Tag: Retirement

Chris Harris signs ceremonial contract to retire a Bronco

Chris Harris signed a ceremonial contract to retire as a Bronco on Saturday and he will be honored by the team on Sunday.

After previously announcing his retirement from the NFL this spring, cornerback Chris Harris signed a ceremonial contract with the Denver Broncos on Saturday to retire as a Bronco.

Harris, 35, originally signed with Denver as an undrafted free agent out of Kansas in 2011. He went on to become one of the best cornerbacks in franchise history, emerging as a key member of the “No Fly Zone” secondary that helped the team win Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season.

The Broncos recognized Harris at Saturday’s walk-through practice and the cornerback will be honored against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

“Broncos Country, I can’t wait to see you [Sunday],” Harris said in a video on the team’s official X page. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m going to get you all hyped before the game so make sure you get there early!”

Harris earned four Pro Bowl nods and three All-Pro honors during his time in Denver. The cornerback broke up 86 passes and recorded 20 interceptions, returning four for touchdowns with the Broncos. Harris spent the final years of his career with the Chargers and New Orleans Saints before hanging up his cleats.

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Photos: LPGA star Ally Ewing through the years

Ally Ewing called herself a “little Mississippi girl.” But nothing about her accomplishments was small.

Ally Ewing once referred to herself as a “little Mississippi girl.”

But nothing about Ewing’s accomplishments on the LPGA was small.

Before announcing that she’ll retire at the end of this 2024 season, the 31-year-old won the 2022 Kroger Queen City Championship, the 2021 Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play and the 2020 LPGA Drive On Championship since her rookie year in 2016.

The 19th-ranked player in the world represented the United States on four occasions at the Solheim Cup (2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024), compiling a 3-12-1 record.

Here’s a look at the former Mississippi State Bulldog through the years.

Three-time LPGA winner Ally Ewing, 31, announces retirement on heels of Solheim Cup victory

“Thank you to the LPGA and many many others!”

Ally Ewing is ready for the next chapter. The 31-year-old American, a three-time winner on the LPGA, made her retirement announcement on Instagram Wednesday morning ahead of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

She’s currently ranked 18th in the world.

“It is with a heavy but grateful heart, that I want to announce that I’ll be retiring from professional golf at the end of this year,” Ewing said in a poignant video. “When I envisioned my career, I never dreamed this small-town Mississippi girl could have had the career that God has blessed me with.”

Ewing was born in Fulton, Mississippi, a don’t-blink town of about 4,500 that, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, is about 8.7 square miles. She honed her golf skills at Fulton Country Club, a hilly nine-hole course that tips out at 5,700 yards after two loops.

Photos: Ally Ewing through the years

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There’s no range at Fulton, so Ewing and childhood friend Chad Ramey, now a PGA Tour player, designed their own makeshift range across fairways. They aimed at trees and shagged their own balls, trying to stay out of the way of paying customers.

A self-described tomboy, Ewing begged her mom Angie to play on the middle school football team as quarterback, but mom said they were drawing the line.

While the highly-competitive Ewing shined as a point guard on the girls’ team at Itawamba Agricultural High School, she made her name playing golf with the boys. Ewing, formerly McDonald, became the first girl to win the Mississippi boys state high school championship. The coolest thing about winning, she once said, was that she did it from 7,000 yards, the longest course she’d ever played.

In college, Ewing put Mississippi State on the map, winning five times before joining the now Epson Tour in 2016, where she earned her full LPGA card for the following season.

Ewing won her first LPGA title on her 28th birthday in 2020, several months after she married Charlie Ewing, head women’s golf coach at her alma mater.

Now in her eighth full season on the LPGA, Ewing has $6 million in career earnings and 25 career top-10 finishes. This season alone she’s made $1.8 million on the strength of three top-10 finishes at the majors. She’s ranked ninth of the CME points list, which means she’ll wrap up her career in November at the CME Group Tour Championship, which boasts a $4 million winner’s prize.

“I’ve seen so much of the world and met so many incredible people,” Ewing said in her video, “but I’ve also never felt more alone at times and have missed out on things that were so close to my heart.

“I’ve cried many tears, but I will never take for granted what this game has done for me. I have fulfilled a dream that many strive for.”

Ewing said the highest honor of her career was representing the U.S. at the Solheim Cup, which she did on four separate occasions, finally getting a taste of victory earlier this month in Virginia.

Several of Ewing’s Solheim Cup teammates commented on her Instagram post, including Lexi Thompson, who announced earlier in the year her decision to retire from full-time competition at the end of this season. Jennifer Kupcho noted that the tour will miss Ewing’s “bright light.”

“While I’ve always felt I was able to balance golf and life,” said Ewing, “every decision I’ve made since I was young has always been deliberated with how it would impact golf.”

That changes soon.

Rams DC Chris Shula thinks about an Aaron Donald return ‘every day’

Chris Shula is always thinking about the possibility of Aaron Donald coming out of retirement

Defensive coordinator Chris Shula has a young and hungry defensive unit heading into his debut season as the shot-caller of the Los Angeles Rams defense. The Rams added two rookies from Florida State, Jared Verse and Braden Fiske, with their first two selections in this year’s NFL draft. With additions such as Darious Williams, Tre’Davious White, and Kamren Curl, it became clear the Rams’ No. 1 offseason priority was to upgrade defensively.

