Tag: retired

Florida State announces plans to retire Jameis Winston’s college jersey

Florida State announced plans to retire Jameis Winston’s college jersey at Saturday’s game versus North Alabama:

Now this is cool: Florida State announced plans to retire Jameis Winston’s college jersey at Saturday’s game versus North Alabama, recognizing the New Orleans Saints quarterback for his accomplishments in Tallahassee. Winston led the school to a 14-0 record and a Rose Bowl win back in 2013, setting the stage for a College Football Playoff run in his 2014 sophomore season.

Winston only played two years at Florida State, but he left with the fourth-most career passing yards (7,964) and second-most touchdown passes (65) in school history, plus a 26-1 record.

And now, a decade since he turned pro, Winston will see the jersey he wore honored in an exclusive group. He’s just the eleventh player to earn this recognition at Florida State, joining the likes of Fred Biletnikoff, Derrick Brooks, Terrell Buckley, Warrick Dunn, Marvin Jones, Deion Sanders, Ron Sellers, Ron Simmons, Charlie Ward and Chris Weinke.

Good for him. Winston’s jersey will be retired in a ceremony at the end of the first quarter in Saturday’s home game at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. It’s also senior night, and kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT with television coverage on The CW network.

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Notre Dame great retires from NFL

Tip of the cap to Tuitt for a fantastic football career

Notre Dame has had very few players as impactful as [autotag]Stephon Tuitt[/autotag] over the last couple of decades and it was no surprise when he turned into a second round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2014.

On Wednesday Tuitt announced his retirement from the NFL.

Tuitt played in 91 regular season games for the Steelers since then, starting 79 of them and recording 34.5 sacks along the way.  Tuitt also played a part on five different Steelers teams that reached the postseason.

Much speculation had been had about if Tuitt would return to the Steelers in 2022 after missing 2021 due to his brother’s untimely death and a back injury that showed up in training camp.

All the best in retirement to one of the best to ever do it at Notre Dame.

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Former Alabama first round pick Jahmyr Gibbs set to have high school jersey retired

Former Alabama first-round pick Jahmyr Gibbs set to have his high school number retired

Jahmyr Gibbs spent the first two years of his collegiate career with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets where he was the first-team All-ACC running back in 2021. Gibbs transferred to Alabama ahead of the 2022 season as he wanted to play for a national championship contender. Improving his NFL draft stock was also another key factor in Gibbs’ decision to join the Tide.

Despite spending only one season with the Crimson Tide, Gibbs was sensational. In just 12 games with Alabama, Gibbs led the Tide’s ground attack with 151 carries for 926 yards and 15 touchdowns. He was also the top option in Alabama’s receiving game as he led the way with 44 receptions that were good for 444 yards and three touchdowns. As if that wasn’t enough somehow, he was also a nice addition in the special teams game with 13 returns for 258 yards (23.9 YPA). Gibbs’ sensational 2022 campaign skyrocketed his draft status all he was eventually selected No. 12 overall by the Detroit Lions.

Long before Gibbs was an Alabama standout or an NFL first-round selection, he was a high school legend.

Gibbs played his high school ball for Dalton High School in Georgia. Gibbs was a top 50 recruit in the country and the No. 4 ranked RB in the 2020 recruiting cycle. He played in 32 varsity football games over three years and had 530 carries for 4882 yards and 70 touchdowns. However,  a remarkable senior season put Gibbs on the map with 233 carries for 2,554 yards and 40 touchdowns.

Dalton High School recently announced that they would be retiring Gibbs’s high school jersey number. Gibbs wore No. 1 for Dalton and will be the last player to ever do so.

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Notre Dame quarterback retires from football

All the best to him going forward

Notre Dame’s quarterback room will look even more different than expected in 2023. Not just because transfer Sam Hartman enters as the projected starter or because Drew Pyne left for Arizona State, but because a veteran backup signal-caller has retired due to a medical reason.

Ron Powlus III has medically retired from the Notre Dame football team.  Powlus spent the last two seasons on Notre Dame’s bench, and with the talent brought in at the position (Hartman and freshman Kenny Minchey), he wasn’t expected to compete for playing time this year or next.

According to Blue and Gold Illustrated, the retirement of Powlus means a walk-on freshman that Marcus Freeman hadn’t even met until Wednesday morning is now the fifth rostered quarterback.

Powlus III, who played high school football locally at Penn, will almost certainly remain close to the Notre Dame program as his father, former Notre Dame quarterback Ron Powlus, remains a senior associate athletic director.

