Getty
Former Las Vegas Raiders WR Collin Johnson.
Former fifth-round pick Collin Johnson has announced that he’s retiring from the NFL. The 6-foot-6 wide receiver was with the Las Vegas Raiders last offseason, but was released before the start of the season.
He didn’t get another chance, and he’s pivoting to other options. Johnson revealed that the reason he’s stepping away from the NFL is to pursue academia.
“I’m grateful to share that I’ll be enrolling at MIT Sloan this fall to pursue my MBA,” Johnson wrote on X. “At the same time, I’ve made the decision to retire from the NFL.
“Football has shaped my life in more ways than I can put into words. It taught me faith, discipline, resilience, leadership, and how to compete at the highest level. I’m thankful for every teammate, coach, organization, and person who helped me along the way.”
Getting into MIT Sloan is no small feat, so it’s easy to understand why Johnson would rather pursue that than an NFL career. He originally came into the league as a fifth-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars. His best season was his rookie year, when he had 18 catches for 272 yards. He wasn’t able to improve upon that and bounced around the NFL. While his football career is over, he has a bright future in the business world.
I’m grateful to share that I’ll be enrolling at MIT Sloan this fall to pursue my MBA.
At the same time, I’ve made the decision to retire from the NFL.
Football has shaped my life in more ways than I can put into words. It taught me faith, discipline, resilience, leadership, and
The Raiders have started up OTAs, but one of their key wide receivers isn’t there for practice yet. Jalen Nailor was the team’s big free agent signing at the position, but he’s tied up right now, as he and his wife welcomed their second child this week.
That’s about as good a reason to miss practice as there is, especially this early in the offseason. It remains to be seen when he’ll be back at practice, but it’s hard to imagine he’ll be out too long.
This portion of OTAs is voluntary, so players don’t have to show up. With a new coaching staff coming in, most players do find it important to be in practice, but there are some players who haven’t shown up yet.
Nailor obviously has a lot going on in his personal life, but linebacker Nakobe Dean and cornerback Taron Johnson weren’t there to start OTA, either. Johnson appears to be in a minor contract dispute with the team. Dean may just be busy in his personal life, but it’s unclear. Head coach Klint Kubiak is hoping to get them on the practice field soon.
“It’s a voluntary time of year, can’t wait to get those guys back,” Kubiak said of Johnson and Dean during his recent media availability. “Really fired up for the guys that are here but been in contact with both of those guys and they’ve been doing a great job, some here, some away.”
Both players are new additions to the team, so every practice is valuable as they learn the new systems. Dean has the contract he wants, so he should be back soon, but Johnson’s contract dispute could keep him out of all the voluntary OTAs.
Austin Boyd has covered the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Lakers for Heavy.com since 2019. A Los Angeles native now based in Las Vegas, his featured work at Heavy includes interviews with NFL stars Darren Waller and Joe Montana, and a behind-the-scenes look at "The Shop." More about Austin Boyd
此内容由惯性聚合(RSS阅读器)自动聚合整理，仅供阅读参考。 原文来自 — 版权归原作者所有。
