Although Troy Vincent played for four different teams in his stellar 15-year NFL career, he will always be remembered as a Philadelphia Eagle. And he will be honored by the team this season, as they induct him into the Eagles Hall of Fame, as one of the greatest Eagles’ players of all time.
Vincent was drafted by the Miami Dolphins with the seventh pick overall in the 1992 draft, but his years in Philadelphia (from 1996 to 2003) were the best years of his career. He made five Pro Bowls, all during his tenure in Philly, and also received the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award (2002) and the Bart Starr Man of the Year Award (2004). As an Eagle, Bill, Redskin, and Dolphin, Vincent intercepted 47 passes while racking up 794 tackles.
When asked about his relationship with Eagles fans, as he comes back to be honored, he stated, “The 12th man was everything, and that’s what I think about every Sunday. When we had home games back then, Brian Dawkins and I would look at each other every week before we came out and had kickoff, we would say, ‘Let’s give these people what they came here to see. Let’s give them a show and let’s perform.’ ”
He also commented on his most memorable moments with the Eagles, showing how much the division rivalries meant to him. “The one that stand out the most is when we went down and we beat up on Dallas,” he said. “We put a roughing’ on them the opening week. That is one of the most memorable moments. I really had so many. Beating the Giants was always fun.”
The honor clearly means a lot to Vincent, who was also a Preliminary Nominee for the NFL Hall of Fame Class last season. And his legacy means a lot as well. Asked how he hopes the fans will remember him and the teams he played on, he responded, “I would hope that the fans during that time, the ones who were there and actually watched us play, can say we played hard and competed every week. We gave the fans something to be proud of as they walked out the stadium, whether it was Veterans Stadium and the Linc, or when they walked away from their TV sets that evening when we were on the road, that we fought and they were proud of us certainly on the field, but also in the community.”
By Jameel Shareef