All the best to the younger Ron going forward.

Saints have 4 players accounting for $5 million in dead money for 2023

The New Orleans Saints have four players accounting for $5 million in dead money for 2023, but that number could soon increase five or six times over:

There’s a lot of work to be done in getting the new Orleans Saints under the 2023 salary cap, but don’t blame players no longer on the roster. For once, the Saints don’t have many dead money commitments from past retirements and roster mistakes — just four players are on the books right now who won’t be playing for New Orleans in the fall. As things currently stand, they won’t have any dead money leftover at all in 2024. It’s the healthiest this area of the operation has been in years.

But it won’t last. While the Saints are forfeiting $5,038,479 right now in dead money (per Over The Cap), that number could increase five times over in just a few weeks should a couple of free agents sign with other teams. And any players designated as post-June 1 cuts will factor into the 2024 salary cap mathematics. Let’s break it down:

Two-time Packers QB Blake Bortles retires from NFL

Blake Bortles, who spent two different stints with the Packers in 2021, has retired from the NFL.

Quarterback Blake Bortles, who spent two different stints with the Green Bay Packers during the 2021 season, has retired from the National Football League, per Pardon My Take.

Bortles, the third overall pick in 2014, played in 78 career games and threw 103 touchdown passes but never saw the field for the Packers.

The Aaron Rodgers saga pushed the Packers to sign Bortles as a veteran option in May of 2021. After Rodgers returned to the team before training camp, Bortles was released.

He returned as a backup on the practice squad after Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19 in November. The Packers elevated him to the gameday roster as the backup for Jordan Love against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Bortles, who turned 30 in April, played for five NFL teams, including a brief stint with the New Orleans Saints.

The Packers faced Bortles as a starting quarterback just once, beating him and the Jaguars 27-23 in Week 1 of the 2016 season. Bortles threw for 320 yards but was intercepted once and sacked three times.

Bortles was the third pick in 2014. Current Packer receiver Sammy Watkins was the fourth overall pick. Bortles and Watkins are two of only four players in the top 17 picks of that draft to never make a Pro Bowl. The Packers took safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix with the 21st overall pick in 2014.

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Former Jaguars QB Blake Bortles says he’s ‘officially retired’

Blake Bortles still owns the Jaguars franchise records for passing yards and passing touchdowns in a season.

Former Jacksonville Jaguars starting quarterback Blake Bortles is “officially retired,” he revealed on a podcast Tuesday.

“I have not touched a football since January,” Bortles said on an episode of Pardon My Take. “I quietly, I didn’t tell anybody, I retired. I guess you guys are kind of the first to hear it publicly, maybe.”

When asked if he’d be willing to come out of retirement for a two-year, $15 million contract, he said “absolutely.”

“I’m pretty set with where I’m at with the decision,” Bortles said. “I think if someone were dumb enough to offer that kind of money, it’s kind of hard to pass on.”

Bortles, 30, was the third overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft and took over as the Jaguars’ starter early in his rookie year. In his second season, Bortles set franchise records which still stand for passing yards (4,428) and passing touchdowns (35), although he also threw a league-leading 18 interceptions that year.

In 2017, with Bortles still starting at quarterback, the Jaguars reached the AFC Championship, although it was primarily a credit to the NFL’s second ranked defense and top ranked rushing offense.

Bortles re-signed with the Jaguars after that season on a three-year, $54 million deal, but was benched late in the 2018 season. Jacksonville released Bortles in March 2019 on the same day the team signed Nick Foles.

After his tenure with the Jaguars, Bortles spent time as a backup with the Los Angeles Rams, and was on the practice squads of the Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers. Earlier this year, he signed a reserve/future contract with the New Orleans Saints, but was released in April after the team added Andy Dalton.

Bortles had a 24-49 record in his five seasons as a starter with the Jaguars with 103 touchdowns and 75 interceptions. He’s second in franchise history in passing yards and passing touchdowns, and he’s eighth in rushing yards.

Chris Carson saw numerous specialists but still couldn’t pass physical

Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Carson saw numerous medical specialists but still couldn’t pass his physical leading to his release.

The Seattle Seahawks released running back Chris Carson on Tuesday with a failed physical designation due to a neck injury he sustained last year. The team had waited patiently all offseason with the hopes that Carson would eventually recover.

“It’s a big disappointment,” general manager John Schneider said via the team’s press release. “We took it as long as we possibly could with him, he saw a number of specialists, but unfortunately he wasn’t able to pass our physical.”

