Jon Beason was caught up in the Giants’ house-cleaning today, and he has chosen to not pursue work elsewhere.
The Giants announced that the veteran linebacker was announcing his retirement, ending a career that was brilliant when he was well.
“I was able to have some success and set the pace and break records - things I never even really paid attention to until after the fact,” Beason said. “I couldn’t have scripted a better story, coming in as a first-round pick and starting in my first NFL game and setting the club high in tackles, and then breaking it every other year that I played, the Pro Bowls, the All-Pro’s, pinching myself, getting the big contract based on what I had already done; being rewarded for all that was a great feeling. I know that I’m very, very fortunate to have that moment, to have those memories of a certain period of time where I was a big deal.
“The only thing I wish I could have done — I dreamt often of being on the first team to win a championship for the Carolina Panthers. To date, it hasn’t happened. To do something first, I thought was really special and for me to play for the last expansion team, instead of following a legacy of greatness with some of the storied franchises, to do it first was something that was always on my mind. I would say that with everything, even the injuries, the ups and downs of an NFL career, that’s my biggest regret. That’s the thing that looms darkest for me moving forward, knowing that the opportunity has passed me by. It’s something that I’ll have to live with.”
Chosen in the first round of the 2007 draft, Beason helped the Panthers bridge the gap between the injury-shortened career of Dan Morgan and the drafting of Luke Kuechly.
Beason started every game his first four seasons, but since then, has had a hard time staying on the field. He played in more than five games just once since 2010. He thought about continuing, but a knee injury which landed him on IR this season was deemed too much to come back from again.