Chris Carson Retiring From NFL After Neck Injury

As NFL training camps get underway this week, there will unfortunately be one fewer Poke basking in the festivities.

Chris Carson is retiring from football following a neck injury, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The Seattle Seahawks on Tuesday waived him with a failed physical designation.

The Seattle Seahawks’ seventh-round pick in the 2017 draft, Carson worked his way up to being Seattle’s starter, finishing his career with 3,502 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns. He also had 804 receiving yards and another seven scores.

Because of that neck injury, Carson played in only four games last season, rushing for 232 yards and three touchdowns. He went onto have cervical-fusion surgery to try to fix things before retiring.

A junior college transfer, Carson picked Oklahoma State over reported offers from Georgia, Iowa State, Cincinnati and others back in 2015. Part of the “thunder and lightning” backfield alongside Justice Hill, Carson ran for 1,076 yards and 13 touchdowns in two seasons as a Cowboy.

Because the Seahawks released Carson with a failed physical designation, Carson will be afforded the opportunity to receive “several million” in injury protection benefits, Rapoport reports.