On Thursday morning the Baltimore Ravens began training camp and coach John Harbaugh received some unexpected news about offensive lineman John Urschel.
Urschel, 26, was expected to show up to Thursday's practice and compete for the starting center job, but instead informed Harbaugh and the Ravens of his retirement and left the team facility without making a public statement, according to ESPN.
"This morning John Urschel informed me of his decision to retire from football," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said in a statement. "We respect John and respect his decision. We appreciate his efforts over the past three years and wish him all the best in his future endeavors."
Urschel released a statement on Thursday night on Twitter that revealed his decision was linked to pursuing his doctorate in mathematics at MIT and there was “no big story” related to his retirement.
ESPN reported a team source said Urschel's decision to retire was linked to the results of the Boston University and VA Boston Healthcare System CTE study that was released on Tuesday.
Out of 111 brains belonging to former NFL players, the study diagnosed CTE in 110. Forty-four of the 110 brains that had CTE in the study belonged to former linemen.
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