We Shouldn’t Be Surprised When NFL Players Retire Early Anymore

The NFL's "concussion crisis" has taken its next logical step: the "retirement crisis." On Friday, New York Jets offensive tackle and former Pro Bowler D'Brickashaw Ferguson announced his decision to retire from the NFL at 32 years old. Unlike some players who are forced to hang up their cleats after clinging to every last bit of turf in the hopes of scoring another contract but eventually retire because of debilitating body injuries, Ferguson -- like around a dozen other NFL players over the past two years -- has retired early without any outstanding injury or body-related issues.  Ferguson was a model of durability, playing 10 seasons and never missing a single practice or appearing on the injury report. He started 167 consecutive games with over 10,000 career snaps, only missing one snap as part of a trick play. Without question, Ferguson could've kept on playing the game he loves for millions of guaranteed dollars.  Filed to ESPN: Jets LT D'Brickashaw Ferguson is retiring today after 10 seasons, per sources. Only 32. Completely healthy. A stunner. #nyj— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) April 8, 2016 Ferguson's retirement is hardly stunning though. It's not even worth batting an eye over. In an age of heightened awareness about football and its potentially deadly effects on the brain -- 87 out of 91 former NFL players tested positive in September 2015 for the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is bel...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news