A player is taken in the late second round.
He proceeds to play 9 seasons (and counting).
During that span, he starts in 130 out of 147 games (88.4%) at right tackle.
The team wins 56.9% of those games.
In 5 of 9 years, his offense is in the top 10 in the league.
He also starts 11 playoff games, winning 7, including one of the two Super Bowls in which he started.
He’s been paid at market value, and never held out or sought to be traded.
He’s never been arrested, suspended or embarrassed the franchise.
He’s now the longest tenured player on the team.
He’s Rob Havenstein.
How is he not beloved?
Sports fans often profess to admire the Blue Collar/Lunch Pail types. They claim to value reliability and steadiness.
But Havenstein is rarely mentioned (apart from the occasional “most underrated” nods and odd calls to replace him).
If you’re not elite, not flashy, not a stats guy… you tend to get overlooked, undervalued, and taken for granted.
Maybe that’s okay for Rob Havenstein. After a decade with the franchise, maybe he's be happy to just finish out his career with his relative anonymity intact, his family’s financial future secured and, hopefully, his health.
Well, that and a Super Bowl ring (hopefully more than one!).
Give me draftees with careers like Rob Havenstein every day and twice on Sunday.
He proceeds to play 9 seasons (and counting).
During that span, he starts in 130 out of 147 games (88.4%) at right tackle.
The team wins 56.9% of those games.
In 5 of 9 years, his offense is in the top 10 in the league.
He also starts 11 playoff games, winning 7, including one of the two Super Bowls in which he started.
He’s been paid at market value, and never held out or sought to be traded.
He’s never been arrested, suspended or embarrassed the franchise.
He’s now the longest tenured player on the team.
He’s Rob Havenstein.
How is he not beloved?
Sports fans often profess to admire the Blue Collar/Lunch Pail types. They claim to value reliability and steadiness.
But Havenstein is rarely mentioned (apart from the occasional “most underrated” nods and odd calls to replace him).
If you’re not elite, not flashy, not a stats guy… you tend to get overlooked, undervalued, and taken for granted.
Maybe that’s okay for Rob Havenstein. After a decade with the franchise, maybe he's be happy to just finish out his career with his relative anonymity intact, his family’s financial future secured and, hopefully, his health.
Well, that and a Super Bowl ring (hopefully more than one!).
Give me draftees with careers like Rob Havenstein every day and twice on Sunday.
