10 NFL Icons Whose Careers Are Officially Over — And Need To Retire This Offseason
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
The 2026 NFL offseason is here, and while some stars are deep in discussions with their agents about where the next stop is and what the next contract looks like, for a handful of guys, the reality is that this might be the perfect time to walk away.
We’re talking about some of the top names in the game who have already cemented their legacies and should think about leaving on their own terms instead of waiting until the game forces them out.
Some of these guys are still playing at a high level. Some of them… well… the decline has already started. Either way, retirement makes sense.
Let’s count down the ten NFL stars who should seriously consider hanging up their cleats this offseason.
Which NFL stars need to retire this offseason?
Cameron Jordan, Defensive End, New Orleans Saints
While he is still playing good football, this is one Saints legend who should probably call it a career…
Cameron Jordan just finished his 15th season in the league. He’s never played for another franchise. He’s a former Pro Bowler, All-Pro, and one of the most dominant pass rushers of his generation.
And at 36 years old, he just had one of his best seasons in years… which, frankly, defies logic.
Jordan finished 2025 with 10.5 sacks—his highest total since 2022—while playing just 54% of the defensive snaps. He’s still getting to the quarterback and is a bona fide problem for offensive coordinators to scheme around.
But here’s the thing—Jordan’s contract was voided this NFL offseason. He’s a free agent for the first time in his career. And he’s made it clear that he’d rather retire than play for another team… at least for the time being.
Jordan deserves to go out on top. He deserves to retire as a Saint. And if New Orleans can’t give him that opportunity, walking away is the right call.
Aaron Rodgers, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
And here we are.
Aaron Rodgers is 42 years old. He’s a four-time MVP. He’s won a Super Bowl. And he’s one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.
And he has no idea what he wants to do… yet again.
Rodgers went 10 and 7 as a starter for the Steelers in 2025. He won the AFC North… and honestly—his arm looked pretty good all year. The mobility wasn’t the same, but he could still sling it and play winning football.
That said, a lot has changed in Pittsburgh since they were jettisoned out of the playoffs.
Mike Tomlin stepped down. Mike McCarthy took over. And Rodgers has been silent on his future ever since.
While the reunion narrative is compelling, it is hard to imagine Rodgers actually swallowing his pride enough to make Part II with McCarthy work.
Rodgers has had an incredible career. He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer. But the playoff win drought continues, and at some point, you have to accept that the ship has sailed.
Walk away, Aaron. You’ve earned the right to retire on your terms. Don’t let the game make the decision for you.
Travis Kelce, Tight End, Kansas City Chiefs
This is the big one.
Travis Kelce is the greatest tight end of his generation. He’s a three-time Super Bowl champion. He’s made 11 consecutive Pro Bowls. And he’s third all-time among tight ends in receiving yards and receptions.
And he’s contemplating retirement this offseason in the NFL… with good reasons—both on the field and off of it.
Kelce’s targets and catches hit 10-year lows in 2025. He’s totaled just 13 touchdowns over the last three seasons combined. The Chiefs missed the playoffs for the first time in over a decade.
Not to mention that Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL at the end of that cursed season, putting his status ahead of the 2026 season very much in question.
Plus, off the field, Kelce is one of the most marketable names out there right now and has tons of business opportunities in-flight.
And based on what we’ve seen the past couple of years, he might be better suited to hang up the cleats and pick up the briefcase at this point!
Raheem Mostert, Running Back, Las Vegas Raiders
Remember when Raheem Mostert was one of the best running backs in football?
In 2023, Mostert led the NFL with 21 total touchdowns. He rushed for over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career at 31 years old. And he made the Pro Bowl. He looked like a player who had finally figured it all out after bouncing around the league for years.
Two years later? He’s barely on the field.
The Dolphins released Mostert last February after his production cratered in 2024. He rushed for just 278 yards and two touchdowns while losing his job to De’Von Achane.
The Raiders signed him to be part of their backfield rotation, but in 2025, he managed just 22 carries for 104 yards.
That’s it. Twenty-two carries. For an entire season.
Mostert is 33 years old. He’s played for eight different teams during his career. His body has been through the grinder—multiple knee injuries, ankle sprains, you name it. And now he’s a rotational piece on a rebuilding Raiders team that just drafted Ashton Jeanty.
The writing is on the wall for this upcoming NFL offseason.
Mostert could hang around as a depth piece for another year or two. But why?
Russell Wilson, QB, Free Agent
The 37-year-old quarterback finished the 2025 season as a third-string quarterback for the New York Giants after starting just three games. He went 0-3 as a starter, threw for 831 yards—a career low—and got benched for rookie Jaxson Dart after Week 3.
And somehow, he still thinks he can play.
Here’s the problem—Wilson hasn’t consistently shown anything since leaving Seattle.
He was a disaster in Denver. He was benched twice in three years. Wilson signed with the Giants, expecting to be the starter, then lost his job to a rookie and got demoted to third-string behind Jameis Winston.
Wilson is chasing something that no longer exists. He was one of the best quarterbacks in football for a decade. And he won a Super Bowl. He made nine Pro Bowls in his first ten seasons.
But that version of Russell Wilson is gone. And the NFL offseason is looming.
The league has moved on. Teams aren’t lining up to give him a starting job. The best he can hope for is another veteran backup role where he mentors a young quarterback and waits for injuries.
Is that really worth it?
