Former Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick and highly-coveted free agent Jason Worilds has called it quits on his NFL career after just five seasons in the league.
In announcing his retirement, Worilds had this to say through his agent.
I appreciate all of the interest from the organizations that have reached out to us the past few days. With that being said, after much thought & consideration I have chosen to step away from football as I have opted to pursue other interests. I am especially grateful of the opportunity to play before some of the greatest fans in football today. Despite any concern and speculation that may ensue, I appreciate those that are respectful of my decision.
Worilds, a first-round pick in the 2010 NFL draft, racked up 15.5 sacks over the past two seasons. He was drawing a ton of interest from teams on the open market at the time of this announcement.
The Virginia Tech product joins both Jake Locker and Patrick Willis as relatively young players announcing their retirement from the NFL on Tuesday.
All three seem to believe that there is much more they can do in life outside of the world of football. As we indicated when Willis announced his retirement, no one should blame these young men from walking away from the game early. In fact, some could say they should be commended for looking beyond the fame and money that comes with being a NFL player.
Photo: USA Today