On Friday, July 28th, the Washington Commander’s former defensive end and all-time sack Leader Ryan Kerrigan announced that he was going to retire, ending an 11-season run in the NFL.
“Even though I know it’s the right decision, ultimately it’s still not easy to know that I’m not going to play football anymore,” he said. “I kind of had that realization the other night. … I’m not going to play football anymore. That’s kind of crazy. Been doing it for so long. But I just know where I’m at, health-wise and whatnot, that this is the best thing for me moving forward.”
A couple of months into his retirement, his body felt “nice” after a while off from training, but thoughts of playing kept running through his head.
“[I] was like: ‘Oh, my body feels nice! I can do this again,’” he said. “It’s like, well, your body feels nice because you haven’t trained for football in two months, so you got to kind of acknowledge the truth there.”
Even though he wanted to play, his body prevented him with a shot knee. In May of 2021, doctors had already given him concerning reports on his knee and he was encouraged to retire. Despite this, he still didn’t retire.
Recently, he has reflected on his years playing with the Commanders, remembering back to 2012, when Washington defeated Dallas, and other accomplishments he witnessed and helped create during his career.
“But it’s when I come back here to [the training facility] that I really am like, ‘That’s why I’ve loved this place,’ ” he said. “Because it’s all the relationships you built over the years with teammates, coaches, the people in the kitchen, the strength staff, [media]. . .. It’s hard to walk away, even though I know it’s the right thing.”
“He’s a guy that you could always count on,” Coach Ron Rivera said. “He’s a guy that always could help set the example. I mean, you only get so many of those guys, and when you get them, they most certainly need to be celebrated.”
“Even though I know it’s the right decision, ultimately it’s still not easy to know that I’m not going to play football anymore,” he said. “I kind of had that realization the other night. … I’m not going to play football anymore. That’s kind of crazy. Been doing it for so long. But I just know where I’m at, health-wise and whatnot, that this is the best thing for me moving forward.”
A couple of months into his retirement, his body felt “nice” after a while off from training, but thoughts of playing kept running through his head.
“[I] was like: ‘Oh, my body feels nice! I can do this again,’” he said. “It’s like, well, your body feels nice because you haven’t trained for football in two months, so you got to kind of acknowledge the truth there.”
Even though he wanted to play, his body prevented him with a shot knee. In May of 2021, doctors had already given him concerning reports on his knee and he was encouraged to retire. Despite this, he still didn’t retire.
Recently, he has reflected on his years playing with the Commanders, remembering back to 2012, when Washington defeated Dallas, and other accomplishments he witnessed and helped create during his career.
“But it’s when I come back here to [the training facility] that I really am like, ‘That’s why I’ve loved this place,’ ” he said. “Because it’s all the relationships you built over the years with teammates, coaches, the people in the kitchen, the strength staff, [media]. . .. It’s hard to walk away, even though I know it’s the right thing.”
“He’s a guy that you could always count on,” Coach Ron Rivera said. “He’s a guy that always could help set the example. I mean, you only get so many of those guys, and when you get them, they most certainly need to be celebrated.”
