The Jets were making news this off-season, signing Matt Forte and working on a new deal with surprisingly successful start QB, Ryan Fitzpatrick. But in true Team Green fashion, good news has to be complemented by bad, and that happened today.
Sources say that starting left tackle, D’Brickashaw Ferguson, is set to retire from the NFL. Ferguson, an All-American tackle from the University of Virginia, was the fourth pick by the NY Jets in the 2006 draft and started every game but one.
That deserves to be repeated.
Started every game BUT one.
Since the Jets drafted OT D’Brickashaw Ferguson, they have run 10,708 regular season offensive snaps. Ferguson played on 10,707 of them.
Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 8, 2016
This comes as a shock to all, as D’Brickashaw is healthy and still in his prime at the age of 32. But maybe his first person story to Sports Illustrated in December was a hint to this news. He wrote:
Since seeing Concussion, I cant avoid wondering if I am in danger of experiencing some degree of brain injury when I am done playing. It couldnt happen to me, right?
“… Though I cannot remember ever having a concussion, I now know as an offensive lineman that it is the frequency of collisions that can ultimately lead to brain injury. Its a different conversation when you are involved in the story and not just watching a movie about it. I fear the unavoidable truth is that playing football has placed me in harms way, and I am not yet sure of the full extent of what it might cost me.
For the full story, read here.
