Rating: (0 votes - average)

Max Unger, the anchor in the middle of the New Orleans Saints offensive line the past four years, chose to prioritize his health when he decided to retire from this NFL, a surprising move that became official Saturday (March 16).

“At the end of the day, I guess I’m retiring because I didn’t think I could make it through another season,” Unger said Monday (March 18) on a teleconference.



Unger, 32, said he’s been dealing with lower-body ailments that have been detrimental to his performance, though he wouldn’t detail the injuries. He said one doctor recommended a surgery that could have helped him return in 2019, but Unger didn’t want to spend the offseason recovering and missing valuable practice time like he did in 2017 while rehabbing from foot surgery.

“To do that going into year 11, I didn’t think was going to work out well,” he said.

Instead, Unger is retiring after a stellar 10-year career with the Saints and Seattle Seahawks that included 130 starts, one Super Bowl victory, three trips to the Pro Bowl and one first-team All-Pro honor.

Unger also retires as the center who started the most games (61) with Drew Brees, and Unger said it’s been “amazing” to work with the Saints quarterback the past four seasons.

“That was obviously a hard call,” Unger said of the phone call when he informed Brees of his decision.

Unger said he’d been thinking about retiring since the season ended in January after the Saints lost in the NFC Championship Game. He finally made the decision within the past month, and he informed the Saints of his plans, which helped them prepare for free agency knowing they would need help at center.

read more on NOLA

saintfan

If he knew about a potential off season operation, and knew he wasn't down for it, why did he wait so long to let the team know...or have the Saints known for a while?

Mad respect for the man, but it sucks 'if' he sprung it on us like this considering he's known he was going to retire for a while now.

SmashMouth

Article says he informed the team a while back.

saintfan

That's what I get for not reading it.

Crusader

Wise decision IMHO. Your long term health is not worth gambling with. I bet he still will have some life-long issues from football.

Good that he deceided now and not in 2-3 month during minicamps.

AsylumGuido

That happens a lot around here. Although, you're not one of the usual suspects.

Rugby Saint II

The big man was the main stay on our O-line for years and will be hard to replace. He was looking a little old at the end of last season and apparently it was time to retire. I wish him well and thank him for taking the time to give me an autograph and chat. Max Unger was a great player, team mate and leader. He will be tough to replace in new Orleans and I see a down grade for the O-line with his loss.

Looking back he was unhappy about the trade at first but he made the most of it. He was a true professional on and off the field and represented New Orleans well.

Thanks for everything Max!

SaintsBro

It's a tough call deciding to retire oneself, or decide to keep going, he seems to have handled the decision in the right way, as best he could. After 10 years it is a tremendous uphill battle just getting oneself in shape for camp, let alone the grind of an entire season.