According to Zak Keefer, Colts LT Anthony Castonzo is making the decision to retire after 10 years in the league with the Colts.
Castonzo mulled retirement last year before re-signing with the Colts through the 2021 season. However, knee and ankle injuries late this season may have affected his decision regarding playing the final year of that deal.
He released the following statement on the team website:
“As a kid, it was my dream to play in the NFL. I played my first full season of tackle football in second grade. Now I have played my last. As I sit here now, after a 10 year NFL career, I am extremely proud of all the hard work and sacrifice that allowed me to evolve that dream into a goal, and ultimately into a reality unlike anything I could have even imagined.
More than anything, I want to thank everyone who supported me along the way, especially those who believed in me during times when I did not believe in myself. So thank you to the GMs who believed in me. Thank you to all the coaches who have taught me so much in my 25 total years of football. Thank you to the fans who are so dedicated to the game we all love. Thank you to my teammates who have become friends and those who I now call brothers. Thank you to all the strength coaches, trainers, and medical staff who gave me the blueprint to build (and sometimes rebuild) myself into the best player I could be. Thanks to all the support staff who helped make my daily work experience a joyous one. And thank you to my family who is every one of these things and so much more.
I was fortunate to have been drafted by the Colts ten years ago. I was even more fortunate to spend my entire career here in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Colts is a special organization with special ownership who fill the organization with special people at every level. I truly believe this is the best organization in all of sports. I am lucky to have been able to call myself a Colt for the past ten years and will consider myself a Colt for the rest of my life.
I have given much to the game of football, but it has given me so much more. I close the book on the football chapter of my life gifted with memories and moments I wouldn’t trade for anything. So thank you, last but far from least, to football.”
Colts HC Frank Reich added:
“I was an assistant coach with the Colts when Anthony was selected in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft. From day one, I knew he would be a special player. Anthony has a brilliant mind and he was a technician both on the field and in film study. He is a tremendous leader who put as much energy in making his teammates better as he did improving his own game. I’m thankful for the opportunity to watch him grow as a professional from the start of his career to the end. I wish him the best in his post-football career.”
Castonzo, 32, is a former first-round pick of the Colts back in 2011. He played out the final year of his four-year rookie contract when the Colts signed him to a five-year, $49.438 million contract that included $18 million guaranteed back in 2015.
Castonzo mulled over the possibility of retiring this offseason before informing the Colts of his decision to return for the 2020 season. Indianapolis signed him to a two-year, $33 million deal.
Castonzo started 132 of the 144 games he played in for the Colts at tackle over his 10-year career.
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