Super Bowl champion says defending Eagles star DeVonta Smith convinced him to retire

For many of us, the dreams of suiting up for the Philadelphia Eagles died when our high school or NCAA careers were over, but that doesn't mean our love of the game ended. We most certainly continued to follow the NFL's story year after year.

In doing so, we have followed the careers of some of the game's best, like Richard Sherman. We have even seen the physical manifestation of a few cliche phrases. One is 'You either retire from the game, or the game will retire you'. Here's where those roads intersect.

Richard Sherman is a Super Bowl champion, a three-time First-Team All-Pro, a two-time Second-Team All-Pro, and a five-time Pro Bowler, but when guys are great at what they do, they sometimes struggle with coming to grips with the fact that it's time to stop doing it. That's about when Hall of Fame boxers start getting knocked out, rappers release 12-song albums that only feature two or three hot records, and our favorite actors are no longer holding our attention on the screen.

Richard Sherman got his wake up call in the form of Skinny Batman.

Richard Sherman shares his retirement story, one that features Eagles star wide receiver DeVonta Smith.

Richard Sherman played his final game as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 12th, 2021. That one was a 24 snap affair for him (20 on defense and four on special teams) versus the Buffalo Bills, but his decision to retire came eight weeks earlier.

In a primetime affair versus the Eagles in Week 6, he found himself lined up versus then-rookie DeVonta Smith. Let's just say that things didn't work out for him.

You know what? We don't blame them at all. If we could be the best in the world at something, we'd probably ride that bus until the wheels fall off as well. Give Richard Sherman credit for recognizing that it was time to move on.

He landed on his feet. He hosts a successful podcast powered by The Volume, one that recently featured Lane Johnson, and he's also a member of Amazon Prime's Thursday Night Football lineup. DeVonta enters year three of a young career that could result in a few Pro Bowl nods and All-Pro selections if he continues on the plane he is on and stays healthy.

Our fingers are crossed. Here's to watching the Slim Reaper route a few more DBs up in the decade to come.

Check out these other Eagles stories as well.