Greer was the first pick from the Cardinals in the 1980 NFL draft. He missed a few games in his rookie season after suffering a concussion and ended the season in injured reserve after breaking his thumb in a loss against the Philadelphia Eagles.[6][7] He recorded 30 sacks in 1983–84 and 37.5 in a 41-game stretch of the strike-shortened 1982 season and from 1983 to 1985, whose total was the second best in the National Football League for that period, behind Dexter Manley of the Washington Redskins.[8] In 1983, he had 16 sacks, second in the National Football Conference, behind future Pro Football Hall of FamerFred Dean.[9] He had 4.5 sacks in the final game of the season against the Philadelphia Eagles.[9] In 1984 Greer was named a second-team All-NFC selection by UPI and finished third in the league with 14 sacks while starting in 52 consecutive games.[10] He played the final five games of the 1985 season with swelling in his right knee, and led his team in sacks the first six years in the league.[8][10]
He underwent knee surgery prior to the start of the 1986 season and was expected to miss the first six weeks of the season.[11] However, the extent of the injuries to his knee proved to be significant and he missed the entire 1986 season.[8] He developed early signs of rheumatoid arthritis in his good knee, ligament damage in his other knee and fluid in his ankle.[8] He was expected to retire by the Cardinals staff prior to the start of the 1987 season, but he decided to return for a final year, despite doctors warnings about his knee.[8] He was among the players who crossed the picket line during the 1987 NFL strike.[12] That year, he played in 10 games, starting nine of them and recorded six sacks. He retired at season's end.
References
^"Curtis Greer". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 24, 2015.