Three-time Pro Bowl guard and Super Bowl LII champion Brandon Brooks of the Philadelphia Eagles announced his retirement Wednesday after two injury-marred seasons.
Brooks, 32, missed the entire 2020 season with a torn Achilles tendon and played only two games in 2021 before landing on injured reserve with a pectoral strain.
“How do you say goodbye to something you’ve known your whole life,” Brooks said. “Something that taught you triumph, pain, success, failure, perseverance, love, empathy and altruism. I don’t know, but I’ll try my best. Yes, after 10 years in this game, it’s true I am retiring.”
Brooks played his first four seasons (2012-15) with the Houston Texans, who drafted him in the third round in 2012 out of Miami (Ohio).
He signed a five-year, $40 million deal with Philadelphia in free agency in March 2016. He signed a four-year, $54.2 million extension in November 2019.
Brooks made the Pro Bowl in three straight seasons with the Eagles from 2017-19 and finished his career with 114 games played (108 starts).
“I attacked my rehab with intensity and passion — I always do — but making it back this season just wasn’t in the cards,” he said. “It didn’t end the way I would have like it, but to me it’s never about the ending. It’s about the journey. I was fortunate enough to go on this journey with a group of brothers, not teammates but family.”
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie issued a statement thanking Brooks for his service and also praising him for speaking out about his battle with an anxiety disorder.
“He is one of the most thoughtful and bravest athletes I have ever been around,” Lurie said. “Brandon’s willingness to openly discuss his own struggles with anxiety has served as an inspiration to so many and helped open the door for future conversations among athletes and role models everywhere. His impact in that area is immeasurable.”
–Field Level Media
