Does Michael Turner Belong In the Falcons Ring of Honor?

Michael Turner holds or is near the top of several rushing feats in Falcons history.

He is 2nd in total rushing yards to Gerald Riggs, trailing Riggs by only 600 yards, but The Burner has 22 more touchdowns than Riggs, and exactly double what lone ring of honor running back William Andrews has.

But Riggs, one of the Falcons' all-time greats, was traded to the Washington Redskins just a season after playing in only 9 games, presumably because the team no longer wanted him. Riggs is not in the Falcons' Ring of Honor.

I remember saying aloud to myself one day in 2010, "This team could have as many as 6 or 7 Ring of Honor candidates by the time their careers are over."

Certainly Matt Ryan, Roddy White, Todd McClure, John Abraham, and perhaps Tony Gonzalez could all end up hanging from the tops of the new Alien Dome.

It's also safe to say that the numbers 2, 84, and 55 will forever be known by Falcons fans of this era, and it's a safe bet that the number 2 will never be worn by another Falcon.

But what about 33?

33 still hasn't found another team. A "failed physical" prompted his release, and even in the ire of Falcon fans everywhere over the last few years, he did not get angry at them when he was released, but instead thanked them. When I heard that for the first time, I was ashamed to have ever felt any kind of anger at the man for his playing troubles.

Sure, he'd lost a step or two, and yes, he had some off the field incidents, but he went out trying his damnedest to bring a Super Bowl ring to the city of Atlanta. Ultimately, like the rest of the team, he came up short.

Does Turner belong in the Falcons Ring of Honor? I say yes. For every memory my dad has of William Andrews and Gerald Riggs, I can look back and say I had just as many good memories of Michael Turner. And while he may not ever come up in the NFL's all-time great running back list, he comes up in the Falcons' list, and that's good enough for me.