Titans QB, Jake Locker, Retires At Age 26

After being selected as the eighth pick in the 2011 NFL draft and signing a $12.5 million contract, Jake Locker will no longer be playing professional football. The young athlete made the announcement on Tuesday saying that he “no longer has the burning desire necessary to play football for a living.”

This was quite a surprise to most NFL fans and commentators. Locker was drafted by the Tennessee Titans, where he was briefly a starter before, unfortunately, losing that title. Though Locker didn’t have the best track record, overall throwing more interceptions than touchdowns, he was still young and showed plenty of promise. He only played a total of 30 career NFL games and was unfortunately plagued with injuries throughout. He missed time in 2013 because of a foot injury and in 2012 underwent shoulder surgery shortly after the season was over.

Locker doesn’t seem fazed by the decision though, seeing that he’s simply being honest to himself and others, and is “grateful for having had the opportunity to realize my childhood dream of playing in the NFL.”

Locker has now moved back to the hometown where his dreams were planted, Ferndale, Washington, a small town just below the Canadian border. Locker is somewhat of a living legend there, having taken the high school to two state championships, and winning the ring his senior year.

Moving forward, his plans are very low-key. He’s remodeling his home, which was originally his grandparents, and plans to spend more time with his wife and two young children. In 2014 Locker bought a local gym with Tampa Bay Buccaneers punter Michael Koenen, and he’ll no doubt be putting plenty of time toward that. While the remodel is underway, Locker will be staying with his parents.

As surprising as his retirement might be, Locker isn’t an anomaly. Patrick Willis, a former linebacker of the San Francisco 49ers, decided he was spent at the age of 30, and Jason Worilds of the Pittsburgh Steelers did the same at the age of 27.