Aaron Curry announces retirement from NFL

Aaron Curry announced his retirement from the NFL on Wednesday. The former No. 4 overall pick played just four seasons before hanging up his cleats.

by Louis Bien

Aug 28, 2013, 5:00 PM UTC

Jonathan Ferrey

Aaron Curry, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, has retired from the NFL at 27 years old. Once considered a "can't-miss" prospect at linebacker, Curry was waived by the New York Giants during the team's roster cut down to 75 players over the weekend. He announced his retirement via Twitter:

After a lot of prayer. Consulting with God. The best thing for my family and myself is to retire from the @nfl. I enjoyed it #DeliveredDefender

Curry was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks, and considered by some to be the best defensive prospect in the 2009 draft class. At the time, he was seen as a safe pick, coming off a Butkus Award-winning season at Wake Forest with a strong overall skillset. He failed to emerge during his two years and change in Seattle, however, and lost his starting job to K.J. Wright during the 2011 season. Curry was traded to the Oakland Raiders after five games in exchange for a seventh-round pick.

A change of scenery didn’t help Curry much. After recording 46 tackles in 11 games with the Raiders in 2011, injuries kept him out for all but two games in 2012. The Raiders waived the linebacker in November of that year.

The Giants took a chance on Curry this past May, signing him to a one-year contract. According to Giants blog Big Blue View, Curry fell behind behind Kyle Bosworth in competition for the team's last linebacker spot recently, despite playing strongside linebacker with the second-team defense early in training camp.

Seahawks blog Field Gulls put together a retrospective look at Curry’s 2011 season when the linebacker was traded. Footage shows Curry’s propensity to be a playmaker, as well as the lapses of awareness that kept him from reaching his full potential.