All-Pro tackle Ryan Ramczyk has announced his retirement from the NFL after seven seasons in the league.
Ramczyk was a first-team All-Pro with the New Orleans Saints in 2019 and earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2018 and 2020.
A first-round pick of the Saints in 2017, Ramczyk missed just one game across his first four seasons in the league.
But a knee cartilage defect saw him miss seven games in 2021. Ramczyk subsequently played 16 of the 17 regular-season games in 2022 before playing 12 in 2023.
He conceded the issue was getting worse at the end of the 2023 season, saying: “This year it’s bugged me a little bit more than it has in the past. At some point, I just couldn’t play anymore.”
And Ramczyk did not play again as he missed the entirety of the 2024 season, which would have been his eighth year in the league, before announcing his retirement on Thursday in a post on Instagram.
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“What an incredible journey it’s been,” Ramczyk wrote. “My path to the NFL wasn’t a straight line, it wasn’t the story most people expect.
“There were moments when people doubted me, moments when I doubted myself. It’s funny how life works out. Sometimes the road less traveled leads to places you never expected, but it ends up being exactly where you were meant to be.
“Today I reflect on all the twists and turns that got me to this point, from technical college to become a “welder” to All-Pro in the NFL.
“As I step into retirement, I’m filled with gratitude for everything this sport has given me.”
