According to multiple reports, one of the greatest kick returners to ever play the game of football is parting ways with the team that drafted him with the 57th overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft.

Devin Hester, the record-setting kick/punt returner for the Chicago Bears, will not return to the team next season and is set to become a free agent when free agency begins March 11.

While rumors swirled about his possible departure, Hester made it official March 5, posting the following message to his official Facebook page:

“To all my Chicago people...I can't thank you all enough for my time in Chicago. I've always said I wanted to retire a Chicago Bear but sometimes things don't work out the way we would like. Chicago will always hold a special place in my heart and if I am fortunate enough to break the return record, we will have all broken it together...no matter where I am. Thank you again and God Bless.”
Hester is one of the most recognizable players on the Bears roster, and helped to revitalize a team that struggled immensely before his arrival.  The Bears made an appearance in Super Bowl XLI behind a stout defense and five touchdown returns from Hester in his rookie season.

Hester has had a roller coaster of a career with the Bears, starting as a cornerback, then transitioning to wide receiver and ultimately being designated as solely a kick/punt returner this past season.

Through it all, Hester has still found a way to be one of, if not the most, exciting and explosive returners in the NFL.  The three-time pro-bowler, affectionately called “Anytime,” got your attention when he touched the ball, because any time he touched the ball, he had a chance to take it all the way to the house.

Hester has had some of the most memorable kick returns in the history of the NFL, so let’s take a look at the top five kick returns of his illustrious career with the Chicago Bears.

 

5. Hester strikes twice against Rams - 2006

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMSCOYU2chw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJOJh8qkW24

NFL teams eventually learned not to kick the ball to Hester.  Unfortunately for the St. Louis Rams in 2006, four returns for touchdowns were not enough to warrant kicking away from Hester.  The rookie tied and broke the single-season touchdown return record in this game, returning his fifth and sixth of the season in a 42-27 rout of the Rams on “Monday Night Football.”

4. Hester ignites Bears - 2010

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb2UUqXSbG4

The setting of this return is what earned it the No. 4 spot on my list.  Facing the division rival Green Bay Packers, and trailing 10-7 heading into the fourth quarter, Hester took this one to the house to give the Bears the lead in a game they would win, 20-17.  But the best part?  Hester jumps into the front row after scoring, creating his own version of the “Lambeau Leap” at Soldier Field.

3. Hester returns field goal - 2006

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D30wGnBBHY

Everyone knows Hester can return kickoffs and punts, but field goals too?  Hester takes this one back 108 yards, tying the record for longest play in the history of the NFL, a record that would later be broken.  Hester’s awesomeness is evident on this play, as he struts out of the end zone, glides up the sidelines and dives in for a touchdown.  With this return, Hester became just the third player in NFL history to return a field goal miss for a touchdown.

2. Hester completes comeback - 2006

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK-_4xlF4eQ

In one of the greatest comebacks in franchise history, the Bears trailed the Arizona Cardinals, 20-0, at halftime, only to take the lead late in the game on this punt return.  Down 23-17 with 3:17 to play, Hester dodged multiple Cardinals on his way to a touchdown, giving the Bears a 24-23 lead to cap off the impossible comeback.  Oh yeah, and you may remember that Cardinals head coach Dennis Green went crazy after this game in his famous “The Bears are who we thought they were!” rant.

1. Hester’s “Super” moment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVT91mNMS8A

Devin Hester lives for big moments.  So many of his returns came in prime time games, but what bigger stage is there to return a kick for a touchdown than in the Super Bowl? Hester did just this, taking the opening kickoff back for a touchdown.  Though the Bears went on to lose the game, this return holds a special place in the hearts of Bears fans.

What a ride it has been.  Devin Hester will forever be one of the greatest players to ever don a Bears uniform, and his name will forever be etched into the history books.  Hester is tied with Deion Sanders for the all-time record for special teams return touchdowns with 19.  He is also the NFL’s all-time punt return touchdown leader with 13, extending his own record on Oct. 20, 2013 with a punt return against the Washington Redskins.  This will go down as Hester’s last kick return for a touchdown in a Bears uniform.

Hester may very well latch on with a new team next season, and I personally believe he has a lot left in the tank.  He may even choose to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and his former head coach, Lovie Smith.  But no matter what path he chooses, Hester will go down as one of the greatest returners to ever touch a football.

So thanks, Devin, for all that you did and all of the joy you brought to Chicago Bears fans.  It was awesome eight years.  In the words of Bears' play-by-play man Jeff Joniak, “Devin Hester, you are ridiculous!”