Seattle Seahawks strong safety Kam Chancellor might have played his last NFL game, as a neck injury appears to have ended his career.
While he never used the word “retire,” a series of tweets seems to indicate he is moving on from the sport.
Gods Grace 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿 pic.twitter.com/60J2DugpD1
— Kameron Chancellor (@KamChancellor) July 1, 2018
“To walk away from the game by choice is one thing, to walk away from the game because of the risk of paralysis is another,” Chancellor tweeted.
The 30-year-old suffered a career-threatening neck injury last season and said in May he would continue playing if his health permitted.
“If my body says don’t play, I’m not playing. I’ll listen,” Chancellor told 13News Now in May. “I’m a very good listener.”
On Sunday, Chancellor said the “final test” of his injury “showed no healing.”
“I’ve played through all types of bruises and injuries at a high level. But this one, I just can’t ignore,” he tweeted.
Chancellor, a four-time Pro Bowler, missed the final seven games of last season after he was injured while making a tackle late in a November win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Known for his hard hitting as part of the Seahawks’ famed “Legion of Boom” defense, Chancellor signed a three-year, $36 million extension last summer.
If Chancellor has indeed played his final down, it’s unclear how the two sides might handle the situation procedurally. Chancellor’s 2018 salary of $6.8 million became fully guaranteed in February, and $5.2 million of his $10 million salary for 2019 is guaranteed for injury. By retiring, Chancellor could potentially forfeit those guarantees, though the two sides could work out some sort of settlement.
Information from ESPN’s Brady Henderson was used in this report.