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NFL: Concussions End QB Kevin Kolb’s Career At Age 30

By Ed Carroll

Jul 28, 2013; Pittsford, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Kevin Kolb (4) during training camp at St. John Fisher College. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 28, 2013; Pittsford, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Kevin Kolb (4) during training camp at St. John Fisher College. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports /
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Former NFL quarterback Kevin Kolb has officially retired from the NFL due to four concussions, the first of which he suffered in 2010 while with the Philadelphia Eagles, and Kolb wrote in an article that the ringing in his head feels like a “shotgun is being shot next to his head all the time.”

Kevin Kolb spent six years in the NFL as a quarterback, but the former second-round pick was forced to officially announce his retirement due to four concussions he suffered during his career. Kolb said he suffered his first concussion when he became the Philadelphia Eagles starting quarterback on opening day in 2010, and his last came in a Buffalo Bills preseason game on Aug. 24, 2013, Kolb’s 29th birthday.

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Kolb wrote the piece for Sports Illustrated himself, and it’s somewhat heartbreaking to see just how much the concussions have affected his life, and he says he still deals with the symptoms daily.

“I had taken every possible step to fend off concussion—a new helmet, staying in the best shape possible, trying to play smart,” Kolb wrote. “None of it mattered. I went into the locker room and called my wife. She said, you can be a tough guy and try to keep on playing … but that was it … With concussions, sometimes you don’t know what is a symptom and what is not. But some symptoms are impossible to ignore. The ringing is like someone shooting a shotgun right next to my ear, every second of every day. It doesn’t go away.”

Kolb also notes he often has to wear sunglasses indoors during business meetings to deal with his sensitivity to light, but one of the hardest things for him has been a lack of routine and the short-term memory loss. But he’s not really asking for sympathy for himself in the post, but more sympathy for Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, which dealt a hurricane last month while Kolb was vacationing there, and he’s thankful to the decimated town for all they did during his stay.

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