Linebacker Scott Fujita, an 11-year NFL veteran who has played for the Chiefs, Cowboys, Saints, and Browns, will retire from the NFL as a member of the team with which he won a Super Bowl championship.
Fujita has signed a one-day contract with the Saints. The contract, we’re told, was signed by Fujita in Machu Picchu, Peru. Fujita is there with his close friend and former teammate Steve Gleason, helping carry Gleason (who suffers from ALS) through the terrain.
For more details on the trip, check out TeamGleasonExperiment.org.
Injuries limited Fujita to only four games in 2012. The Browns placed him on injured reserve in October.
Fujita otherwise spent most of the year fighting a suspension imposed by the league office for involvement in the Saints’ alleged bounty scandal. Fujita’s initial suspension was reduced by Commissioner Roger Goodell. More importantly, former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, serving as Goodell’s designee for the internal appeal of the suspension, fully exonerated Fujita.
That’s a fact that’s often overlooked when people reflect on the bounty scandal. While all suspensions were overturned, Fujita was fully and completely exonerated.
Fujita definitely made an impact as a player. We have a feeling he’ll make an even bigger impact in whatever he does now that his playing days have ended.