NFL Rumors: Free Agent running back Rashard Mendenhall retiring
By Jack Crosby
The 2014 NFL Free Agency market appears as if it will be down one running back as, according to Adam Schefter, teams that were acquiring about his services have been told that he will instead be heading into retirement.
Teams told Cardinals UFA RB Rashard Mendenhall is, in fact, retiring, per sources. Mendenhall hinted at in a Feb. 25 Huffington Post column.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 9, 2014
This is a move that some actually saw coming, although in an odd sort of way. Back in February, Mendenhall wrote a blog post in the Huffington Post which was about as cryptic as you can get. It was taken back to two years ago when he blew his knee out, and it just got weirder from there.
Mendenhall is only 26-yeard-old. After a stellar career at Illinois where he helped lead the team to a Rose Bowl berth, he was drafted in 2008 by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round at 23rd overall.
Prior to the 2013 season, he signed a one-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals, which apparently was the last NFL deal he would ever sign.