National Football League

Kory Lichtensteiger Announces Retirement After Eight NFL Seasons

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 6:38 p.m. ET

Fansided, Jacob Camenker/FanSided via Riggo's Rag

The Washington Redskins have lost one of their centers to retirement. Kory Lichtensteiger called it quits on Friday after spending eight seasons in the NFL.

During the 2017 NFL offseason, the Washington Redskins were always expected to move on from Kory Lichtensteiger. The veteran center had spent seven seasons with the Redskins, but he had regressed during 2015 and 2016. He was only able to stay healthy for 9 total games, and his on the field ability had started to decline. Spencer Long looks to be the long term option at center, and moving on from Lichtensteiger was a foregone conclusion.

The veteran center elected to take matters into his own hands on Friday afternoon. Lichtensteiger retired from the NFL in an announcement that came via the Redskins official site. Here is his full statement:

After much thought and consideration, I have decided to retire from the National Football League. I am grateful beyond words to the Washington Redskins organization. I would like to thank the ownership as a whole and specifically Dan Snyder and his family for the opportunity to play the bulk of my career here in Washington.

I have had many great coaches and teammates and I owe a great deal to many people for helping me make a career in this league. For any newcomer or unestablished player to hang around, he has to have people who believe in him. I will forever be grateful to Mike Shanahan and Jay Gruden for giving me that trust.

I want to say thank you to the wonderful fans of the Washington Redskins. My chapter is ending, but there are great things happening in the organization! There is a lot to be excited for and I am ready to join the already great fan base in cheering for this team!

I want to thank the entirety of my family for all their unwavering support and love. Surely, none of this would have been possible without them. Thank you to my agent, who has been with me through good times and bad.

Finally, I would like to thank Bruce Allen and Scot McCloughan. When I came to them after the season and shared my thoughts, they were extremely gracious and agreed to let me to ‘retire a Redskin.’ This is a great business, but it is indeed a business. And for that reason, I am thankful to be treated as family in the final hour of my playing career. Hail to the Redskins!

Though the Redskins will not necessarily miss Lichtensteiger on the field, it certainly is tough to see one of the team’s longest tenured players walk away. He made a selfless move to give the team some extra cap space, and he likely sacrificed a chance to play as a backup on another team.

Simply put, Lichtensteiger and the Redskins got what both of them wanted. The Redskins are free from Lichtensteiger’s cap hold, but they did not have to jettison the long time Redskins. Lichtensteiger gets to go out on his own terms in the city that he loves. It is a win-win for both sides.

We here at Riggo’s Rag would like to wish Lichtensteiger well as he rides off into the sunset.