Cravens seems set in desire to retire

The NFL is a grind, physically and mentally, even for the players who love it.

Now imagine being one who doesn’t.

Su’a Cravens told Washington he wanted to retire, bringing an end to his NFL career a week before his second season was to begin. He has been talked out of it — for now — with Washington putting him on the exempt/left team list in hopes that a few weeks away will give the safety time to resolve unspecified personal matters and realize how much he loves the game. Don’t bet on it.

If Cravens has any doubts or mixed feelings about his decision to walk away, he sure didn’t show it Monday in posts on both Instagram and Snapchat.

“I don’t feel like I need to explain myself. I don’t feel like I have to,” Cravens said on Snapchat. “I think I need to follow what makes me happy. Get my mental right. My well-being right. My family right. I’m not worried about the comments or what people think about me.”

Part of what makes Cravens’ announcement so stunning is his age and opportunities. He is

22 and was projected to start in the secondary. A 2016 secondround pick, he stands to make millions. His rookie contract is worth $4.4 million, including a

$1.4 million signing bonus. Consider that the 20 highestpaid safeties will make $6 million or more this year, according to Spotrac.com, and Cravens is walking away from a life-changing amount of money.

But it’s becoming clear that money, no matter how ridiculous a sum, can’t outweigh the concerns some players have about what their lives will look like after they’re done playing. Linebackers Chris Borland and A.J. Tarpley retired after one season because of concerns about the long-term effects of head trauma.

Calvin Johnson retired in his prime and later acknowledged the brutal nature of the game had played a role in his decision.

“When you wake up in the morning, you can’t walk,” Johnson told ESPN. “You know, you’re shufflin’ across the floor. … I gotta go through, like, a little routine when I wake up in the morning to get everything functioning and ready to go.”

Cravens hasn’t said what is driving his decision to retire, but it’s worth noting that he had talked of retirement twice before — both times after he was sidelined by injuries.

He didn’t show up at Washington’s training facility for three days at the end of last season, after a biceps injury forced him out of the last three weeks. He missed two games earlier in the year with a concussion. The Washington Post reported that, while at Southern California, Cravens failed to show up for several days after getting hurt.

Cravens had missed the last three weeks after arthroscopic surgery on his knee.

Cravens’ decision was met with support by some, ridicule and anger by others. He acknowledged both in an Instagram post, thanking “those who showed their true colors. Either way my response is the same to both groups, I love yal and thank yal. God bless.”

It’s up to each player to decide when he’s had enough, and that decision will be different for everyone. But when someone tells you he’s done, that his heart isn’t in it anymore, it’s best to believe him.

Trying to convince him otherwise is a losing proposition.