It’s not uncommon for players to announce their retirement as training camp gets underway. It is, however, unusual for a 26-year-old to do it. Ravens center John Urschel says he’s walking away from football. 
“This morning John Urschel informed me of his decision to retire from football,” Head Coach John Harbaugh said in a statement. “We respect John and respect his decision. We appreciate his efforts over the past three years and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
Urschel participated in all of the Ravens’ offseason camps, but it seems that he is opting to pursue a career in mathematics instead. He’s a Ph.D. candidate in mathematics at MIT and is said to be a straight-A student, so there should be no shortage of options for him after football.
Meanwhile, his surprise retirement leaves the Ravens with a definite void in the middle of the offensive line. Urschel was slated to be the Ravens’ starting center and now that Jeremy Zuttah is no longer in the picture, the Ravens are without a clear cut plan B.
Now that the Ravens are in the market for a center, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them circle back to former Jets standout Nick Mangold.
I’d say signing Mangold is almost certain now. It may even be an upgrade, if he’s healthy.
Best of luck to Urschel. Interesting dude.
Isn’t he the guy explaining the headphones to JJ Watt in the commercials?
Yes. I live near Penn State, which is where he went to school, and had a chance to meet and talk with him. He’s really nice, and you can tell within 2 minutes of talking to him that he is a really eclectic and interesting guy. Good for him, he’s going to do well in whatever he does.
Jason Kelce is available in trade from the Eagles..
Kelce from the Eagles …..
Dang apparently it was at least partially because of the CTE study they just released. Best of wishes to Urschel and good luck at MIT, you definitely don’t need brain injuries messing up your future in education. The Ravens can go hard after Nick Mangold now and hopefully he would happily accept an offer to play center again.
Curious if his decision correlates to the release of the CTE study. It’s something ESPN had indicated but I haven’t seen anything definitive.
Good for him. Mathematicians live longer.
Too smart to play football…..