SEATTLE _ Bobby Engram’s comeback really didn’t happen last year.
Oh, he played the final three games of the 2006 season after missing nine weeks with a thyroid condition that sapped his strength, occasionally tugged at his hope and, for a while, threatened his career.
But the true comeback didn’t happen until Engram, the Seattle Seahawks’ 34-year-old veteran receiver, knew he was fully healthy again.
And that wasn’t until long after the Seahawks’ 2006 season was over.
“It probably wasn’t until the offseason, when I got a chance to get back to my workouts, that I felt good again,” Engram said.
Sunday, Engram’s comeback reached its zenith when he caught five passes in the Seahawks’ 27-6 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. It gave him 90 catches for the season, a career single-season high and the most by a receiver in Seahawks history.
His third catch of the game, a 23-yarder to help set up the Seahawks’ first touchdown in the second quarter, broke the Seahawks record of 87 held by Darrell Jackson in 2004. Engram’s previous career best was 88 catches in 1999 when he played for the Chicago Bears.
“It’s great to break the record, but that’s not why I play the game,” he said. “It’s really good to get that win.”
Other Seahawks agree with that team-first approach, but they also say the Hawks are better this year because of Engram. And it’s not only because of what he does on the field.
Engram is known for his charity work and strong community and family values, and before Sunday’s game he was presented the team’s Steve Largent man of the year award.
“Obviously, his numbers help us on game day,” receiver Nate Burleson said. “But what he has done is a tribute to what he stands for and what he’s meant, not only to this organization but to the NFL. For him to be an older veteran being as fast, strong and quick as he is, complemented by his intelligence, everything is coming together for him.
“After what he went through last year, sitting on the sideline for something he wasn’t able to control, I’m glad he was able to break the record. There’s nobody more deserving.”
Nobody deserved what Engram experienced last year.
He played the first four games but, fatigued, he struggled to be the stellar receiver he’d always been — unable to fully use his skill and quickness to make plays.
He missed the fifth game, then the sixth and beyond as doctors searched for what was bothering him. Once it was identified as a thyroid problem, it became a matter of treating it and working himself back into shape.
Until then, it was brutal.
“I had basically my health and my career snatched from my grasp in two or three weeks,” he said. “We had to scramble to figure out why. Our medical team did an excellent job of diagnosing what was going on and once we figured out what I had to deal with, I was OK with that.
“It was just a battle to get back.”
He played the last three games of the 2006 season, catching six passes.
“I came back and I felt good, but there was still a little bit lacking,” he said. “But that’s just part of being an athlete. When you’re 14 or 15 games into the season, I don’t think anybody feels their best. It’s such a physical sport. I was fortunate to come back and I wasn’t going to let 10 or 15 percent keep me out of the game.”
After all, he’d already experienced the lowest, when he wondered if his career would ever return to what it was.
“It was a tremendous setback,” Engram said. “Especially being as late as it was in my career. A lot of people asked a lot of questions. But I’m most proud that I came back and I was ready for this opportunity.”
The Seahawks know they might be a different team without him.
Engram has been a key receiver during periods this season when the Hawks lost two other receivers, Deion Branch and D.J. Hackett, to injuries.
“He is playing well, he is playing quick, he is playing fast,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “I know he’s older but he doesn’t look it. He has had more opportunities and he has taken advantage of them.”
After Engram made his 88th catch, to set the Seahawks record, he stepped toward the edge of the field, clutched the football and pointed high into the stadium. He said it was a salute to his wife, Deanna.
“We’ve been through a lot together in the 12 years of my career,” he said. “She’s always been there regardless of what’s gone on, and I was just letting her know I appreciate that.”
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