Former Clemson star suddenly retires from NFL

The time to hang up the cleats in the National Football League comes at many different points in time for different players. That time, has come now for former Clemson star B.J. Goodson.

Goodson has retired from the NFL, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The New York Jets announced his retirement via their Twitter page, stating “We’ve placed LB BJ Goodson on the Reserve/Retired List“.

He had a six year career in the National Football League, if you include 2021. The former Clemson standout’s best year in the NFL came with the Cleveland Browns, when he racked up 91 tackles, two interceptions, and 2 tackles for loss. He also hauled in two interceptions when he was with the New York Giants in 2018. Goodson spent a total of three years with the New York Giants, one year with the Green Bay Packers, one year with the Browns, and his most recent time in 2021 with the Jets.

BJ Goodson Clemson bio

Goodson was drafted in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. While at Clemson, he worked his way up from backup linebacker to a starting linebacker and leading tackler on the team once he was finished there. In his final two years at Clemson, he had five recovered fumbles, more than any other player on the team. In 2015, Goodson was selected to the All-ACC third team by the league’s coaches. He posted some impressive numbers in his final season, racking up 160 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks. He also ranked second on the team in quarterback pressures with 17. The six-foot-one, 250-pound linebacker also recorded the season-high tackle total by any Clemson Tiger defender that season, in the Orange Bowl against Oklahoma. Goodson tallied 19 total stops in the win against the Sooners. He tallied a team high 14 tackles in the 2016 National Championship Game against Alabama.

High School bio

As a high school prospect, Goodson was rated as a three-star prospect in the 2011 recruiting class. He attended Lamar High School in Lamar, South Carolina. He was a tackling machine his senior year at Lamar, racking up 156 tackles. Goodson also tallied eight sacks and 20 tackles in one game in the state playoffs. He played in the North-South All-Star Game in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. As a junior, the linebacker racked up 96 tackles and six tackles for loss. His high school was the same one that produced former Clemson All-American and All-Pro Levon Kirkland. An excellent athlete, Goodson was also one of the top scorers on his high school basketball team as well. The former three-star prospect chose Clemson over LSU and Tennessee.