TEMPE, Ariz. -- Karlos Dansby needs one interception to join the exclusive 40 sacks-20 interceptions club. If -- or when, according to Dansby -- that happens, then the Arizona Cardinals linebacker believes it will punch his ticket to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“Without a doubt,” the 35-year-old Dansby told ESPN. “I set a mark to do it when I first came into the league. I said I wanted a yellow jacket and all these guys in this club are getting a yellow jacket. So if I get in this club, I should have a yellow jacket. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. Don’t even care about the Pro Bowl. It don’t carry no weight. I’ve been to a Super Bowl. I’ve played in a Super Bowl. I got an interception in a Super Bowl. ... I did everything. What else is there to do? I’ve done everything and I’ve done it with no pub, no Pro Bowls, no nothing, and I’ve got all these stats.
“I’m one of the best to ever play the game and I know that, and that’s the way I approach it.”
Dansby enters his 14th season with 42 career sacks and 19 interceptions. Should he reach the elusive milestone in 2017, he’ll be the fifth player in the 40-20 club, joining Ray Lewis (41.5 and 31), Brian Urlacher (41.5 and 22), Seth Joyner (52 and 24) and Wilber Marshall (45 and 23).
None of those four are in the Hall of Fame yet, however Lewis and Urlacher will be eligible for enshrinement next year.
Getting that 20th interception is constantly on Dansby’s mind. To him, it would provide validation, proof to himself that his place in the NFL record books will be secure.
“Man, it’d be a historic moment,” he said. “I don’t think anybody else is as close as me. The way this game is evolving, it’s going to be hard for guys to get those numbers. I’m the last Mohican, I guess. I want to be that. I want to be among the elite to ever play the game. I want to be the best to ever do it.”
None of the 10 players in the 20-20 club are active, which would leave Dansby’s place as the last entrant to the 40-20 club safe for the time being.
Never short on self-confidence, Dansby provided some proof and context for why he thinks he’s among the best inside linebackers ever.
“I’ve been able to do it with playing every position at linebacker,” he said. “Nobody else has been able to do that. Other guys that have been in there, they’ve been in one position their whole career and I’ve been able to do it from Sam to Mike to Will, 4-3, 3-4. I’ve changed defenses, three, four times in my career, so I feel like I’m one of the best ever.
“Might be the best ever.”
But as important as the 40-20 club is to Dansby, who is in his third stint with the Cardinals since he was drafted by Arizona in 2004, there’s one thing that trumps it.
“Title,” he said. “By far.
“Gold jacket’s No. 2. A title is No. 1. You get that title, that says a lot. That says a lot about your team. The guys around you and how y’all just really respected the process the whole way through. When you win that title, man, it’s a different animal. It’s a totally different animal.”