The NFL's concussion era has raised the moral question of what the league can do to protect players who don't appear to want to protect themselves.
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"I'd rather have the experience of playing in the NFL and die 10 to 15 years earlier than not play in the NFL and have a long life," Conte said Monday on WBBM Radio (via Chicago Tribune, h/t PFT).
"I don't really look toward my life after football. I'll figure things out when I get there. As long as I outlive my parents."
Conte, who turns 26 in February, has been beset by injuries throughout his short career, and especially this season: back (which kept him out Monday against the New Orleans Saints), shoulder and eye ailments, and, maybe worst of all, mutliple concussions. Of the 12 games Conte has played this season, he has been unable to finish seven of them.
The subject of Bears fan ridicule, Conte — Soldier Field fans cheered when it was announced Conte was out with a back injury in Week 14 against the Dallas Cowboys — has sacrificed his body for the team and has kept a starting position, tied for the team lead in interceptions this season.
But at what cost?
Conte is a free-agent-to-be and very well could look for work elsewhere next season. He has no intention, it appears, to stop playing despite the physical and mental toll.
"I'm not saying I'm going to go die when I'm 45, 50," he said. "I'm fortunate to go out and play football."
And, outside the constraints of supply and demands of the NFL's free market, there might be little standing in his way to seek doing so.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
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