Adrian Fedkiw
On the precipice of cashing in on possibly the biggest paycheck of his NFL career, Walter Thurmond might walk away from it.
The Philadelphia Daily News’ Les Bowen sent out a few eye-popping tweets on Friday night which implied that the defensive back might retire.
Lot of us wondering why @WaltThurm3 hasn't gotten any buzz in free agency. Several people around the Eagles think Walt might be retiring…
— Les Bowen (@LesBowen) March 11, 2016
Thurmond had his healthiest year in 2015, but he has a long injury history & a lot of off-the-field business interests, including filmmaking
— Les Bowen (@LesBowen) March 11, 2016
Wow!
Thurmond wouldn’t be the only Eagle to retire following the season. Center David Molk walked away from the game last week.
The 28-year-old thrived in his first season playing safety in the NFL last year, posting 52 tackles, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and two sacks. Thurmond, however, wasn’t a good fit in new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s scheme. Last season’s defensive coordinator, Billy Davis, regularly had his safeties line up against wide receivers in the slot, which is nothing unusual for the former cornerback Thurmond. Schwartz, though, likes his safeties to be more of an in-the-box type, ones that can set the edge in the running game.
Like Bowen tweeted, Thurmond does have an extensive injury history. Last season was the first in his six-year career that he managed to make it through all 16 games. He’s missed 44 of a possible 96 games in his career, including three years where he was out for at least 10 contests.