Despite those upgrades, the Rams lost one of the greatest defensive players in league history via retirement as Aaron Donald hung up the cleats following his 10th season with the team. Despite Donald stating he lost the passion for the game of football, it has not stopped the Rams defensive coordinator from trying to persuade Donald to hold off on retirement for another season.

Donald was present at the Rams’ joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday, which caught people’s attention and had some wondering if Donald was mulling a return.

Following the joint practice, during media availability, Shula was asked if he has thought of asking Donald if he was “sure” about retirement. Shula responded with:

“Of course. Think about that every day, and he is all over our cut-up, so we see him all the time,” Shula said. “I know he is in a great spot and (had) such a great career. He has earned the right to do whatever he wants right now. So, he’s welcome back anytime. Anytime he wants to come coach and help out, he knows the door’s always open.”

Shula also welcomed the idea of Donald helping out with coaching if he pleases, saying Donald was at practice giving tips to rookie defensive lineman Braden Fiske.

“The cool thing was seeing him give some tips to Fiske and I’m standing there listening,” Shula said. “So, it was really good to see him. Great to have him out here.”

While an Aaron Donald return is unlikely based on the statements he has made during the offseason, it sure does not hurt to try to convince the greatest Ram of all time to return for an 11th season with the team.

Former Saints linebacker A.J. Klein announces retirement from pro football

Former Saints linebacker A.J. Klein announced his retirement from pro football. He was a key piece of some of the most successful teams in franchise history:

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Every player comes to a time when it’s time to hang up the cleats. That day always comes, whether it’s because of age, ability, or injury. Today was the day for former New Orleans Saints linebacker A.J. Klein, who announced his retirement from pro football after 11 seasons. Interestingly enough, the day he decided to retire was his 33rd birthday. Klein made the announcement on his official Instagram account.

Saints fans might remember Klein from the very successful 2017-2019 playoff teams. The Wisconsin native was a key contributor for those teams, starting 42 games across those three seasons. He contributed on the stat sheet in New Orleans with 193 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles.

Klein played for five NFL teams across his 11 seasons, most notably the Carolina Panthers (who drafted him out of Iowa State) and the Buffalo Bills, with whom he appeared often over the last four years. We congratulate Klein on a great career and wish him the best of luck in retirement.

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Broncos Super Bowl 50 champ Shaq Barrett retires after 10-year career

Shaq Barrett, who won Super Bowls with the Broncos and Bucs, has retired after 10 seasons to focus on his family.

Following a 10-year career in the NFL, former Denver Broncos pass rusher Shaq Barrett has announced his retirement from football at age 31.

“It’s time for me to hang it up,” Barrett wrote on his Instagram page on Saturday. “It’s been a great ride and I appreciate everything that came with it over the years. I’m ready to shift my full focus to my wife and kids and helping them realize [their] dreams and catch em.”

Barrett’s retirement comes following a difficult 2023 season. Six months after he tore his Achilles, Barrett lost two-year-old daughter Arrayah in a drowning accident last year.

Barrett entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Colorado State with the Broncos in 2014. After spending his rookie year on the practice squad, Barrett played four years as a rotational pass rusher in Denver, helping the team win Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season.

Barrett signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a free agent in 2016 and had a career year with 19.5 sacks in his first season as a Buc. The following season, Barrett helped Tampa Bay win Super Bowl LV.

Barrett signed with the Miami Dolphins this spring before later deciding to retire. The pass rusher hangs up his cleats with two Super Bowls, two Pro Bowl nods, 125 quarterback hits and 59 career sacks on his resume.

Barrett and his wife, Jordanna, now have four children: Shaquil Jr., Braylon, Aaliyah and Allanah, who was born earlier this year.

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BREAKING: Former Bucs LB Shaq Barrett retires

Former Bucs sack artist Shaq Barrett announces his retirement from the NFL.

Former Buccaneers outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett announced his retirement from the NFL on his Instagram account today:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9qDK7Pys7_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Barrett’s retirement come after the Bucs released him in March. He then signed a one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins, but the pass rusher’s snaps in Tampa Bay appear to be his last in the NFL.

The Bucs signed Barrett in 2019, desperate for pass rush off the edge. The former Denver Bronco delivered and then some. Barrett led the NFL with 19.5 sacks in 2019, the most sacks ever recorded by a Buccaneer.

Over his five seasons in Tampa Bay, Barrett was the Bucs’ premiere pass rusher. He recorded 45 sacks, 22 more than the next closest player. A torn Achilles in 2022 slowed his production and may have contributed to his retirement.

Barrett was an instrumental piece of the Bucs’ 2020 Super Bowl team, leading the team in sacks (4) during the playoffs. His legendary 2019 season set a record that future Bucs players will aspire to reach but few will attain.

