A former Seattle Seahawks fan favorite has decided to hang up his NFL cleats after finishing his career with the Washington Commanders. It isn't Bobby Wagner, though. Not yet. Instead, Nick Bellore has retired.
Bellore was the best kind of journeyman in the league. He endeared himself to 12s by doing whatever the team asked him to do and performed at a fairly good level in limited reps. Twice, he made the Pro Bowl as a special-teamer. He was listed as a fullback at times and a linebacker at others.
Before he retired on Monday, the Swiss Army knife player was 13th in games played among all active players. In other words, even while lacking what most teams would call an elite skill in any specific aspect, he was able to carve out a niche for himself that made him valuable to various teams.
Former Seattle Seahawks fan favorite Nick Bellore retires
In one preseason game for Seattle, he was tasked with playing linebacker and led the team in tackles. While he didn't get much of a chance to do that in real games, the implication was clear: If Bellore was asked to play a certain spot, he likely could do so quite well.
More importantly, the everything-player was a fantastic voice in the locker room, helping keep his teammates focused with his approach but also his humor. That includes doing a series on the official Seahawks website that was inspired by comedian Zachary Galifianakis's Between Two Ferns. Only, the Seattle player's series was Between Two Bellores.
People who only knew the player from the web series might have assumed he wasn't a serious person. Instead, he could make his teammates laugh while also being extremely focused on his mission on the field. He didn't mind hitting opposing ball-carriers in the third phase of the game, and that also inspired other Seahawks.
Besides his five seasons with the Seattle Seahawks (making the aforementioned Pro Bowls in 2020 and 2023), Nick Bellore played for the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, and, in the last two seasons, the Washington Commanders.
He isn't going to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day, but if there was a Hall for underrated glue guys, Bellore would be a first-ballot inductee. He made his teams better, he made the sport fun for fans, and he was darn good at what he did. The NFL could use more Nick Bellores, even if the real one, sadly, just retired.
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