Patriots WR Jalen Hurd retires after camp injury spoils comeback bid

Jalen Hurd is officially retiring from football.

Jalen Hurd’s NFL comeback bid has officially come to an end.

On Tuesday, the former third-round draft pick announced his retirement from football, following an undisclosed training camp injury. It was a tough end to a career that never really got off the ground for Hurd.

After being drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in 2019, he was placed on injured reserve with a back injury. He then tore his ACL ahead of the 2020 season at training camp, before he was ultimately released by the 49ers after going down with another knee injury in 2021.

Hurd signed with the Patriots in late July in an attempt at a comeback after skipping the 2022 season. He was a long-shot to make the roster, but there was hope he could stick around on the practice squad and give himself an opportunity to play at least one NFL snap.

But unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be.

It feels completely unfair given Hurd’s incredible athleticism, which he flashed at times at Patriots training camp.

That still doesn’t change the fact that he had a stellar football career in college, and he got to live out his dream of being drafted. Few human beings on this planet could say they’ve accomplished either one of those two things.

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