Erik Ainge, the former University of Tennessee quarterback taken by the Jets in the 2008 NFL draft, has decided to walk away from football, just days after his 25th birthday.
Ainge told the Associated Press on Thursday night that this “isn’t the next step I wanted, but it’s the hand I’m dealt.”
As a freshman at Tennessee in 2004, Ainge threw 17 touchdown passes, breaking Peyton Manning’s school freshman record. But he struggled with injuries for the rest of his time at Tennessee. He also had several injuries during his time with the Jets, and he struggled with drug addiction. Most recently, he suffered a torn rotator cuff last month.
Now Ainge is done with football. We wish him well in whatever life brings him next.