Ironman was at his best in 2012

The News-Herald is ranking the 25 best individual football seasons — high school, college or pro — for area players from the last 25 years. PLAYER » London Fletcher N-H RANKING » No. 16 YEAR » 2012 NFL TEAM » Washington Redskins COLLEGE » John Carroll HIGH SCHOOL » Villa Angela St. Joseph WHY HE’S RANKED » In Fletcher’s second-to-last NFL season, Fletcher was still playing at a high level. The 2012 season was his 15th in the NFL, and he retired after his 16th in 2013.

He finished his career as the NFL’s all-time ironman at linebacker with 215 consecutive starts. He also won a Super Bowl with the Rams, and played in another, and had another stint with the Bills.

Fletcher is one of five players to have their football number retired at John Carroll, joining Don Shula, Willie Beers, Carl Taseff and Tim Barrett. As a senior at JCU, he made 202 tackles. THE SKINNY » Fletcher’s 2012 season was arguably the best of his NFL career. He was named second-team All-Pro for the second straight season, despite reportedly playing most of the season nursing a hamstring injury. At age 37, he recorded 137 tackles with a career-high five interceptions. He also broke up 11 passes and had three sacks. As a team, the Redskins went from worst to first in the NFC East with a 10-6 record. HE SAID IT » “It was one of them. It pissed me off. Even now I still get pissed off. I still don’t know that people gave me my due respect for my production. It was a motivating factor for a number of years in my career. That feeling never really went away.” — Fletcher to Sports Illustrated in 2014 on if he felt under appreciated in his NFL career and if that motivated him

“I think my career was Hall of Fame-worthy. I don’t have a vote, but when you look at the other linebackers who were Hall of Famers,

and you look at every possible measuring stick, you can’t discredit me. I don’t see how it’s a debate, but it’s hard because one of the things I’ve always tried to be is a humble player and a humble person. I don’t want to send the wrong message. But I think when you look at the productivity, the durability, the longevity, I’m in there.” — Fletcher in same SI interview WHERE IS HE NOW? » Fletcher and his wife, Charne, live in Charlotte, N.C., with their three children. He was an analyst on CBS Sports’ “That Other Pregame Show” from 2014 to 2015.

NICK WASS — ASSOCIATED PRESS Redskins linebacker London Fletcher had one of his best NFL seasons in 2012.