Ryan Ramczyk won’t play football in 2024, NFL future in doubt

Ryan Ramczyk won’t play football in 2024, and his NFL future is in doubt. If he’s already played his last down, it’s a career he can be proud of:

We received the clearest indication yet that Ryan Ramczyk has already played his last down of pro football on Thursday. The New Orleans Saints placed their former All-Pro right tackle on the reserve/physically unable to perform (PUP) list, which carries an important distinction from the active/PUP list other players were designated to.

As observed by NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, Ramczyk is a vested veteran (someone who has earned earned three or more credited seasons), and those vested veterans who have been placed on the reserve/PUP list before roster cuts on Aug. 27 are ineligible to play this season. His year is over.

“But his career for sure could be over now,” Rapoport said on NFL Network. “He is out for the season. He’s dealing with a knee issue and he of course has had some injury concerns over the years. But dealing with a knee issue now, they thought it was going to get better, they thought it was going to turn the corner, it just did not improve like the Saints and like Ramczyk had hoped.”

It’s possible that Ramczyk could bounce back after taking a year off, but he’s struggled to manage a degenerative knee condition and that’s unlikely to improve with time. At this point all he can realistically do is shed weight like many offensive linemen do after their playing careers are over, and formally file his retirement papers once the Saints are in a position to absorb it on the salary cap.

If this is it for Ramczyk, it’s a career he can be proud of. He only played a single season of Division I football in college before turning pro, having started at left tackle for Wisconsin after trying his hand at welding school, only to unexpectedly take over for an injured Zach Strief at right tackle during his first game as a rookie. Ramczyk immediately established himself as a top-five right tackle in the league and won three All-Pro nods in his seven-year career, starting every game he played. Few players retire without regrets, but Ramczyk got much closer than most. We’ll wish him well for whatever’s next.

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Super Bowl XLIV champion Scott Fujita is the Saints Player of Day 54

There isn’t an active player using the No. 54 jersey, so Super Bowl XLIV champion Scott Fujita is the New Orleans Saints Player of Day 54:

We’re counting down the days until the New Orleans Saints’ regular season opener by highlighting a Player of the Day every day, but there isn’t an active player using the No. 54 jersey. And there aren’t many notable players in team history who have worn it — no Pro Bowlers or All-Pros, and the member of the Saints’ Super Bowl XLIV-winning team who used it, Troy Evans, was a backup.

So we’re cheating a little and going with an old fan-favorite. Scott Fujita (who wore No. 55) is our pick for the New Orleans Saints Player of Day 54.

Fujita played college football at California, and he grew up six hours’ drive down the West Coast in Ventura, near Los Angeles. The Kansas City Chiefs picked him in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL draft and it didn’t take long for him to win a starting job. He spent the 2005 season with the Dallas Cowboys and the experience of working against him in practice every day convinced Sean Payton (the Cowboys’ offensive play caller at the time) to sign him as a free agent the next spring.

And that’s when Fujita’s career really took off. He was a key piece of the changing locker room culture that Payton installed in New Orleans, starting 54 of the 56 games he appeared in over the next four years — plus three playoff games in 2009, including Super Bowl XLIV. Fujita was an impressive tag-team partner for Jonathan Vilma at the second level of the Saints defense, and he quickly endeared himself to Saints fans.

He spent the last three years of his playing career with the Cleveland Browns, but Fujita retired a Saint — and he did so memorably, perched on top of a mountain in South America back in 2013. He’s remained close with his old teammate Steve Gleason over the years and helped Gleason hike the Andes to visit the famous ruins of Machu Picchu, where he formally signed his one-day retirement contract with the Saints and shared an emotional speech to his supporters.

Few players have done the black and gold prouder. Fujita left his mark on New Orleans and the Saints, and it’s a great thing that his time with the team was as meaningful for him as it was for those cheering him on.

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Chiefs legend Jamaal Charles opens up about his mental health in post-football career

#Chiefs legend Jamaal Charles opened up about his struggles with mental health during his post-football career. | @EdEastonJr

Many NFL stars’ playing careers don’t always transition smoothly once they leave the field. Kansas City Chiefs running back great Jamaal Charles was one of the best in the league during his career but is still trying to transition into life after the gridiron.

The Chiefs legend appeared as a guest on the Second Acts Podcast, to discuss his life after retiring from football and the challenges he’s endured along the way.

“I basically went into a dark side,” Charles said. “No one came forward to guide me through the transition to life after football. I went to work with investment people, and it didn’t go well. I started losing money, so I started becoming very depressed and suicidal. Still trying to find my way going through that situation and transition. It was hard for me because I didn’t know who to lean on or where the help was coming from.”

Charles was a two-time first-team All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowl selection during his tenure with the Chiefs. He still holds the franchise’s all-time rushing record as he retired as a team member on an honorary one-day contract in 2019.

“At that time, I had therapy, so there’s nothing wrong,” Charles said. “I talked to a therapist to talk about suicidal thoughts, talk about the hard times. At the time, I was still in therapy, and I still am today.”

The former star running back continues to be a proud ambassador for the team at events, providing positive energy to fans.