Shocking the San Francisco 49ers and the entire NFL world Monday, Yahoo! Sports reported that All-Pro linebacker Patrick Willis is announcing his retirement from the NFL Tuesday.
Willis played in just six games last season with the 49ers before he was forced to have season-ending surgery on his toe. Willis wasn’t just a great linebacker for San Francisco, he was one of the best in the game. Willis made the Pro Bowl in each of his first seven seasons in the league and, at 30, still seemed to have four or five good to great years left.
Patrick Willis is retiring from the 49ers at age 30. He played 8 seasons in SF making the Pro Bowl in 7 of them. pic.twitter.com/AOy4vxRPU4
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) March 9, 2015
Willis stormed the league as a rookie first round pick out of Ole Miss in 2007, recording 174 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and five passes defended. By his third season, Willis’ name was mentioned in the same breath as all-time greats like Ray Lewis, Brian Urlacher and Junior Seau. NBC Sports Pro Football Talk is also reporting that defensive end Justin Smith will likely hang up his cleats as well, leaving huge holes on an already bleeding San Francisco roster.
Texans cut wide receiver Andre Johnson
One day his name will likely go into a Houston Texans ring of honor, but as of Monday he’ll no longer be catching passes for the team. The Texans gave in to Andre Johnson’s wish and granted him his release, announcing the move on the team’s website.
Texans officially released WR Andre Johnson. — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 9, 2015
The Texans could find no takers willing to accept Johnson’s bloated $16.1 million salary cap number for a trade. Cutting Johnson gives Houston $8.825 million in extra cap space.
“After exhausting all options of a possible trade, we informed Andre Johnson that he would be released today,” Texans GM Rick Smith said. “No player in the history of this franchise has represented the team, city and community in a more professional way. Andre is a Hall of Fame caliber player and we appreciate his years of service and contributions to our team.”
Last year was the worst healthy year of Johnson’s career, with 85 catches for 936 yards and three touchdowns. Johnson still managed 11.0 yards per catch.
Gore backing out of Eagles deal
A day after it was all but certain that free agent running back Frank Gore would join the Philadelphia Eagles, NFL Media reported that Gore has backed out of the agreement and is now looking at possibly joining the Indianapolis Colts.
How dare a player reconsider a decision he wasn’t technically allowed to make in something called a legal tampering window! #StateOfNFL
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) March 9, 2015
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Eagles have all but surrendered Gore back to the market and are looking for help elsewhere.
Frank Gore has gotten cold feet on signing with Philadelphia, as @RapSheet reported. Eagles now in market for other RBs. Indy wants Gore. — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 9, 2015
Gore is a five-time Pro Bowler who has surpassed 1,000 yards in eight of his 10 seasons. Adding him to the Colts’ offense instantly changes the dynamic of their running game. The Colts were courting Gore hard when he decided to sign with the Eagles, who offered more money. A day later, it looks like he’s looking at a possible Super Bowl ring to make up the cash difference.
Seahawks lose Maxwell to Eagles
It wasn’t all bad news for the Philadelphia Eagles Monday. The team reached an agreement with Seattle Seahawks Legion of Boom member Byron Maxwell and will sign the free agent cornerback to a five-year, $50 million deal once free agency officially opens Tuesday at 4 p.m.
The pending deal was first reported by Jayson Braddock of KBME SportsTalk in Houston.
Byron Maxwell deal is done. Guarantee came in higher after more discussion. Byron Maxwell will become an Eagle Tuesday w/ $25 mil guaranteed
— Jayson Braddock (@JaysonBraddock) March 8, 2015
Maxwell has started the last two seasons for Seattle, picking off six passes over two seasons. Last year Maxwell recorded 39 tackles, two picks, 12 passes defended and one fumble recovery.
