After three concussions suffered during the 2017 NFL regular season alone, Houston Texans tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz may consider retirement or sit out for the 2018 season, according to an article published on Sunday by Joe Stevenson of the Northwest Herald.
Following a breakout 2016 campaign in which he caught 54 passes for 559 yards and four touchdown receptions, Fiedorowicz was limited to only five games last season due to concussions.
“A dude knocked me out,” Fiedorowicz said. “After eight weeks (a period on injured reserve), when I came back, it was constantly on my mind. I wasn’t always able to play loose and free. It was in my head. Anytime that’s on your mind while you’re playing an NFL football game, you’re in trouble. You can’t play timid. Guys are trying to take your head off, you know?”
Back in December, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter wrote an article about Fiedorowicz's concussions and hinted that the tight end would consider retirement at the age of 26.
“After suffering at least his fourth concussion in the past two seasons last weekend, Houston Texans tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz could be forced to retire at age 26, sources told ESPN,” Schefter said. “Fiedorowicz, a 2014 third-round pick out of Iowa, was placed on injured reserve in early September because of a concussion. He returned to Houston's active roster in Week 10 but was placed on IR again last week after suffering at least his third concussion this season.”
In the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Fiedorowicz was off to a great start and had four catches for 46 yards in the first half alone. Unfortunately, the rest of his 2017-18 season would not be the same after he took a shot to the head from Jags linebacker Myles Jack.
“You can’t go repair your brain,” Fiedorowicz said. “It’s not like an ACL or shoulder. That’s serious. I took some dingers. There was a couple of weeks there where I was having some tough times. This is what I’ve done my whole life, so to think that I’m going to walk away is tough. It’s not something that I thought of doing, because I signed the new deal, anytime soon. Life goes on, whatever happens.”
Fiedorowicz has quite a lot of thinking to do about his future over the next few months, and whether he decides to hang up his cleats or not, he deserves the best of luck going forward.
Follow Us
Subscribe
