Blogger Mike Florio wrote a recent column for SportingNews.com about 10 NFL players that should retire.
6. Jonathan Ogden, OT, Ravens: Ogden is another guy who should quit talking about retirement and just do it. For the future Hall of Famer, however, it’s not about whether he loves the game. It’s about whether he can continue to use a constantly injured toe to push off his 345-pound frame. (Then again, it’s likely the toe is constantly injured from all those years of doing just that.)
8. Chad Johnson, WR, Bengals: In a misguided effort to get out of town, the Bengals’ No. 1 wideout has been threatening to retire. Coach Marvin Lewis has called his bluff. Johnson should call Marvin’s bluff and pack it in. Not because it’s in Johnson’s best long-term interests to do so, but because the football-following world is sick of listening to his routine. The only problem is someone would likely hire Johnson to talk about football on television. So maybe it’s better if he doesn’t retire. Ever.
I realize is this is supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek column and Florio is trying to be somewhat comical, but I’ve always been of the mind that no member of the media should ever tell a professional athlete when to hang it up. If athletes took retirement advice from the media, Brett Favre would have quit four years ago and football fans wouldn’t have been able to enjoy Favre and the Packers’ great run last year.
