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After nine years in the NFL, pass rusher Derrick Morgan announced his retirement — or “transition” as he calls it — this morning on Instagram.
Morgan was the Titans first round pick (16th overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft and spent his entire professional career in Tennessee, tallying 106 starts, 44.5 sacks, 306 tackles, 112 quarterback hits, 54 tackles for loss, and 5 forced fumbles. His sack total ranks 6th in franchise history behind just Ray Childress (75.5), William Fuller (59), Sean Jones (57.5), Jevon Kearse (52), and Jurrell Casey (46). Not bad company.
Morgan’s career is largely under appreciated. While he never had the huge sack season that tends to put pass rushers on the map, he was consistently productive and advanced charting always painted him in a more flattering light than box score stats did. Morgan ranked among PFF’s top 25 edge rushers in their Pass Rush Productivity metric four times in his nine year career, topping out at 8th in 2016.
Off the field Morgan was a leader in the locker room and a leader around the league, helping to champion research efforts into the medical benefits of marijuana for football injuries like CTE. He has also become an investor in multiple businesses, primarily focused on companies that benefit underserved communities. You can learn more about his plans for his post-football career here. There is little doubt in my mind that he will be a success in the business arena as well.
Derrick Morgan played under five head coaches in his nine years in Tennessee — Jeff Fisher, Mike Munchak, Ken Whisenhunt, Mike Mularkey, and Mike Vrabel — and suffered through some of the worst seasons in franchise history, but he was part of the group that turned around the culture of this organization and he left the franchise better off than he found it. That will always make him a winner in my book. Congratulations on a great career, Derrick.