Titans’ Jurrell Casey announces retirement after 10 years in the NFL

One of the NFL’s veteran defensive linemen is ending his NFL career after 10 seasons. 

Jurrell Casey (@Jurrellc) announces retirement after 10 NFL seasons

99 💙 » https://t.co/UKxh85w0hj

— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) September 2, 2021

“My career, it was amazing, just to have the opportunity to play this game. It was beautiful,” Jurrell Casey said with a smile, per a Tennessee Titans news release on Thursday. “I always tried to play to the best of my ability, and always considered it an honor.”

Casey, who is currently a free agent after being released by the Denver Broncos in February, spent the vast majority of his time in the NFL with the Titans from 2011-2019. In March 2020, Casey was traded to Denver in exchange for a seventh-round draft pick. The veteran played in just three games last season after suffering a torn bicep in September. His first game in a Broncos uniform was against the Titans. 

Despite the heartfelt tweet and news release on Thursday morning, Casey’s split from Tennessee in 2020 did not transpire in the smoothest manner. Casey told Ari Meirov of Pro Football Focus that the Titans threw him away “like a piece of trash.” Releasing Casey cleared up more that $11 million in cap space.

In total, the five-time Pro Bowler notched 507 tackles and forced eight fumbles over 142 games. He was constantly flying around the backfield; Casey had 85 tackles for loss, 117 quarterback hits and 51 sacks over his career. He missed just five games over his nine years in Nashville. 

In addition to his Pro Bowl accolades, Casey was a six-time defensive captain and a two-time Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominee. The defensive lineman and his wife, Ryann, created a non-profit focused on raising money for re-entry programs, inner-city youths, mentoring and halfway houses. 

Casey will officially announce his retirement at a 1:00 p.m. press conference on Thursday.

Casey helped close out the Pete Carroll era at USC

A native of Southern California, Casey stayed home to play college football at USC. In three years with the Trojans he recorded 138 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, nine sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception. His first two years at USC were head coach Pete Carroll’s final two years, and over the duration of his career the team went 29-10 with a Rose Bowl win. 

He was drafted by Tennessee in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft.