RENTON – This isn’t the official career eulogy for Walter Jones.

He deserves for fans to believe that he can overcome the injuries that have shelved him for this season and come back to the Seahawks to finish out in a manner his career deserves.

If he can, we’ll write the all-out testimonial then. We’ll do it again when he’s inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame, and every other time there’s a discussion about the greatest left tackles of all time.

Walter Jones, 35, was placed on the injured-reserve list by the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday. It means that he’s done for the season, unable to heal enough from the knee troubles that have had him sidelined since early in training camp.

Considering his age, the troubles he’s already had trying to come back from microfracture surgery, and the fact that he’s earned just about every honor a tackle can earn, it’s logical to believe that retirement will be one of the options Jones examines before next season.

Excuse us for acting as if this marks the passing of Albert Schweitzer, and conferring on Jones a rank of nobility. His job, in fact, has been to hit men with his head.

But Jones has been such a rarity in so many ways.

“(Walter) is probably unparalleled at that position in the history of the game,” coach Jim Mora said. “His level of consistency is unmatched. He’s a great leader, he’s a great man, he’s a great teammate; he commands respect. He’s been a dominant, dominant, dominant football player for many, many years.”

When he arrived in 1997, he was the best lineman on the field with his first step. He ran the 40 in the 4.6-second range at well over 300 pounds. He had a dancer’s feet and a wire-walker’s balance. I’ve been in attendance at almost every down he’s played for the Seahawks, and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen him off-balance.

At times early in his career, on those “reach” plays toward the sideline, he might block the entire side of an opposing defense, sealing off the end first, scraping off him to flatten a linebacker, and then hustling up the field to scare the wits out of a safety who dared try to support the run.

Most often, though, it was somewhat less spectacular – more a matter of rendering an opponent invisible. Former Seahawks defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes talked about coaching against Jones, and how demoralizing his play was. Rhodes claimed it was as if Jones would bring his opponent to the park in a little sandwich bag, take him out of the bag, humiliate him for 60 minutes, and then put him back in his little bag before showering up.

Mike Holmgren called him the best offensive player he’d ever coached. One time, after a game at Minnesota, Hall of Fame tackle Ron Yary asked Holmgren – his old teammate at USC – if he would take him into the locker room just so he could be introduced to Jones.

None of this ever affected Jones. He probably is the most humble superstar this area’s ever seen; certainly the least known and least quoted. He missed training camp a few times when he had the team’s franchise tag, but he’s never been a part of controversy, never voiced a complaint.

Because of other health conditions, he’s not been able to take the kinds of anti-inflammatory medications that often help players through the grind of the season. You never saw it affect Jones. There were times when Jones suffered injuries that would require surgery ... and the man did not even limp.

“In a world where there’s so much boastfulness now, and self-promotion, Walter has just gone about his business in a very respectful way, a dignified way, and it’s earned him a lot of respect,” Mora said. “Not only the way he plays on the field, but the way he’s carried himself as a man.”

These are the things that fans can’t know about Jones from only his Sunday afternoon performances, and those long silent stretches in-between. Coaching against him, Mora had seen his talents, but could not have known of his character until he joined the Seahawks staff.

“What was most surprising to me, on a day-to-day basis, was (seeing) the athleticism of such a big man, the power, the technique,” Mora said. “And then, getting to know him as a person, what a tremendous human being he is. He’s so quiet, you rarely hear a peep out of him.”

And at a time when loudness is sometimes confused with leadership, Jones is a different breed.

“Every year, when we vote on captains, he gets the most votes,” Mora said. “If there’s a wise man sitting on top of the mountain in the locker room, that everyone wants to go up and talk to, that would be Walter. That’s just who he is; he commands respect.”

And while that may not be the final career epitaph, it nonetheless explains a great deal about what Walter Jones has meant to this team for 13 seasons.

Dave Boling: 253-597-8440

dave.boling@thenewstribune.com