During his first training camp presser on Tuesday, Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel addressed the unexpected retirements of a pair of the team’s 2021 free-agent acquisitions.
One of those players was cornerback Kevin Johnson, who retired in June after the team inked him to a deal in March. The other, defensive lineman Abry Jones, retired on Saturday. Jones was signed one day after Johnson retired.
It isn’t exactly clear why either decided to hang up their cleats, but injuries might have played a part.
Johnson suffered several injuries during his career, including concussions, a broken foot twice, a torn MCL and a lacerated liver. Jones played in just five games last season due to an ankle injury after playing in 15 or more the past six seasons.
According to David Boclair of Sports Illustrated, Vrabel explained how every player, including himself, gets to a point where it’s just time.
“I think that every player, me included, you get to a point and you get to a time where your heart or your mind or your body just isn’t in it,” Vrabel said. “And it’s hard to fake that every single day in training camp. The grind gets you. The grind gets every one of us.”
Vrabel says he congratulated both players when they made their respective decisions to call it a career.
“I told those guys, ‘Congratulations,’” Vrabel explained. “I’m proud of them that they came to the decision that they did. Hopefully, they can find something quickly that continues to motivate them and makes them want to be successful.”
Johnson figured to have a shot at a significant role soon after being signed, but that all changed when the Titans drafted cornerbacks Caleb Farley and Elijah Molden. Jones, on the other hand, was in the running for the starting nose tackle job entering training camp.
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