Chris Long retires after 11 seasons

Posted by Mike Florio on May 18, 2019, 9:21 PM EDT
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Defensive lineman Chris Long, the second overall pick in the draft, two-time Super Bowl champion, and 2019 Walter Payton Man of the Year, has retired from the game.

“Cheers,” he tweeted on Saturday night. “Been a hell of a journey. Eleven years and I can honestly say I put my soul into every minute of it. Highs and lows. I’ve seen them both and I appreciate the perspective. Gratitude and love to those who lifted me up.”

Long spent eight years with the Rams, all in St. Louis. After being released in February 2016, he landed with the Patriots and won Super Bowl LI. He then signed with the Eagles and won Super Bowl LII.

He has 70 career sacks and missed only 14 games due to injury.

The centerpiece of Long’s off-field charitable endeavors became Waterboys, an effort to provide clean water to impoverished communities in East Africa.

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52 responses to “Chris Long retires after 11 seasons”

  4. Best of luck to him. Have followed him on Twitter for years and seems like a real cool dude. Congrats on a long and winning (near the end) career.

  5. Very good player on and off the field. Not sure if he ever lived up to the 2nd overall pick hype status coming out of college – but none the less a career to be celebrated. Consistently solid.

  15. Shout out to Chris Long on his announcement to retire today Guy came here, was a vocal leader, great at raising funds for under privileged kids and other community projects, absolutely loved Philly, and was HUGE in key moments for us to get the Birds their first BOWL. Mad respect for the guy even if his Dad Can be annoying

  19. Good riddance. While I applaud all of his philanthropic work, he often came off as very self-righteous and his belief in blanket pardons is insane.

  21. Good for him. However he is still a first round bust. He only had 2 double digit sack seasons in his 11 year career. He signed on to 2 super bowl winning champions and got a ring but underperformed with both. Hence why he’s retiring. Did great work with philanthropy but I always felt he overvalued his play on the field

  23. Great player and while I don’t agree with his beliefs he seemed to care about his community and helped the Pats win a title. Can’t be too critical of him.

  24. Good guy overall.

    Has to be considered a draft bust for being taken that high and was average his entire career. Never lived up to the old man!

  25. ducknichols50 says:
    May 18, 2019 at 10:18 pm
    Didn’t he play a season without receiving a paycheck?
    ++++!+++++++++++++
    I believe he did donating the money to inner city schools. Too bad he didn’t realize 64% of rural students don’t receive the opportunities city students do. So that money could have went to good use of he knew something.

  29. Thanks, Chris. It was a pleasure getting to watch you play the past couple years, you’ll surely be missed here in Philly. Not just the football community but the world could use more men like yourself. Congratulations on a great career and good luck going with the next chapter. If you don’t respect this man, you need help. You can disagree with his politics but there isn’t a more charitable man around. Tip of the cap to you, sir.

  30. Great player, although I am not going to miss his snarkiness off the field for people who disagreed with him.

  32. Overhyped, overdrafted and ultimately overrated, lacked Dad’s passion, I tought was going to see Howie’s II, was disappointed, just didn’t have it, will be remembered by his work outside the field, got so much of his mother.

  33. He was willing to stand up against the anti-kneelers. It was never about “patriotism” for those people. Anti-kneeling comments were always code for bigotry.

    True patriots support individual rights for all people, including freedom of expression.

  34. As an Eagles fan I loved the winning attitude he brought to the team, and he was clearly a crucial cog in the leadership structure on the road to VII. His time in Philly was short but his impact was immediate. Respect from Eagles Nation!

  36. Great news for my Redskins! I hated having him in our division as a player! He made that Eagle’s defense what it’s been recently, setting the edge, etc. Class guy. Wish him all the best!

  37. chris doesn’t seem like the type to ever truly “retire”. in fact he probably feels like his work is just beginning.

  40. What a stud…..on an off the field. High character, high motor, and a huge heart. Thanks for setting an example of how a professional athlete should show up to work and give back. All the best in your next adventure.

  41. Heck of a player, and an even better guy. Dude is Howie Long’s kid, guy had available option to be a spoiled knucklehead his whole life. This dude stood up for a cause that had no effect on him whatsoever, and put his money where his mouth was, figuratively and literally. Gotta respect that. Put your feet up, bud, you earned it.

  42. Has done a lot of good things off the field. Has made sure everyone has known about it, too.

  44. I predict Chris (and fellow UVA alum, Malcolm Brogdon) will accomplish even more in retirement outside of their pro sports careers. Chris is a hard worker and benefits from proper parenting by Howie and Diane.

  45. Awesome guy, awesome family. Never fully lived up to his draft billing was a productive player for 11 seasons for some winning teams, it sucks he had to endue a lot of the inept of the Rams for most of his career. I would have loved to see him play one or two of his final years as a Raider, like his father. He certainly could have been a guy we could use on the Raiders. Good luck in the future.

  46. He always struck me as a “Look at me!” type of person … always making sure his generous acts got plenty of attention.

  47. He always struck me as a “Look at me maximize exposure!” type of person … always making sure his charities got plenty of attention…

  48. He was like Russell Wilson… Both have done a LOT of good off the field, but it was “psssst.. Hey, look at me… I am doing something good!!” Wilson goes to see children in the hospital with an entourage of media in tow.

    I remember reading about Earnhardt and how his inner circle had strict orders to MOT let the press know about the good deeds he did. And he did a ton…

    To paraphrase an old saying “if you do something good for someone else and people know about it, you did it for the wrong reasons”

  49. Visiting children in a hospital is so different than charitable fundraising.

  51. He always struck me as a “Look at me maximize exposure!” type of person … always making sure his charities got plenty of attention…

    That is Philanthropy 101! Maximize and leverage your time, talent, and people to benefit a charity. That is why charities, and many for profit entities, hire known people such as sports stars, to be guest speakers, presenters, and spokespeople.

  52. cardinealsfan20 says:
    May 19, 2019 at 5:16 am
    He was willing to stand up against the anti-kneelers. It was never about “patriotism” for those people. Anti-kneeling comments were always code for bigotry.

    True patriots support individual rights for all people, including freedom of expression.

    ———————-

    True patriots don’t support those who don’t stand for the Anthem. They support individual rights/expression, but not things like sitting/kneeling for the Anthem or racist signs that compare diversity to genocide. Those who screamed “free speech” regarding anti-patriots are the same ones who use baseless claims to silence conservatives.

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