Luke Kuechly and 5 star players who retired in their primes

Chris Borland

Chris Borland was supposed to be the star that replaced Willis in the 49ers’ front seven. He retired at the age of 24, and just after a very successful rookie campaign. A third-round pick out of Wisconsin, Borland immediately made an impact in the Niners’ front seven. In a Week 10 game against the New Orleans Saints, his fumble recovery in overtime (and the rest of his ridiculous play) was key in San Francisco’s victory.

Then, just as quick as it started, it was over. Borland had never had a concussion, but citing fears of what a concussion could do to his life, he retired.

Borland has spoken about the game since his retirement, and he doesn’t have very nice things to say about it — nothing specifically against the NFL, it just seems he’s worried about the people playing the game in general.

This is the first one we can see where head injuries specifically caused a player to say goodbye to the game of football. There were likely others, but they made other excuses, at least publicly. Borland was just out there, dominating the league before his mid-20s, then he was telling them he didn’t need them any more. He even had to pay the team back more than $400,000. It seems when someone feels like they’re done, they’re going to be done.