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Veteran Seahawks running back Chris Carson is retiring from the NFL at the age of 27 due to a lingering neck injury, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Carson will not make an official retirement statement, on the off chance that his neck dramatically improves. However, Seattle plans to release him with a failed physical designation, which will allow the star ballcarrier to recoup several million dollars in injury protection benefits under the collective bargaining agreement, per Rapoport.
After re-signing a two-year contract with Seattle in the spring of 2021, Carson sustained a neck injury in Week 4 of the following regular season. He was placed on injured reserve shortly after and it was later revealed that he would need season-ending neck surgery. He finished his fifth NFL season with 232 yards and three touchdowns on 54 carries.
A 2017 seventh-round pick by the Seahawks out of Oklahoma State, Carson blossomed into a budding star in his second year in the league after suffering a broken ankle during his rookie campaign. Serving as the team’s workhorse running back, Carson racked up over 1,100 yards on the ground in both 2018 and ’19, scoring 18 total touchdowns during that span.
Unfortunately, a foot injury hampered Carson once again in 2020 as he saw his production drop off significantly in just 12 games played. Still, he scored another nine touchdowns and posted a career-best yards per carry mark (4.8) that season.
In 49 NFL games played, Carson racked up 3,502 rushing yards, 804 receiving yards and 31 total touchdowns across five seasons in Seattle.
With Carson retired, the Seahawks are expected to turn the ball-carrying responsibilities over to a combination of Rashaad Penny and rookie running back Kenneth Walker III.
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