Late Sunday night, longtime Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin bid farewell to football with a string of heartfelt tweets. He did not use the word “retirement” at any point, but it’s clear that Baldwin is walking away from the game. 
“The end of one journey sees the beginning of another, ” Baldwin wrote towards the end of a letter to his younger self (link). “And, guess what.. it will be one hell of a journey. You will feel emotional and physical pain you never knew existed. You will fail over and over again. But don’t worry, all of it will be the reason why you succeed.”
The Seahawks signed Baldwin as an undrafted free agent out of Stanford in 2011 and he led the Tarvaris Jackson-quarterbacked team in receiving as a rookie before becoming Wilson’s most trusted target. Baldwin was a key member of both Seattle Super Bowl teams this decade, catching touchdown passes in both the Seahawks’ Super Bowl XLVIII win and crushing loss a year later. However, his momentum stalled last season.
Knee, groin and shoulder injuries — which each required surgery — ended Baldwin’s career. But, when Baldwin was healthy, he was a crucial part of the Seahawks’ offense. Wilson‘s ascent into one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks involved lots of help from Baldwin, and there’s no telling where the Seahawks would have been without him. He didn’t end on a statistical high note, but he proved his toughness yet again by suiting up for 13 games last year, despite all of the maladies.
Baldwin, who was released by Seattle last last week, leaves with the second-most touchdown receptions and third-most catches and receiving yards in franchise history, behind only Steve Largent and Brian Blades.
I’m going to miss Angry Doug. He was always a pleasure to watch on Sundays.
The kind of player you hated to play against but would have loved to have on your team.
Always sad to see a player have to retire because of injuries. No player ever dreams of that when they start playing. Good luck in the next phase.
That one guy people, including myself, always seemed to forget about in fantasy football leagues. Always came back to haunt you later on
In my case, he was the guy I usually drafted “a round or two too early,” and caught grief from other team owners. By midseason, I was always getting trade offers for him.
Wish him a good retirement. Always kind of under rated in my opinion, and always very consistent and fun to watch. Tough to watch a guy walk away due to injuries. Sometimes, you need to take care of yourself though, too.
Super easy guy to root for. Undersized and undrafted but god he left it all on the field.
If He Took Care Of His Health More He Would Be Able To Play
Explain your comment do you mean nutritionally that means food and stuff he puts in his body. Felt I had to explain that because the post was so ignorant not sure if you know that big word. Do you mean lifting and keeping in shape. Or lastly not being the type of player he was. Willing to go in the middle and take the hit or dive for a ball a little overthrown. If he didn’t do that he wouldn’t be the player he was if you question the first two you obviously don’t know Doug. The third he would not have had the career he did or make the money he did. I am sure he will be fine with it. Might miss playing but will have a comfortable life. Be able to do a lot of good stuff for the community.
They’re are kickers bigger than this guy. He played 8 yrs as an undersized receiver and you question his conditioning? SMH!