Chargers center Nick Hardwick has decided against retiring.
Hardwick, who said after the Chargers’ playoff loss that he was thinking of calling it a career, instead told the Chargers on Saturday that he intends to play at least one more year.
“I told them I expect to play next season,” Hardwick told U-T San Diego. “I’m excited about it.”
The 32-year-old Hardwick, who is heading into his 11th season and the third year of a three-year contract, had head and neck injuries last season that made him think it might be time to call it quits. But after some rest he decided that he wants to keep going.
“I wanted to take a month off where I didn’t have to think about football,” Hardwick said. “I just wanted to be honest with where my body is, where my brain is, where we’re at and where we want to go. Just give an honest assessment. My body feels great. My brain feels great. I do think there’s better football ahead of me.”
That’s good news for the Chargers, who now know they won’t be losing the veteran leader on their offensive line.