Last playoff hurrah for these Seahawks?

KIRKLAND — Robbie Tobeck, Mack Strong and Chris Gray boast 40 seasons of combined NFL experience, along with the clarity to explain the rarity of their playoff opportunity Saturday.

They returned to the Seahawks this season for another playoff run. They endured injuries — a hip abscess that included a hospital stay (Tobeck), a sore ankle (Strong) and a thigh contusion (Gray) that ended a team record of consecutive regular-season starts.

And because they account for 586 games played — only 22 of which were in the playoffs — they know this run could be their last. A possibility for Strong and Gray, and a certainty for Tobeck, who confirmed this week what most expected, telling The Times he will retire after this season.

"The guys coming out of college are still riding that college high," Strong said. "They think they have a lot of time. The actuality of it is that's just not true, that's not real. There are few guys like Tom Brady, they come into the league, play in three Super Bowls. That's one in a million."

That's why this playoff opportunity means more to Robbie Tobeck.

He spent part of this season in the hospital, tubes and wires snaking around his body, while doctors drained an accumulation of fluid in his left hip. Tobeck wondered if he would even practice again.

His four children often came to visit, the shock evident on their faces. Tobeck, 36, didn't worry about football then. He worried about life.

"Very scary," Tobeck said. "The only one that wasn't scared was my son Madden. He said if dad dies, he gets the pool."

Tobeck lost 25 pounds. He missed his teammates, even though they also came to visit, missed them so much that when he started working out again he timed his arrival to correspond with the offensive line's meeting break. That way he wouldn't miss the banter.

Doctors cleared Tobeck to return on the Thursday before the regular-season finale, surprised at how quickly the hip healed. Just practicing means something now. It means he's part of it again, for however long this season lasts.

Before he signed with the Seahawks, Tobeck played six seasons in Atlanta and made the playoffs only twice. He's proud of the Seahawks' recent run — four playoff appearances in a row, three consecutive division titles. A legacy, Tobeck calls it.

"That's something I'll remember," Tobeck said. "Our younger guys don't realize that. There are guys on our team who never went through losing seasons. But it's like your kids. You hope they never have to go through your struggles, the 3-13 years you've been through."

And next year?

"I've made my decision," said Tobeck, who will work as an insurance broker. "I'm going to retire."

That's why this playoff opportunity means more to Mack Strong.

The Seahawks' ageless fullback has been outrunning the word "retirement" for so long he can laugh about it now. All while making the Pro Bowl the past two seasons.

Strong, 35, played each of his 14 seasons (one on the practice squad) with the Seahawks, failing to make the playoffs until 1999. He remembers the years when the end of the regular season felt like going through the motions. So sometimes he talks to younger players about the rarity, so "they know how fleeting it can be."

"I've been to the playoffs five times," Strong said. "That's less than half. Look at Pittsburgh. They go from winning the Super to not even making the playoffs."

Strong admits the Seahawks' playoff potential this season factored heavily in his decision to return. Same goes for this offseason, when Strong will again assess his options.

"I'm going to go until I feel like I don't have the desire anymore," he said. "Because when you do decide to give it up, you can't go back."

That's why this playoff opportunity means more to Chris Gray.

The guard watched the Seahawks' regular-season finale against Tampa Bay from his living room, the first regular-season start he missed after 121 consecutive. The thigh contusion still hurts, but Gray hopes to play anyway Saturday. Coach Mike Holmgren said the Seahawks likely won't make a decision until "the last minute."

Gray said he hopes to play "one or two" more seasons. He knows neither offer a playoff guarantee.

"You definitely think about it more when you get to my age," said Gray, who is 36. "Because you know you don't have many chances left."

Together, Tobeck, Strong and Gray helped the Seahawks build the most productive and sustained offense in team history. Tobeck and Strong were undrafted free agents and Gray a fifth-round draft choice by Miami — each a testament to consistency and productivity, if not the star power of their offensive teammates.

And while aging and retirement are inevitable, each knows playoff opportunities, like the one Saturday, are not.

"They've helped teach me the game and brought me to where I am now," running back Shaun Alexander said. "So it would be an honor for me to help finish things off. This really could be their last games. So there's extra meaning there for everybody."

Greg Bishop: 206-464-3191 or gbishop@seattletimes.com