30 NFL stars who could retire after the 2024 season
By Nick Villano
Already this offseason, we’ve seen our fair share of surprise retirements. Earlier this month, New York Giants tight end Darren Waller announced that his NFL career was over. This came after months of speculation with no real end in sight. Also this offseason, Aaron Donald said goodbye, Jason Kelce left the game while he became as famous as any center could possibly be, and Fletcher Cox made known his intentions to hang up his cleats.
That’s the interesting thing about football — sometimes stars retire incredibly early. Hall of Famer Patrick Willis retired in 2015. He still to this day hasn’t turned 40 years old. Chris Borland famously retired from the game after his rookie season, citing a concern about head injuries. Whether it’s injuries or just playing a sport that’s so fast that the second that speed lowers it’s over, players have to accept that these careers are short.
So when looking at the players who could retire sometime in the next 12 months, the list could be incredibly long. Anyone short of a superstar quarterback could retire based on one serious injury or just a complete drop in production. Other times, players retire because it’s just time to move on to what’s next. Who might be on that list this season?
1. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
This one is very expected, as we’ve been hearing the retirement rumors around Matthew Stafford for a while. The rumors are only going to get louder as the season goes on. Stafford is one of the older superstar quarterbacks still slinging the ball at a high level. After an injury-riddled stretch following his 2022 Super Bowl win, Stafford bounced back in a big way last season.
This likely reinvigorated Stafford. That’s why he is all in on 2024. While his teammate Aaron Donald wanted to hang it up, Stafford is going to give it another go. However, despite only being 36 (which can be young in QB years), a laundry list of career injuries might end the party early for Stafford. Now, that would start the very interesting Hall of Fame debate.