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Former Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Kyle Emanuel, a fifth-round pick of the 2015 NFL Draft, quickly became a solid linebacker, and looked like he could have a long and successful career when he turned pro.
However, after the 2018 season, the Chargers stud shocked a lot of people by announcing he was retiring from the NFL.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, after one season off, the 28-year-old plans on returning to the league.
Former #Chargers starting LB Kyle Emanuel, who abruptly retired at age 27 last year despite several free agent offers on the table, has decided he wants to play again, source said. He can sign immediately and should have significant interest.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 12, 2020
When Emanuel retired before the start of the 2019 season, he had multiple offers on the table. Due to that, you could imagine he will have at least a few teams vying for the former Chargers linebacker's services this year.
It's possible the fact that he retired out of nowhere will ward a few teams off; they might not want to invest in a player that has already shown he could retire at the drop of a hat.
However, there isn't as much reason to be concerned about that as you'd think. Emanuel was already a free agent, so it's not like he was just skipping out on an active contract and hurting a team. No one was tied to him at the moment.
In his career, Emanuel has 147 tackles (11 tackles for loss), four sacks and five pass deflections over 63 games for the Chargers. He also has one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, two interceptions and one defensive touchdown to his name.
While the numbers aren't overwhelming, Kyle Emanuel has shown in the past that he's a very solid player who could bring a lot to a defense. Plenty of teams looking for depth will likely be interested in his services, and he might even land on a team that's giving him a chance to start right out of the gate.
