Worilds Retires
Jason Worilds
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Outside Linebacker Jason Worilds surprised the NFL community yesterday when he decided to retire from football after only 5 years in the league with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Worilds was drafted in 2010 from Virginia Tech where he was All-ACC 2 years in a row. In his 5 years with the Steelers he was a force to be reckoned with and managed to rack up 203 tackles, 25.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles (www.nfl.com). Worilds is leaving the game to which he has devoted the majority of his life at the age of 27.
The retirement of the outside linebacker has to leave the Steelers wondering who would fill the role. However, it may help on the financial end because Worilds walked away from $15 million guaranteed and at least $7 million a year (www.nfl.com). Worilds's representative put out a simple statement which thanked all of the teams interested in the linebacker but decided to walk away from the game and "enjoyed playing in front of the greatest fans in football today," (www.nfl.com).
It is not very often you see someone in the prime of their career to hang up their cleats. We can now only speculate why he left the game. Maybe he decided to listen to the advice of the great Chuck Noll and follow his life's work. While he was coaching, Noll was adamant with his players that football would not and could not be their entire lives. Noll urged players to pursue other interests in their personal and professional lives. Perhaps Worilds heeded Coach's advice and stepped away from the game, at least for now, to pursue his passions off the field.
