Five-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Justin Smith is reportedly calling it a career after 14 seasons in the NFL, according to Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
49ers DE Justin Smith expected to retire, per reports
Smith missed just three games in 14 NFL seasons, but is expected to retire along with Patrick Willis.
Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Smith, however, said that he hasn’t completely made up his mind to retire from the league. “I’m going to decide by next week probably,” Smith said via Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. “So you’ll know by then. It’s not 100 percent.”
The 35-year-old made the Pro Bowl in five of the seven seasons he played with the San Francisco 49ers after signing with the team in free agency in 2008. He played the prior seven seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals after he was selected by the team with the fourth overall selection in the 2001 NFL Draft.
News of Smith's potential retirement is coupled with reports that seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker Patrick Willis is also set to announce his retirement soon. The loss of the pair of veterans, along with the departure of Jim Harbaugh, Frank Gore and Michael Crabtree, makes for a lot of roster turnover for the 49ers after the team finished 8-8 in 2014.
Smith reportedly met with new 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula last week to discuss his plans for 2015 after earlier reports that the defensive lineman was mulling retirement. In 14 NFL seasons, Smith missed just three games and racked up 87 career sacks.
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