Wide receiver Jermaine Kearse hasn’t been on an NFL field since breaking his leg in the Lions’ first preseason game last summer and he won’t be back on a field as a player at any point in the future.
Kearse announced his retirement in an Instagram post on Tuesday morning. Kearse wrote that he feels “extremely grateful and content with what I was able to accomplish” over the course of his career. Those accomplishments included winning a Super Bowl with the Seahawks after growing up in Lakewood, Washington and attending the University of Washington.
“Seattle, as a hometown kid it was a complete honor to represent you guys out there on the field,” Kearse wrote. “Thank you so much for your endless support throughout my football career. It was an honor to put on that Hawks uniform and I’m so grateful I was able to help bring our first Super Bowl home! Something we will never forget.”
Kearse made the Seahawks after going undrafted in 2012 and he caught 153 passes for 2,109 yards and 11 touchdowns in 69 games for the team. He also had 31 catches for 493 yards and six touchdowns in 12 playoff games. One of those touchdowns came against the Packers in overtime of the NFC Championship Game to send the Seahawks to Super Bowl XLIX.
He moved on to the Jets in a 2017 trade that sent defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson to the Seahawks. Kearse had 102 catches for 1,181 yards and six touchdowns in 30 appearances as a Jet.