Ryan Kerrigan stood quietly behind the end zone as the game went on. Instructions from the coaches fly through the air. Kerrigan is looking at football from a new perspective.
In the past 12 years, Kerrigan has rarely been on the sidelines in ordinary clothing. He was watching a game he loves, but is unable to play.
“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.”
In June, the former football player decided to retire. In his career, he played in 11 seasons within the NFL, 10 of them with the Washington Commanders. He has been planning this for over a year, but sometimes considers if he could keep going.
In January 2021, the Commanders’ lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Kerrigan had walked to the team bench and sat down. The next year, he returned again to play. And when he felt “nice” after a few months off training, his mind couldn’t help thinking if he could play some more.
“[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.”
The truth was his knee had some problems.
In May 2021, he was given poor reports on his knee, and was told to retire to help his knee. But his mind wasn’t as ready to stop playing.
Recently, Kerrigan has been reflecting on his years with the Commanders; reflecting on when Washington defeated Dallas, when he fumbled the ball, and when he interacted with players in the locker room.
“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.”
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/07/30/ryan-kerrigan-is-done-playing-he-loves-football-too-much-leave/
In the past 12 years, Kerrigan has rarely been on the sidelines in ordinary clothing. He was watching a game he loves, but is unable to play.
“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.”
In June, the former football player decided to retire. In his career, he played in 11 seasons within the NFL, 10 of them with the Washington Commanders. He has been planning this for over a year, but sometimes considers if he could keep going.
In January 2021, the Commanders’ lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Kerrigan had walked to the team bench and sat down. The next year, he returned again to play. And when he felt “nice” after a few months off training, his mind couldn’t help thinking if he could play some more.
“[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.”
The truth was his knee had some problems.
In May 2021, he was given poor reports on his knee, and was told to retire to help his knee. But his mind wasn’t as ready to stop playing.
Recently, Kerrigan has been reflecting on his years with the Commanders; reflecting on when Washington defeated Dallas, when he fumbled the ball, and when he interacted with players in the locker room.
“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.”
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/07/30/ryan-kerrigan-is-done-playing-he-loves-football-too-much-leave/
