Philadelphia Eagles: Chris Long officially announces his retirement

After months of deliberation, ex-Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long has officially announced his retirement from the NFL after 11 seasons.

Well Philadelphia Eagles fans, it looks like we’ve finally received an answer as to Chris Long‘s future in the NFL, for better or worse.

According to a Tweet straight from the source (@Joel9one), Long has decided to hang up his cleats once and for all after 11 seasons in the NFL split over three teams (eight with the then-St. Louis Rams, one with the New England Patriots, and two with the Eagles).

And despite appearing in 162 games, recording 70 sacks, 333 combined tackles, and 15 fumble – Long’s decision still stings for fans, and his teammates.

Within an hour of his initial Tweet, Long’s farewell was liked over 24,00 times and had been retweeted 3,400 times, with a slew of thoughtful responses from all corners of the sports world.

From Ron Jaworski, to Brandon Brooks, to Beau Allen, to even ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt, it seems like seldom a negative word has been said about Long as a player or a person since his announcement.

And really, should we be surprised?

From donating his paychecks to charity to his work with the ‘Waterboys‘, a charity dedicated to ‘put(ing) professional athletes and sports fans on the same team in pursuit of one goal:
Bringing life-sustaining drinking water to communities in need’, Long is among the best people to ever suit up in the NFL, as highlighted by his 2018 win for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award.

Despite hoisting two Lombardi Trophies over his final three seasons in the league, that may go down as Long’s greatest accomplishment.

So now, what’s next for the Eagles and Long?

Well, for Long, really whatever he wants.

Now that he is free, Long will undoubtedly be living it up for the world to see; living his best life without having to stay in playing shape for the better part of the calendar year.

And the Eagles? Well, they’ll be forced to rock with their incumbent starters, Brandon Graham, and Derek Barnett, in addition to returning free agent acquisition Vinny Curry, 2018 draftee Josh Sweat, and 2019 target Shareef Miller.

Could they go out and target another player to fill out the defensive line rotation? Most definitely, but let’s not worry about that now. For now, let’s take a moment and thank Chris Long for his boundless service, both on the field and off it, to the Philadelphia Eagles, the game of football, and the world as a whole.