Look: Former Saints center Max Unger sheds 60 pounds in retirement

Max Unger started every game he played in 10 years with the New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks, and has dropped 60 pounds in retirement

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It’s not easy to maintain the bodies NFL offensive linemen work with every day. Between constant workouts and diets that reel in 5,000 calories at a minimum, more and more players have started looking forward to retirement as a time to cut back and drop the excess muscle mass their jobs demand.

One example is longtime Cleveland Browns left tackle Joe Thomas, who transformed his body after retiring back in 2017. Prominent Baltimore Ravens guard Marshal Yanda lost 45 pounds in three months after hanging up his cleats earlier this offseason. And while he hasn’t documented his own weight loss journey on social media, retired New Orleans Saints center Max Unger has also worked his way down to 240 pounds from his 300-pound playing weight:

Unger spoke with the New Orleans media in a Monday teleconference call, where he talked about his adjustment to life after football. He was eager to get a more-manageable weight for the personal health benefits.

He also credited the player who replaced him, top 2019 draft pick Erik McCoy, and added that he’d chatted with Saints offensive line coach Dan Roushar a few times about the rookie’s progress. Whether or not McCoy holds onto the starting job with first-round prospect Cesar Ruiz pushing him, Unger’s confident that things are in good hands up front in New Orleans.

Acquired in a 2015 trade with the Seattle Seahawks, Unger started all 142 games he played professionally (including the playoffs; 67 of those games were with the Saints) before retiring in 2019, citing injuries that had worn down his body after a decade in the NFL. Having gone out on his own terms, he’s now happy to kick back and watch his former teams chase Super Bowl rings like any other fan.

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