Saying goodbye: players who retired in 2013

Donald Driver was once the favorite target of Brett Favre. Yes, he's been around for a while. Finding himself buried on a depth chart that included James Jones, Jordy Nelson, Greg Jennings, and Randall Cobb, however, Driver announced his retirement earlier this month.Last year, the Indianapolis Colts blew up their team, axing Peyton Manning and many other veterans, including center Jeff Saturday. Saturday finished his career with the Packers for whom he paradoxically was named a Pro Bowler and lost his starting spot (which shows how meaningful the Pro Bowl has become).Matt Birk has been one of the most durable and reliable offensive linemen in the game for over a decade. He finished his four year tenure with the Ravens having not missed a game. But today he announced his retirement, at long last, as a champion.View the list »
Everybody knows that Ray Lewis retired. He made sure that everybody knew. Perhaps nobody made a bigger deal about his retirement in recent years. Even the Pope was more discreet in his announcement. But he rode it all the way to the top of his profession, and not many get to say that.

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Professional athletes naturally have a much shorter tenure in their occupation than the average individual, meaning that even the best players find themselves "retired" in their mid-30s to early 40s.

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That means that notable retirements in the National Football League occur with virtually every offseason, and the 2013 offseason has been no different. Of course, it is always ideal to go out on top, as some--Jerome Bettis, Michael Strahan--have done--and this season, a pair of Baltimore Ravens were lucky enough to do just that.

It was nothing short of a media spectacle as the Ravens continued to march on to the Super Bowl during Ray Lewis' "last ride", as he called it, having announced his eventual retirement at the beginning of the playoffs. As everybody knows, the Ravens rode that momentum all the way to victory, and Lewis was able to say farewell as a champion.

He was not the only Raven to say goodbye to the game of football as a champion, however. Nor were the Ravens the only team to say goodbye to some of their veterans of their own accord. See some notable retirements from this offseason in the list.

View the list
  • Everybody knows that Ray Lewis retired. He made sure that everybody knew. Perhaps nobody made a bigger deal about his retirement in recent years. Even the Pope was more discreet in his announcement. But he rode it all the way to the top of his profession, and not many get to say that.
  • Matt Birk has been one of the most durable and reliable offensive linemen in the game for over a decade. He finished his four year tenure with the Ravens having not missed a game. But today he announced his retirement, at long last, as a champion.
  • Last year, the Indianapolis Colts blew up their team, axing Peyton Manning and many other veterans, including center Jeff Saturday. Saturday finished his career with the Packers for whom he paradoxically was named a Pro Bowler and lost his starting spot (which shows how meaningful the Pro Bowl has become).
  • Donald Driver was once the favorite target of Brett Favre. Yes, he's been around for a while. Finding himself buried on a depth chart that included James Jones, Jordy Nelson, Greg Jennings, and Randall Cobb, however, Driver announced his retirement earlier this month.
  • Johnny Knox is by no means old in football years. However, he suffered a vicious back-bending injury in late 2011, and he hasn't played football since. Earlier in the month, the Bears waived him, and soon after he held a press conference announcing his intentions not to continue to pursue football due to his injury.
  • Tony Gonzalez maintained during the season that he was 95% likely to retire after the 2012 season, regardless of how it finished. It finished with the first playoff victory of his eventual Hall of Fame career, but with a taste of wanting more. Is he done, or will he be lured back, like Brett Favre? Only time will tell.
View the list

, Newark Football Examiner

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