It’s always unfortunate when an athlete retires early due to injury. Fans are robbed of the players’ electrifying performance during their prime, and their production and addition to the locker room is missed by teammates and coaches.
Seahawks running back Chris Carson is now a part of an extensive list of star athletes that had to retire early due to injury.
The 27-year-old running back is retiring due to a neck injury, and because of the neck injury he failed his physical. According to the Seattle Seahawks official team website, they’ve released Chris Carson after the failed physical.
Sounds harsh, but really the Seahawks are hooking him up. The main reason they’re releasing him is to allow him to receive “several million in injury protection benefits” according to the team. The Seahawks later posted a tribute video for Carson on social media.
Man, I'm gonna miss watching Chris Carson run. Such an unbelievably tough and unique back with an amazing story as a 7th round pick. Glad he's prioritizing his health 🙏 pic.twitter.com/L417vt4aqD
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) July 26, 2022
According to Rapoport, Seattle will be following in their own footsteps with the same method they used when dealing with former Seahawks Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril regarding their retirements.
SEA will officially release him with a failed physical designation. Under the CBA, that allows Carson to receive several million in injury protection benefits. “Seattle does right by him,” Rapoport said via Twitter.
“Chris Carson won’t make a retirement statement, just in case his neck dramatically improves. But this is where it stands. … And the #Seahawks, as they did with Cliff Avril, Kam Chancellor and others, make sure he gets his money. Thus, the official designation.” he continued.
#Seahawks star RB Chris Carson is retiring from the NFL due to a neck injury, sources say.
SEA will officially release him with a failed physical designation. Under the CBA, that allows Carson to receive several million in injury protection benefits. Seattle does right by him.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 26, 2022
As it stands right now, Carson will be retiring due to this injury, but if he can help it, he won’t stay retired for long. As most neck injuries go, they usually are serious injuries, and medical professionals advise players to retire rather than risk further injury or paralysis. Because of this Carson will have to cut an extremely promising career short.
While most football players have short career spans, the average running back career goes for three years due to the amount of contact they have to withstand. They’re known as workhorses, who can take anywhere from 20 to 30 carries a game and are normally getting tackled by 1 to 3 players on any given carry. They take a lot of pounding in their careers, and their success is built off of productivity, which means football teams use them up as much as they can before they’re no longer useful (which in all fairness is about the same with any professional athlete).
So, for the five-year veteran, his job was to get beat up as much as he could to help his team. His seasons have been spent battling various injuries, and he has tried to stay as resilient as possible, but his body has given up on him.
The seventh-round pick has made a decent career out of his humble beginnings, amassing 3,502 rushing yards with 769 carries, and 24 touchdowns in five seasons. He was a consistent back for the Seahawks throughout his career. He will be missed by the NFL community, but we are fortunate that he was able to stay safe and retire from the game before he suffered permanent damage.
