Carolina Panthers' Julius Peppers retires after 17 seasons
Friday 1 February 2019 19:10, UK
Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers has announced his retirement after 17 NFL seasons, nine Pro Bowl appearances and six All-Pro selections.
Peppers was the number two overall pick in the 2002 draft and spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Panthers, then played four with the Chicago Bears, three with the Green Bay Packers and his final two seasons back with Carolina.
He missed four games in 2002, his rookie season, then played in 254 out of a possible 256 games over the rest of his career.
Peppers finished his career with 159-and-a-half sacks, the fourth-most in NFL history.
He is the only player in league history with at least 150 sacks and 10 interceptions, he had 11 of those and also blocked 13 field goals and extra-point attempts.
"Seventeen years is a long time to be playing this game. It's two careers for a lot of people," Peppers wrote in The Players' Tribune.
"I'm thankful that I have been able to play so long and still be healthy. I'm not all banged up and beaten down. I still feel good.
"But as much as I would love to play forever, I know that I can't. It's gotta end at some point. That point is now. Today, I'm retiring."
