Cornerback Walter Thurmond is set to announce his retirement, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The news doesn’t come as a major surprise since it is quite late in the offseason and the veteran has reportedly turned down offers of $4MM+ per year. 
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Thurmond has spent six seasons in the NFL with the Eagles, Giants, and Seahawks. The defensive back is only 28 years old, but he has decided to walk away from the game. Thurmond, who joined the Eagles a year ago as a cornerback, ended up starting 16 games for the first time in his career while also playing safety for the first time. He excelled at the new position, picking up 71 tackles, three interceptions, two sacks, and two forced fumbles. Pro Football Focus’ grades backed up his solid stat line, as he ranked 26th out of 88 qualified safeties.
Thurmond has interests outside of football – including filmmaking – and has talked in the past about having to reconsider his NFL future if he suffers another serious injury. Now, he will have plenty of time to pursue his non-football related passions.
The Eagles moved on from Thurmond rather quickly this spring, having signed Rodney McLeod to pair with the recently-extended Malcolm Jenkins at safety. Heading into the offseason, we ranked Thurmond as the No. 6 safety on the free agent market behind George Iloka, Eric Weddle, McLeod, Tashaun Gipson, and Reggie Nelson.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
He had a ton of potential but never could stay healthy in Seattle. He was the guy you always thought it would be his year and he would look good and then an injury. Wish him the best of luck.