Legends weigh in on retirement of NFL stars in the prime of their careers
NEW HAVEN — Various generations of football royalty made their way inside Yale’s Lanman Center for the glorious finale of a memorable Walter Camp week and they had stories to tell.
The memories of Super Bowl appearances, unforgettable individual greatness could have been spun at nearly every table at the National Awards Dinner. They could also weigh in on an issue that is front and center in professional football circles these days — the retirement of some of the sport’s signature stars in the prime of their career.
“Everybody always says you’ll know when it is time and you have to pay attention to that inner [voice],” said Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller who was in town to receive Walter Camp’s Alumnus of the Year Award. “Everybody is different, you have Tom Brady going [20] years and you got guys like Barry Sanders and everybody else [retiring early] so everybody’s time is different, you can only give it your all and play every game like it is your last.”
Luke Kuechly, who averaged nearly 140 tackles in his eight-year pro career, became the latest NFL star to retire in the prime of his career. The former Boston College star is just 28 and still is among the NFL’s best defensive players.
Calvin Johnson led the NFL in receiving yards in back to back seasons including his 1,964 receiving yards in 2012. He had six straight 1,000-yard seasons and was a six-time Pro Bowl selection with the Detroit Lions when he retired after the 2015 season at the age of 29. Rob Gronkowski was also 29 when he retired after earning four Pro Bowl selections and having at least 10 touchdown receptions in five of his first six seasons helping the New England Patriots win two Super Bowls.
Andrew Luck made national news when he retired at the age of 30 shortly before the start of the 2019 season. Luck dealt with a series of injuries as he missed the entire 2017 season and 10 games in 2015 and 2016. Patrick Willis was also 30 when the San Francisco linebacker announced his retirement.
Kuechly was among the former Walter Camp AllAmericans at Saturday’s festivities but through Walter Camp officials declined an interview request from Hearst Connecticut Media. Another former linebacker, however, did weigh in on the dilemma facing players like Kuechly.
“Modern-day players, the education [about the dangers of contact sports like football on the brain] is there and it is like everything else, it is up to the individual to make the decision,” said Cornelius Bennett, who played in four Super Bowls with the Buffalo Bills and another with the Atlanta Falcons. For Luke, I think the decision he made, he can live with it. That is the thing about retirement, you have to make a decision you can live with.”
Bennett’s son Kivon is a sophomore linebacker at Tennessee who had 13 tackles in 2019 so he is aware of what is being taught to current football players.
“I talk to him about how they treat him in practice and to me in practice is where most of the traumatic injuries happen,” Bennett said. “It is all about the way you practice and the way you prepare. I think they are doing a much better job of teaching the kids.”
The 30-year-old Miller has been selected to eight Pro Bowls. Miller was the No. 2 overall pick in 2011 and 10 players selected in the first round and 19 of the top 45 selections in that draft are out of the league. There was much more staying power in the 1995 draft when 14 players were starters for at least 10 years. That list includes running back Curtis Martin, the Walter Camp’s Man of the Year.
“It is like any job that you have, you’ll know when it is time to move on,” Martin said. “Football is a little different because it has such a physical aspect to it that you can only do it for so long. You just know when you hit the 30 age mark, you probably have fewer years ahead of you than you had behind you so you just know when it is time.
“A lot of people have put attention on CTE and stuff like that and it is not just because of that, it is people get tired of that physical routine every single day almost . Even the offseason there is not a lot of off time to be committed to this and people get tired of that routine. I don’t think they are worried about the mental capacity.”
Martin was asked that if the information about the potential long-term impact of playing football was there when he was putting together a Hall of Fame career, that wouldn’t have changed how he approached his profession career.
“If I was capable I would have played longer,” Martin said. “The CTE, there is some truth to it, but some of it has been blown out of proportion and that is just my impression of it.”
Considering the staggering amount of football lifers who made their way to the Elm City this weekend, it is a debate that could last well into the Connecticut evening.