the two years they were runners-up in the national championship race.

Nebraska then went on to win three national titles.

Wright, 30, laughed again at what might have been.

"So hopefully this will work out for me," he said. "Hopefully, just maybe I can get a championship here."

Wright's NFL career was sidetracked with three games left in the 1997 season.

During the last play of the game against New Orleans, Wright went up to disrupt a Hail Mary play. When he landed, he tore his left anterior cruciate ligament, bringing an abrupt end to his season.

On average, it takes eight months to a year for someone to fully recover from that injury.

Wright attempted his first comeback after only three months. After playing only three games in 1998, he was sidelined again. Wright had 21 tackles, one sack and one pass deflection.

"It's such a high-performance business," Wright said of his decision to return to the field so soon. "Your play is your worth."

The following summer, Wright became a "June 1 casualty," named for the day NFL teams can release injured players with high salaries for salary cap purposes.

Three games into the 1999 season, Wright signed a contract with the Washington Redskins on Sept. 27.

Three games later, he reinjured his left knee and had to have minor surgery to repair the damage, which he had done by returning to the field too soon.

Before being named one of the Outlaws' territorial selections, Wright went to training camp with the Oakland Raiders, but it didn't work out.

Originally, Wright admits he was skeptical about the XFL.

"It was new," Wright said. "I didn't know what to think, especially Vince McMahon, he does the wrestling thing so I just didn't want it to be a circus.

"This is football, no matter how you cut it," Wright said. "There's the NFL, which I played in, now there is the XFL. And it's going to solidify itself as a league.

"I've been looking at names and there are some names out there in this league that have been to that level (NFL) and played some games. That's the biggest thing. It's not like we're playing with the Hackensack Bulls or something like that. This team here has some quality players. It's encouraging."