Ryan Kerrigan announces NFL retirement

After 11 seasons, 4x Pro Bowler Ryan Kerrigan has decided to retire from the NFL. The defensive end signed a one-day deal to retire as a member of the Washington Commanders.

It makes sense that Kerrigan would return to Washington to retire after he spent the first decade of his career playing for the NFC East team. The DE was a free agent this offseason following his one season with the Eagles. He played a very limited role in Philly, and despite suiting up for 16 games (starting two), he only recorded three tackles (2 QB hits, 1 TFL).

He wasn’t a major factor for the Eagles’ defense, which was in stark contrast to his contributions in Washington. Through 10 seasons, Kerrigan notched 454 total tackles, including 147 QB hits, an incredible 95.5 sacks, 26 forced fumbles, 25 pass break-ups, and 3 interceptions. There were four seasons in which he recorded 11 sacks or more and he didn’t miss a single game for the first eight seasons of his career.

After Kerrigan’s calf injury in 2019, his workload and performance started to dip before joining the Eagles in 2021. He was expected to have a pretty big role when he got to Philly, especially after Brandon Graham was sidelined in Week 1, but his production never materialized.