Willie Roaf Retiring

TallySaint · 07-28-2006, 11:18 AM

Perennial Pro Bowl tackle Roaf retires

Adam Schefter By Adam Schefter
NFL Analyst

(July 28, 2006) -- Eleven-time Pro-Bowl selection and future Hall-of-Fame offensive tackle Willie Roaf intends to retire, his agent Peter Schaffer confirmed this morning.

"He's retiring to spend more time with his family," said Schaffer, adding that Roaf is now in Pine Bluff, Ark., celebrating his son's birthday this weekend.

Roaf also has battled knee and hamstring injuries that have left him hobbling and wondering whether he could play at the same level he always had. At training camp last summer, Roaf told NFL Network he expected the 2005 season to be his last, but the offensive tackle clearly wavered in his thinking before deciding he had enough in recent weeks.

Roaf's decision is a big blow to the Kansas City Chiefs and what typically has been football's best offensive line. It already had lost right tackle John Welbourn to retirement and now has lost Roaf, leaving the Chiefs to patch up a unit that has dominated in recent years.

Now, when the Chiefs assemble for their first training camp practice this afternoon, Jordan Black will line up as Kansas City's starting left tackle and free-agent acquisition Kyle Turley will line up as the team's starting right tackle.

A Chiefs spokesman said Roaf's decision did not surprise them. The Chiefs knew that Roaf was on a year-to-year basis when they traded for him in 2002. Now that year has come, Schaffer said, and Roaf is done.

It also marks the second successive day an offensive lineman has made some of the biggest news of the day. On July 27, Cleveland center LeCharles Bentley, the face of the Browns free-agent class, ruptured his Achilles' tendon on the team's first contact play of training camp. Bentley will miss the 2006 season.

www.nfl.com

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07-28-2006, 11:18 AM	#1
TallySaint 1000 Posts + Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Tallahassee Posts: 1,367	Willie Roaf Retiring Perennial Pro Bowl tackle Roaf retires Adam Schefter By Adam Schefter NFL Analyst (July 28, 2006) -- Eleven-time Pro-Bowl selection and future Hall-of-Fame offensive tackle Willie Roaf intends to retire, his agent Peter Schaffer confirmed this morning. "He's retiring to spend more time with his family," said Schaffer, adding that Roaf is now in Pine Bluff, Ark., celebrating his son's birthday this weekend. Roaf also has battled knee and hamstring injuries that have left him hobbling and wondering whether he could play at the same level he always had. At training camp last summer, Roaf told NFL Network he expected the 2005 season to be his last, but the offensive tackle clearly wavered in his thinking before deciding he had enough in recent weeks. Roaf's decision is a big blow to the Kansas City Chiefs and what typically has been football's best offensive line. It already had lost right tackle John Welbourn to retirement and now has lost Roaf, leaving the Chiefs to patch up a unit that has dominated in recent years. Now, when the Chiefs assemble for their first training camp practice this afternoon, Jordan Black will line up as Kansas City's starting left tackle and free-agent acquisition Kyle Turley will line up as the team's starting right tackle. A Chiefs spokesman said Roaf's decision did not surprise them. The Chiefs knew that Roaf was on a year-to-year basis when they traded for him in 2002. Now that year has come, Schaffer said, and Roaf is done. It also marks the second successive day an offensive lineman has made some of the biggest news of the day. On July 27, Cleveland center LeCharles Bentley, the face of the Browns free-agent class, ruptured his Achilles' tendon on the team's first contact play of training camp. Bentley will miss the 2006 season. www.nfl.com 8)
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