The Pittsburgh Steelers have announced a press conference today with their all-time leading receiver, Hines Ward. Presumably, the announcement will be that Ward is retiring from the NFL.
Although there’s no official word on the 36-year-old Ward’s retirement, it’s hard to think of any other reason that Ward would be making any type of announcement.
The Steelers released Ward early this month, and he has drawn no interest at all in the free agent market. Ward had noticeably slowed down last season, catching just 46 passes for 381 yards, for an average of only 8.3 yards a catch.
Now he appears to have accepted that his career is over. It was a brilliant career that saw him collect 1,000 catches for 12,083 yards and 85 touchdowns, with four Pro Bowls, two Super Bowl rings and a Super Bowl MVP award.
If Ward has played his final game, he’ll be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017.