1:21pm: Brent has released a statement officially announcing his retirement from the NFL, via Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (Twitter link). Within the statement, Brent remarks that he has “made the decision that football isn’t as much of a priority in [his] life as other things at this time.”
11:25am: Although he hasn’t made a formal announcement on the matter, defensive tackle Josh Brent has been placed on the reserve/retired list by the Cowboys, signaling that he has decided to end his playing career, according to Nick Eaton of DallasCowboys.com (via Twitter).
Brent, 27, returned to the Cowboys in November after serving a 10-game suspension which stemmed from a car accident that resulted in the death of his teammate Jerry Brown in December of 2012 — Brent, who voluntarily took the 2013 season off as well, was driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.
Although Brent didn’t see much action during his return in 2014, he played a little for the Cowboys down the stretch. Having signed an extension that kept him under team control through the 2015 season, the defensive lineman had been expected to return to Dallas this year. Instead, it appears he has elected not to continue playing football.
In addition to placing Brent on the reserve/retired list, the Cowboys also made a few more roster moves, according to Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com, who tweets that the team cut linebacker Dekoda Watson, linebacker Troy Davis, and offensive tackle Donald Hawkins.