Wilson has earned nearly $300 million in his career. He’s a Super Bowl champion. He’s going to be in the Hall of Fame conversation. There’s nothing left to prove.
Demario Davis, Linebacker, New Orleans Saints
Yes, another Saint that should be ruminating on retirement this offseason despite having an impressive 2025 campaign… Not sure exactly what is going on down in NOLA… they may not be able to put together a competent team year in and year out, but maybe they cracked the code to the fountain of youth.
Demario Davis is 37 years old. He just finished his 14th NFL season—and somehow, he set a career high with 143 tackles. The man is defying logic.
Davis is a two-time Pro Bowler and a one-time All-Pro.
The point is, he’s one of the best linebackers of his era.
But unlike Jordan, Davis has indicated he’s open to testing the market… which suggests strongly he’s not ready to walk away. And honestly? If any 37-year-old linebacker has earned the right to keep playing, it’s Demario Davis.
Of course, at some point, the body gives out. And Davis has already proven himself and then some… the only missing piece is a Super Bowl ring, but that is far from a guarantee.
Otherwise, he has accomplished everything he set out to achieve.
One more year? Maybe. But don’t be surprised if this ends up being the final chapter.
Cooper Kupp, WR, Seattle Seahawks
I don’t know about you guys, but I love the idea of riding off into the sunset after punking your former team and winning a Super Bowl, but maybe that is just me!
Cooper Kupp just won his second Super Bowl.
And honestly? This might be the perfect time to walk away.
The Rams asked the NFL veteran to retire last offseason. According to reports from The Athletic, after the 2024 season, Los Angeles “unceremoniously cut ties, urging him to retire.”
Instead, Kupp signed with the Seahawks—and proceeded to help Seattle win its first championship since the Legion of Boom era.
That would be one hell of a final act.
Because here’s the reality—Kupp isn’t the same player he was in 2021. That historic Triple Crown season—145 catches, 1,947 yards, 16 touchdowns—feels like a lifetime ago. Since then, he’s missed 17 games due to ankle and hamstring injuries. His explosiveness has diminished. His role has shrunk.
In 2025, Kupp finished with just 47 catches for 593 yards and two touchdowns. That’s respectable for a complementary receiver, but it’s a far cry from the dominant force who single-handedly carried the Rams to a championship four years ago.
The Seahawks carefully managed his workload all season. He played just 768 snaps—compared to 1,301 during his Offensive Player of the Year campaign. Seattle clearly recognized that the 32-year-old couldn’t handle a full workload anymore.
And yet, Kupp delivered when it mattered most.
He scored a touchdown against his former team in the NFC Championship Game. He helped the Seahawks beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Kupp proved the Rams wrong for giving up on him.
The Seahawks just guaranteed $9 million of his 2026 salary, so he’s coming back. But at 32 years old with a body that’s been through multiple surgeries and a role that’s clearly diminished, Kupp has to ask himself—what’s the endgame here?
Von Miller, EDGE, Washington Commanders
Von Miller doesn’t want to retire—he has made that perfectly clear.
The problem is that Miller can barely play football anymore. He shows flashes… and padded his career stats with nine sacks in mostly meaningless games… but his body just doesn’t seem like it can take the wear and tear.
The two-time Super Bowl champion wrapped up a one-year, $6.1 million contract with the Commanders in 2025 after the Bills released him, and while he played in every game, but was limited to a 35% snap share.
Ever since he tore his ACL in 2022, he hasn’t been the same, and yet, he keeps going.
Miller said he hopes to play in 2026 and possibly beyond. He even floated the idea of returning to Denver someday. But the Broncos have a talented young passing raush who doesn’t need a guy who will turn 37 this March taking their snaps.
At some point, every great player has to accept that the game has passed them by. Von Miller is there.
He’s been one of the most dominant pass rushers of his generation. He changed playoff games. He won championships. And he did everything there is to do in the NFL, but he may not get picked up in the offseason.
Joe Flacco, QB, Free Agent
Joe Flacco is 41 years old—and after an impressive career in Baltimore, he has turned into a true journeyman in every sense of the word…
The guy has played for seven different teams since leaving the Ravens… But, of course, Flacco says he wants to keep playing… seemingly regardless of where or what level he’s playing at.
And look—Flacco can still play. There was the legendary playoff run with the Browns a couple of years ago…
And he has had moments since where he looked like the guy who won Super Bowl MVP back in 2012.
But he also went 2 and 8 as a starter this past season, and at his age, is the beating really worth it to play losing football?
Bobby Wagner, LB, Washington Commanders
Bobby Wagner just became the third player in NFL history to reach 2,000 career tackles… albeit during a disappointing season with the Washington Commanders… but still! Think about that for a second. Only Ray Lewis and London Fletcher have ever done that. Wagner is in elite company.
At 35 years old, Wagner posted 162 tackles in 2025—the fifth-highest total of his 14-year career. He won the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award… which I guess counts for something? At least the NFL wants us to think it does…
And he’s still playing at an extremely high level.
So why should he retire?
Because he’s already done everything. Super Bowl champion. Ten-time Pro Bowler. Six-time First Team All-Pro. Member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team. The accolades are ridiculous—and he is a proven winner!
Wagner is a free agent this offseason, and sure… he could chase another year or two with a contender. Or he could walk away knowing that his bust in Canton is already being measured.
The question isn’t whether Wagner can still play. It’s whether he should at this point.
