Too often, transactions like the one that passed through the wire yesterday go unnoticed.

Patriots release OG Kendall Simmons

Here's a guy who in the seventh, and possibly final, season of his NFL career. He was once a stalwart for some pretty good Steeler lines. Yet, this could be how his run, and the runs of so many pro football players, comes to an end.

"Kendall really worked hard," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said yesterday. "I really have a lot of admiration for him, he’s a pro. He came to work early, stayed late, worked hard. [We’re] just managing the roster here. That’s part of it. It was definitely not something we were looking to do, but we’ve got to try to manage our team. "

If you were there, you could tell that Belichick was hardly excited to pull the trigger on this one. He had to do it. Doesn't mean he was excited to do it.

So long as his money's properly managed, Simmons made enough as a former first-round pick -- who signed a four-year, $24 million extension in 2007 -- to last a lifetime. He's got two Super Bowl rings, and an NFL pension coming. No one's crying for him.

But in light of all the labor issues to come, I think it's at least a little instructive to look at this case and see how quickly it can end for these guys. Simmons ruptured his Achilles tendon just over a year ago, at a time when he was a rock for a team that would win the Super Bowl, and for now, he's out of football.

Maybe he'll get back in, maybe not. That's the nature of the business. It can be over that quick.