One of the top defensive linemen in the NFL is hanging up his cleats. On Wednesday, longtime Tennesee Titans defensive lineman Jurrell Casey announced he’s retiring after spending 10 years in the league. He spent his first nine seasons with the Titans before joining the Denver Broncos last year.
“It became evident when you are getting around, trying to work out, walking up stairs and your body is not clicking the same,” Casey said on the Titans’ official website. “Last season didn’t go as I planned, I got hurt, and my season was cut short. You have to understand your body, and when your body isn’t responding, it is time to step away. I am not a person that wants to go out there and put bad film on the field. I can’t do that to myself. I always told myself once I started collecting injuries, I couldn’t allow myself to leave this game crippled.”
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Casey played in three games last season before being placed on injured reserve. He said that now that he’s retired, the plan is to go back to school to get his degree. Casey played college football at Southern California and plans to return there. “Dad and husband, that’s always going to be at the top,” Casey said. “But I made a promise to my wife that I would go back to school. I left as a junior and I want to finish school and be a college graduate, and then go from there. It’s something else that we can celebrate together. And after that, I know there is a lot ahead of us, and I want the Lord control our destiny from there.”
Casey was drafted by the Titans in the third round back in 2011. He was named to the Pro Bowl five consecutive seasons (2015-2019) and selected to the All-Pro Second team in 2013 after recorded 55 tackles and a career-high 10.5 sacks. Casey played both defensive tackle and defensive end and recorded at least five sacks in each of the five seasons he made the Pro Bowl. The Titans traded Casey to the Broncos in March 2020 and he was cut by the team in February this year.
“I love the Titans organization – that was never a doubt in my mind,” Casey said when talking about the trade. “They drafted me, and they gave me an opportunity in life. You sometimes have bad feelings about things, but like I told (GM) Jon Robinson when I told him I wanted to retire a Titan, I told him I apologize for the comments I made, those were my feelings at the time, but not every feeling needs to be said to the public. I should have held on to it, knowing this is a business. It wasn’t personal, and they did me a favor at the end of the day by trading me and giving me a chance to keep playing and making money for my family”.
