Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly announced his retirement in an emotional video released by the team last night. The news came as a shock. After all, he still had two years left on his contract and was still playing the game at a relatively high level, even if it no longer matched his high standard.
Walking away now means Kuechly joins a growing list of NFL superstars who decided to hang it up early. Here are some of the best of them.
49ers LB Patrick Willis
Stats: 112 games, 950 combined tackles, 60 tackles for a loss, 20.5 sacks, eight interceptions, 16 forced fumbles
Awards: Defensive Rookie of the Year, seven Pro Bowls, five first-team All Pros
What happened: Willis’ career was eerily similar to Kuechly’s. For a while he was the top middle linebacker in the game. Injuries cut his career short, though. At different points, he had hand, knee, toe and Achilles injuries. Six weeks into the 2014 season, he was put on injured reserve. He never played another game and officially retired March 10, 2015.
Lions RB Barry Sanders
Stats: 153 games, 15,269 rushing yards, 99 rushing touchdowns
Awards: Offensive Rookie of the Year, 10 Pro Bowls, six first-team All-Pros, one MVP, Hall of Fame
What happened: Sanders was the original great to walk away early. Unlike most, it had little to do with injuries. As electrifying as Sanders’ game was, the Lions just couldn’t win in the playoffs and he eventually grew tired of it. Rather than continue working for a mediocre franchise, Sanders stepped away when he was 30 years old.
Lions WR Calvin Johnson
Stats: 135 games, 11,619 receiving yards, 83 receiving touchdowns
Awards: All-Rookie team, six Pro Bowls, three First Team All-Pros
What happened: Sanders wasn’t the only one who got frustrated with Detroit’s sad history. Johnson’s Lions teams fared no better and he only played two career postseason games. Losing was only half the equation with Megatron, though. He also played hurt the last several years of his career and was on the injury report practically every week. Johnson was also 30.
Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski
Stats: 115 games, 7,861 receiving yards, 79 receiving touchdowns
Awards: All-Rookie team, Comeback Player of the Year, five Pro Bowls, four First Team All-Pros, three Super Bowl wins
What happened: Gronk was arguably the best tight end to ever play the game and he had a huge role in Tom Brady’s success. Like Johnson, he who took a lot of punishment over the years, though. He never played a full season after 2011 and missed 29 games in his career with a variety of injuries. After the 2018 season, Gronkowski announced his retirement when he was 29.
Colts QB Andrew Luck
Stats: 86 games, 23,671 passing yards, 171 passing touchdowns
Awards: Comeback Player of the Year, four Pro Bowls, two Player of the Month awards
What happened: Much like Cam Newton, Luck took a beating behind a bad offensive line in the early part of his career. He even suffered a lacerated kidney at one point. After sitting out the 2017 season, Luck seemed to be back to his old self and performing like a potential MVP quarterback again. He only played one more year, though. Luck stunned the sports world by retiring a few days before he turned 30.
Panthers LB Luke Kuechly
Stats: 118 games, 1,092 combined tackles, 18 interceptions, 12.5 sacks
Awards: Defensive Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, seven Pro Bowls, five First Team All-Pros
What happened: We don’t know exactly why Kuechly decided to walk away at this point. Reading between the lines it’s not hard to imagine that his health is the main reason. Kuechly has had several documented concussions as well as shoulder and labrum injuries. He leaves at just 28 years old.
