Monk is the only Hall of Famer from either group, but he credits others for his success as much as his own work ethic. “They’re acknowledging me,” he said, “but football is a team sport.” He believes that had it not been for the players around him — he listed off Clark, Williams, Brown, Sanders, quarterback Mark Rypien and “The Hogs” among several others — he would not be in the position to have his jersey retired.
“There are these great receivers on other teams…but didn’t have that type of support and weren’t able to display and show the success that they could have had in their careers.”
Monk recalls a sentiment from former head coach Joe Gibbs, who constantly reminded him and his teammates that “you’re not by yourself on this team.”
“You can’t survive,” Monk said. “You can’t succeed without the other … It wasn’t about me; it was about us as a team.”
Monk made sure he did his part — something he did better than most from the time he was first introduced to the sport.
“Obviously, you want to win when you play the game, but I just loved the game that much,” Monk said. “I just wanted to play it, and anytime I had the chance to do so…I did. And in doing that, it led me from one platform to another and obviously into the NFL. There’s nothing like it. There’s a high you get from it that you can’t get doing anything else.”
That’s one of several reasons why Monk’s teammates always returned that respect.
“You showed us what greatness looked like every single day in your work ethic and your humility and how you carried this franchise with dignity,” Clark told Monk. “You changed the standard for wide receivers not just here in Washington, but across the league.”
Monk knows he was a great wide receiver — there is too much evidence to suggest otherwise. His teammates will point to how hard he worked every day, practiced hard so he could be available each Sunday, and his consistent reliable production. They will point to how good of person he was and how he was there for them, both on and off the field, as the reason why it is an easy decision for the team to honor Monk in a manner that Clark said “should have been done a long time ago.”
Monk, however, would point his finger back at them.
“I can sit here and take all the credit, but a lot of the credit also goes to them and to the rest of my teammates because a team is a team,” Monk said. “One could not do their job without the other.”
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