Brian Urlacher Retires After 13 Seasons With The Chicago Bears
Brian Urlacher has retired just two months after the Chicago Bears announced they wouldn’t be re-signing their star linebacker. The 34-year-old made the announcement on his official Who Say account on Wednesday, and he ended the post by saying, “it was an honor to play my entire career for the Chicago Bears.”
The eight-time Pro Bowler spent all of his 13 seasons in the NFL at Soldier Field for the Bears. He is now set to retire after contract talks never amounted to anything more than a “good bye” in March.
“After spending a lot of time this spring thinking about my NFL future, I have made the decision to retire,” Urlacher wrote on the account Wednesday. “Although I could continue playing, I’m not sure I would bring a level of performance or passion that’s up to my standards. When considering this, along with the fact that I could retire after 13-year career wearing only one jersey for such a storied franchise, my decision became pretty clear.”
The five-time All-Pro couldn’t have said it any better, as his heart obviously still belongs to the faithful Bears’ fans. Now Brian Urlacher retires after putting together one of the greatest defensive careers in the franchise’s history.
The University of New Mexico product entered the league in 2000 after being drafted ninth overall in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Bears. It didn’t take long for Urlacher to make his presence known, as he started all 16 games in his first season and posted 125 tackles, 101 of which were solo, the second most in his career.
His best season came two years later when he made 153 total tackles, a Bears’ franchise record, which established him as one of the premier forces on the defensive side of the ball in the NFL.
Now, after 13 seasons and 1,353 tackles, Urlacher is calling it quits as he will always consider himself a member of the blue and gold. It’s truly an end of era at Soldier Field as Brian Urlacher retires, and he went on to say in his statement, “I will miss the great game, but I leave with no regrets.”
[Image via Mike Morbeck]
