Gold Jacket Spotlight: Recalling Walter Jones’ special friendship with Cortez Kennedy
WALTER JONES won countless matchups as an all-decade offensive tackle, but his toughest rep might have been winning over teammate CORTEZ KENNEDY. This week’s Gold Jacket Spotlight features the friendship formed in the trenches between the two members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Walter entered the league as the sixth overall pick in the 1997 NFL Draft. While his size and skill were undeniable, every rookie must prove he belongs in an NFL locker room. At that time, Cortez was the gatekeeper for respect in Seattle.
“Coming in as a rookie ‘Tez’ was the team,” Walter said in an interview. “He was the guy you had to meet once you got there, and the guy you had to gain the respect of.”
In another interview, Walter put it this way: “He was tough on me as a rookie. There were many times I tried to come in and say something, and he’d say, ‘Shut up, rookie. If I want your 2 cents, I’ll take it.' ”
It took three seasons for Cortez to embrace Walter fully. The two faced off in a one-on-one drill at practice. After their battle, their connection started to build. The two — quite literally — needed to butt heads before their friendship blossomed.
“Once he realized that I would go down in that foxhole with him, I gained respect from him,” Walter said of Cortez.
Walter credits Cortez with teaching him how to be a professional in the building. Around the organization, Cortez was known as a loving soul who cared about everyone. He taught Walter the value of people outside the locker room. Showing him that they, too, are an important part of the team.
Cortez also gave Walter his praise from time to time. During his enshrinement into the Hall of Fame in 2012, Cortez let Walter know that his time in Canton would come.
And it did, two years later.
“When Tez got in, it was my first time in Canton,” Walter said in a video tribute to Cortez. “I’d never been to the Hall of Fame, and I remember he looked at me and said, ‘Walt you’re next.’ ”
On May 23, 2017, Cortez Kennedy passed away at the age of 48. Walter received several interview requests following the tragic news. He used those platforms to share how Cortez was always there to check on him.
“Tez was good at calling you at the randomest times,” Walter recounted. “He would always check up on you. It could be 2 o’clock in the morning. He’s calling you asking you how you’re doing and how your family’s doing.”
At Cortez’s funeral, Walter discovered the check-in calls he received weren’t made exclusively to him.
“I went to the funeral, and everybody was there,” Walter told the Seahawks creative team. “The thing people kept saying was that ‘he would check on me anytime of the night.’ I felt like, ‘Wow he wasn’t just doing that with me; he was doing it with everybody.’ ”
Walter honors the memory of his friend with an initiative called the “96 Check.” Every year on Sept. 6 (9/6, corresponding to Cortez’s uniform number), Walter encourages former players and friends to call people they’ve lost touch with to reconnect.
“Once you leave the game, you sometimes forget to reach out to that guy you played with who sometimes crosses your mind,” Walter told a reporter. “I’ve called guys who told me down the road that they really needed that, and that they were going through some tough things.”
While Walter encourages people to practice the “96 Check” every day, there’s one call he never fails to make each September: to Courtney Kennedy, Cortez’s daughter.
“She’s becoming an amazing young lady,” Walter said on the “In the Front Row” podcast with Mike Vaccaro. “I’m always watching her and always there to let her know, ‘If you ever need anything, I’m here for you.’ ”
“Just as my dad would have taken someone under their wing, that’s the same thing he did for me,” Courtney told NFL Films about Walter. “It’s just letting someone know that you genuinely care about them. And who doesn’t like knowing they’re cared for?”
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