SEMO 6,811 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Chris Borland announces retirement at age 24 due to concussion fears By Kevin Kaduk 10 hours ago Shutdown Corner Chris Borland does not think the rewards of playing professional football outweigh the risk it poses to his future health as a human being. As such, the San Francisco 49ers linebacker delivered some shocking news on ESPN's "Outside the Lines": He's retiring at age 24 after playing just one year in the league. Borland had 107 tackles and one sack after starting in eight games and held huge promise as a future star in the NFL. But none of it was enough to keep him from ignoring the evidence that head trauma is having an adverse and even deadly effect on the men who play the sport. Borland is the fourth player in the last week to retire at age 30 or younger. "I just honestly want to do what's best for my health," Borland said on the news program Monday night. "From what I've researched and what I've experienced, I don't think it's worth the risk." Borland was drafted by the 49ers in the third round of the 2014 NFL draft after a decorated college career at the University of Wisconsin. He earned $420,000 for his first year of play, collected a $617,000 signing bonus and figured to earn millions more as an anchor for San Francisco's linebacking corps, particularly after Patrick Willis retired last week due to injury concerns. While Borland's decision will affect the 49ers greatly after their tumultuous offseason, the news will likely have an even bigger impact on the sport. A healthy and young player walking away and saying all the fame and money isn't worth the risk of head trauma? That's been unheard of up until this point. Borland, who says he's had two diagnosed concussions, acknowledged to "OTL" that he could have rolled the dice and hoped to steer clear of head injuries for at least a few years. But he also expressed a desire to be "proactive" and to "live a long healthy life." "I thought about what I could accomplish in football, but for me personally, when you read about Mike Webster and Dave Duerson and Ray Easterling [all players who died early deaths and whose autopsies revealed brain disease], you read all these stories and to be the type of player I want to be in football, I think I'd have to take on some risks that as a person I don't want to take on," Borland said. Borland said he thought about the dangers of playing football all season after suffering what he believed to be a concussion during training camp. "I just thought to myself, 'What am I doing?'" Borland said. "Is this how I'm going to live my adult life, banging my head, especially with what I've learned and knew about the dangers?" Willis (age 30), Pittsburgh linebacker Jason Worilds (27) and Tennessee quarterback Jake Locker (25) all retired in the last week, though none mentioned concussion concerns as a reason for stopping play. San Francisco GM Trent Baalke said the team was caught off guard by the announcement. "While unexpected, we certainly respect Chris' decision," Baalke told NFL Network insider Ian Rapaport. "It was evident he put a great deal of thought into this." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEMO 6,811 Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 Big blow for the 49ers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcchief4lif 910 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Big blow for the 49ers. That's all they've gotten this year. I'd say they will be sitting at the bottom of their division at seasons end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eraser 722 Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 His choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPPT1974 21 Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 He wants to make that choice that is his decision! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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