Carson was sidelined early last season after the injury and was not able to return to finish the year. Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Carson will hold off making an official retirement statement for now in the hopes of a dramatic improvement in the future.

“He’s been an incredible pro, a guy who brings an amazing energy about him,” Schneider continued. “His running style is what we’ve always wanted here in Seattle. He’s the type of runner that the whole team feeds off of. The type of player defensive players get off the bench to watch him run—they can feel his energy.

“He’s the type of runner whose style affects the whole team, not just the offense.”

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Cameron Jordan on Sean Payton’s sudden retirement: ‘I took it personal’

Cameron Jordan reflects on Sean Payton’s sudden retirement, admitting “I took it personal”

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A lot has been said about the New Orleans Saints hiring Dennis Allen as head coach to help preserve the team’s culture, and few players stand taller in the locker room than Cameron Jordan. Jordan spoke about the transition during a recent appearance on the Rich Eisen Show. When asked about this immediate reaction to news that Sean Payton was stepping down from his post, Jordan reflected on a couple of awkward days in which he had to gather his thoughts.

“I went social media dark, I had to figure out my feelings first. It’s like when your life asks you how you feel about the new couch, I have to sit in it first,” Jordan joked.

Jordan is the longest-tenured player on the team, having started nearly every game he’s played since being drafted way back in 2011. As he went on to say, life without Payton was going to hit him harder than most: “There’s a lot of factors that go into my head coach, the only head coach that I’ve had in the NFL taking a reprieve, or a sabbatical, or whatever he’s going to call it. Because he didn’t say he’s done coaching, in fact he said ‘I look forward to coaching again,’ right? So you’re saying he’s done with me? I took it personal.”

Sure, Jordan felt empathy for Payton after so many years on the job. Few people have had a front row seat to the work Payton has put in. He continued:

“Look as a business decision he put 16 years of his life into the Saints. You know the amount of work that goes into being a head coach. I’ve seen him have the cot in the room, spending multiple days there, I know how intuitive his offense, Drew, everybody was, tweaking the machine that was the New Orleans Saints offense for so many years. That takes a toll.”

But at the end of the day, Payton’s decision to bow out now didn’t sit well with Jordan. He reflected on all the challenges their team overcame last season, and how now he and his teammates have got to keep on moving without the only head coach they’ve ever known.

“I’m like why you going to leave now? We’ve been knocking on the door of the playoffs every year, even in this tumultuous year, being displaced to Dallas, starting 52 or 53 starters, I’m going to say 58 because it’s a bigger number. Going through four quarterbacks and still having a shot at the playoffs at the end of the year and ending in the positive. What were we, 9-8? Teams prior to this we’ve seen teams get into the playoffs with a losing record,” Jordan paused, then finished: “For Sean to step down, it’s got to be bigger than football for him.”

At the same time, Jordan was congratulatory about Allen’s promotion to head coach, adding that they won’t hold his disastrous Raiders run against him. Though he did note Allen immediately responded to his text message about the news, whereas he didn’t hear back from Payton right away. Maybe they’ll have time to mend fences another day.

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Saints to honor Drew Brees at halftime of Thanksgiving game vs. Bills

Saints to feature Drew Brees at halftime of Thanksgiving game vs. Bills

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This is really cool: the New Orleans Saints announced that they will be featuring legendary quarterback Drew Brees during halftime of their Thanksgiving matchup with the Buffalo Bills, which will cap the NFL’s three-game holiday slate on Nov. 25. Brees will also be broadcasting the game for NBC alongside Mike Tirico.

It’s the first time Brees has returned to the Caesars Superdome since he announced his retirement from pro football earlier this year. Since then he’s gone on to offer color commentary with Tirico for weekly Notre Dame game broadcasts on NBC while joining the network’s studio for its Sunday “Football Night in America” pregame show.

And it should be a proper send-off for Brees in front of a welcoming home crowd, which is something he never got to experience in his final season with the Saints. Superdome attendance was greatly limited last year due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, so this is an opportunity for the Saints to really close a chapter in the team’s history by honoring No. 9 after his unprecedented 15-year run in black and gold, which brought New Orleans its first Super Bowl victory.

Fans in attendance will receiver a commemorative “Thank You Drew” rally towel, and all are encouraged to submit a 30-second clip of thank you messages and tributes at this link.

“My family and I are forever grateful for all the incredible moments we shared together with the city of New Orleans and Who Dat Nation,” Brees said in a statement released from the team. “What an incredible moment it will be, back in the Dome with the greatest fans in the world.”

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