On Thursday, the former Cleveland Brown and Green Bay Packer JC Tretter announced his retirement.
https://twitter.com/JCTretter/status/1562782499151167491?s=20&t=_xHbFXxErIOa7-Pzv1AuQQ
Tretter might have had some knee problems in the past, but he thinks his NFLPA position is why he didn’t get a contract offer.
“Guys would be like, ‘Oh, like how are your knees doing?’ And I always said ‘My NFLPA job is gonna end my career well before my knees end my career.'”
Tretter was unsigned for a while, but he said that if any team tries to contact him, he’ll pass on a contract.
“There are teams right now that I would say are desperate for a center based off how camp’s going. Still no calls. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m going to retire, I know what I’ve accomplished in my career and I’m at peace with that. If some desperate team called tomorrow, I’d pass.”
Why Was JC Tretter Unsigned?
Just like Tretter thinks, it was probably because of his position in the NFLPA. Even his former teammate Joel Bitonio thinks his stance on player safety is the reason why.
“When you have a guy that’s top-five, top-10 at center in the league and he’s not on a roster, you know, and he’s the NFLPA president and maybe some of the owners don’t appreciate what he brings to the table on certain topics when he’s trying to protect player safety and things of that nature, it seems a little suspicious to me. But, again, I don’t know what’s going on behind closed doors. I don’t know what his conversations have been with teams and stuff, but just from an outside perspective usually players that are close to the top of their game get picked up. Teams want to win in this league. So it’s an interesting topic, for sure.”
Tretter has had a record of calling out the NFL for player safety, even having tweets like this.
https://twitter.com/JCTretter/status/1558534552125054978?s=20&t=_xHbFXxErIOa7-Pzv1AuQQ
It’s an interesting idea if that’s the reason why a player as good as Tretter retired early in his career. But, he’ll be focusing on his job as the NFLPA President for now.
