After over a week or so of training camp a former Kansas City Chiefs draft pick has decided to call it a career.
According to Newsday’s Tom Rock, former Chiefs guard Zach Fulton has retired from the NFL. He signed a one-year contract worth $1.2 million with the New York Giants this offseason. The 29-year-old played seven seasons in the NFL, including four seasons with the Chiefs from 2014-2017.
Fulton was picked up by Kansas City in the sixth round of the 2014 draft out of the University of Tennessee. In 63 games including 46 career starts, Fulton acted as the Chiefs’ super-utility lineman. He played meaningful minutes at all three interior offensive line positions, protecting Alex Smith and paving the way for running backs like Jamaal Charles, Knile Davis, Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West.
Giants are going to run out of gold watches. Another vet has retired. This time it’s OL Zach Fulton, who informed the team of his decision last night. Fulton joins Todd Davis, Joe Looney and Kelvin Benjamin as guys who have hung ‘em up so far this training camp.
— Tom Rock (@TomRock_Newsday) August 6, 2021
In 2017, Fulton left the team in free agency to sign with the Houston Texans on a three-year deal worth over $28 million. Kansas City couldn’t match at the time with big-money contracts on the offensive line in Eric Fisher, Mitchell Schwartz and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif.
Fulton made 44 starts for Houston over the past three years, settling in at the right guard position. He was one of the more reliable protectors for Texans QB Deshaun Watson during that span.
Fulton was in the mix to earn a starting job at guard with the Giants, especially with a recent injury to RG Shane Lemieux. New York has seen a wave of retirements recently with four players announcing their retirement this past week, including Fulton. The wave of retirements, with two coming on the offensive line, suggests that something more is at play in the big apple.
