Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Rodney Gunter had a tough decision to make. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Gunter has retired after he was diagnosed with a heart condition.
From #Jaguars DE Rodney Gunter… 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/GDBSkrKRje
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 16, 2020
That is tough to read. This must have been an incredibly tough decision for Gunter to make. He is walking away from the game he loves due to circumstances out of his control.
Hopefully, he can get the surgery he needs soon enough and can make it back to the NFL at some point.
Gunter is a five-year NFL veteran. After spending all five of his seasons in the league with the Arizona Cardinals (who selected him in the fourth round back in the 2015 draft), Gunter signed a three-year deal with the Jaguars this offseason.
The defensive tackle has 11 career sacks, 7.5 of those have come in the last two seasons. While he may not have been the biggest star in Jacksonville, he was entering year one as someone that could play a pretty large role in the defense.
This is a scary situation, though, and while everyone obviously hopes that he manages to find his way back onto the field, it is more important that Gunter gets healthy.
It would be a great story if the defensive tackle could make it back to the NFL. He is retiring at just 28 and could have a long and successful career still ahead of him.
Right now though, everyone should be focused on his health. It seems like his teammates, coaching staff and fans have always loved him. So Gunter likely has a large support system behind him.
This is a sad story, but one that hopefully has a happy ending. Good luck to Rodney Gunter, and if this is really the end of his career, congratulations on the five years in the NFL—that's more than most people can brag about.
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