Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Sidney Rice is retiring from football at the age of 27 due to concussions and other injuries that have piled up during his NFL, the player announced on Wednesday afternoon.
Rice's future entering the season was uncertain anyway due to injury issues. He missed the last half of the 2013 season and the playoffs due to a torn ACL, and he only played in all 16 games in a season twice in his seven-year NFL career.
The former Vikings and Seahawks receiver released the following statement on the Seahawks official website:
"I was just thinking about things I've been through in the last few years," said Rice, a big-play wide receiver who signed with the Seahawks in 2011 after playing his first four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. "I've hit the ground a number of times. I have quite a few injuries. It's something I've always battled through and came back from.
"But I just figure at this point I have the rest of my life ahead of me and I want to be able to function and do things later down the road."
While he played the last three seasons for the Seahawks, Rice spent his first four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, earning Pro Bowl honors in 2009, his third year in the league. That year -- one of his two full seasons -- he finished with 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns on 83 receptions. For his career, he finished with 243 receptions, 3,592 yards and 30 touchdowns.