Clady decides to retire

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Ryan Clady, the talented and towering tackle whose nine-year NFL career was checkered with injuries, is retiring from football.

The Denver Broncos selected him 12th overall in the 2008 draft from Boise State, where Clady made a pivotal block on the Statue of Liberty 2-point conversion play that stunned Oklahoma in the January 2007 Fiesta Bowl.

Among a dying breed of plug-and-play tackles in the NFL before colleges turned so heavily to spread offenses, Clady allowed just half a sack in his first 20 NFL games.

But injuries slowed him down and the two-time All-Pro missed both of Denver’s Super Bowl appearances in recent years, first with a foot injury and then with a knee injury.

He also sustained a knee injury in the offseason early in his career that robbed him of some of his lateral movement for a couple of seasons even though he didn’t miss any games.

Clady signed a $52.5 million, five-year contract in 2013 but would play in just 18 games over the next three seasons before the Broncos traded him to the Jets, where a shoulder injury ended his 2016 season in November. He underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and the Jets declined his option for this season.