It can be difficult to watch your all-time favorite athletes as they enter the twilight of their careers.
Just think about the way Albert Pujols has played for the last few seasons — compared to his career slash line of .298/.377/546, he's posted a .241/.291/.405 line since 2017. You can argue that Paul Pierce probably could have retired prior to his final two-year stint with the Clippers at ages 38 and 39, when he shot the ball at a 36.8 percent clip from the field and at 31.6 percent from three-point range, compared to his career averages of 44.5 and 36.8 percent, respectively. And players like Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees and Philip Rivers all seemed to be stretching out their careers a bit too far, with Big Ben still gunning for more success.
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For longtime Patriots receiver Julian Edelman, however, he wouldn't necessarily have had that option. A failed physical resulted in the termination of his contract with the franchise with which he spent his whole career, and he decided to announce his retirement shortly thereafter. There's a real chance he simply wouldn't have been able to perform at an NFL level due to knee issues and the years of wear and tear on his body, and at that point, the decision may have been pretty clear: call it a career. And he did so, it seems, without any regrets.
He joined "Pardon My Take" and — intertwined with the typical hilarious banter that makes PMT so fun to listen to — actually provided a very insightful look into how he feels about the way his NFL career came to an end.
It's almost satisfying because I left everything on the field, honestly. I'm not a greedy guy. What else do I have to play for? I set out to go out and make a team, try to win some championships, and honestly I have accomplished everything plus more than I ever thought I would've going into my rookie year. If I were, in my rookie year, to look on to my career and say this is what it's gonna be, I would have said nah. No shot. That's how much work I had to put into this whole thing and it's something where I'm proud of my career, I'm proud of everything, I'm proud of the relationships, the teams I've been a part of, and father time is undefeated.
And that's just how it goes, and I'm not gonna go out there and try to play... where you look like a bobblehead out there, like a 36-year-old old guy lacing up the knee brace, the back brace. I don't want to have that. I don't want to look like that, I respect the game too much, it's been too good to me. So it's one of those things where if I can't go out there and be the player that I know I am in this league and that I've been for a consistent period of time, you know, I have no problem walking away because I enjoyed the time that I did have in this league.
Edelman was lauded by several around the NFL after announcing his retirement, notably including longtime teammate Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick.
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