In an interview with Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com, former Packers tight end Jermichael Finley discussed his decision to retire, explaining that some time away from the game helped him put things in perspective.
“Just watching games, the game is getting violent,” Finley said. “Every week you see something. In high school, you see a kid dying in a football game. I see someone in the NFL getting another neck injury or an ACL. Outside looking in, it’s not all that it’s made it to be. We’re so locked in as football player, it started to become our reality in life.”
While Finley wouldn’t confirm whether he was able to collect the $10MM insurance policy he took out before suffering his 2013 neck injury, he said he’s in a good place financially.
Here’s more from around the NFL’s North divisions:
- Lions head coach Jim Caldwell told reporters today that linebacker DeAndre Levy underwent surgery on his hip and is doing fine. However, the team has yet to make a decision on whether or not Levy will go on IR, ending his season (Twitter link via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press).
- Vikings cornerback Josh Robinson, who opened the season on the physically unable to perform list, is returning to practice this week, which means the club will have a three-week window in which to activate him, tweets Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
- Another player who opened the year on the PUP list, Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta, returned to practice today, as Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun tweets. Baltimore now has a three-week window to either activate Pitta and shut him down for the year, so the tight end – who admits that some people have urged him not to play again – will see how his hip feels and consult with family and doctors before making a decision (Twitter links via Zrebiec).
A Pitta comeback at this point would definitely be a surprise. Although he enjoyed windows of productivity prior to this lengthy injury absence, it’d be difficult to imagine the tight end making much of an impact this season coming off of it.