Jason Hanson announced that he’s retiring from the NFL on Thursday after 21 seasons in the league, per Tim Twentyman.
- Mike Garafolo reports that the low offers he received from the Lions had him considering retirement.
- Garafolo adds that Hanson was also dealing with a foot injury.
โIt was time to make a decision,โ Hanson said, via DetroitLions.com. โIt was the right time to step away. โUltimately, itโs my heel โ the problem I developed last year. Now that weโre starting a new year, itโs still an issue. I have the desire. I have the determination, as I said earlier, to come back. Each time Iโd start to push it, Iโd kind of short-circuit. I realized that at this point of my career, I donโt want to perform in a compromised way. Itโs not good for the team. I lost a little of my desire to play injured.โ
Detroit brought in free agent K David Akers for a recent visit, but wound up leaving without a contract. Hanson, 42, has been the Lions kicker for over two decades, which is absolutely remarkable. He’s played the most games for a single team and is the all-time leader in 50-yard field goals with 51.
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