Richie Incognito announced Friday he will retire from the NFL. Most recently a member of the Raiders, the veteran guard retired as a member of the team.
Known for both high-level performance and off-field incidents that led to multiple season-long absences, Incognito played from 2005-2020. Incognito caught on with the Raiders in 2019, after missing the 2018 season, and started 12 games. The Raiders reached an extension with the veteran blocker late in 2019 and, after scrapping that deal during the 2021 offseason, came to another agreement with him last year. Incognito did not play last season, with health issues again impeding him, and will call it quits at age 39.
The former Rams third-round pick played 164 career games (all starts) and made four Pro Bowls. Three of those honors came with the Bills, when Incognito helped LeSean McCoy reach two 1,000-yard seasons, but the other came with the Dolphins. Incognito’s Dolphins tenure will probably be what is most remembered about his career, but he capitalized on the additional chances given to him by the Bills and Raiders.
At the center of the bullying scandal involving then-Miami O-lineman Jonathan Martin, Incognito was suspended by the team and did not play in 2014. The NFL’s investigation found Incognito harassed Martin with racial and homophobic remarks. Despite being sidelined in his age-31 season, Incognito came back and signed two Bills contracts — the second of which a three-year, $15.75MM deal during the 2016 offseason. The Nebraska alum played two years on that second Buffalo deal, helping the McCoy- and Tyrod Taylor-driven attack lead the league in rushing in 2016.
The Bills released Incognito during the 2018 offseason, and he claimed he was retiring at that point. A subsequent an altercation at a Florida gym led to Incognito being placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold by police, and an arrest for a separate incident later that offseason led to a second full-season Incognito absence.
The Rams had previously cut Incognito during the 2009 season, after a game during which he received multiple personal foul penalties for headbutting, and he ended up with the Bills initially via waiver claim. The Dolphins gave Incognito a one-year deal in 2010 and extended him in 2011. Prior to the bullying scandal that broke midway through the 2013 season, Incognito started 55 games with the Dolphins.
After the Raiders gave the polarizing lineman another chance in 2019, he helped Josh Jacobs to a 1,150-yard rushing debut — a season in which Oakland ranked in the top 10 in rushing DVOA. The Raiders gave Incognito a two-year, $14MM extension in December 2019, but the early-season foot injury he suffered in 2020’s second game ended up sidelining him for most of that year. A calf injury shut down Incognito for all of the 2021 season.
This was certainly one of the more unique careers in modern O-line history. Despite injuries and controversies, Incognito became the rare lineman to play into his late 30s.
I like Richie. Heck of a player. Had some problems but then again who doesn’t?
I was a fan as well. It would be a very boring league without some off the wall characters like Richie. Back in the day the Cardinals had a whacky OL named Conrad Dobler who I also liked.
If his actions didn’t affect you guys I guess he’s a good dude huh?
Just some casual racism and bullying, right?
(But not ok when it happens to you and yours I’m sure…)
This guy is a piece of sh!t and is lucky there still a way for little baby boys in hugely oversized bodies to make a living hurting people
Google thought enough of Richie to name a window after him.
Deshaun is an off the wall character too.
Totally. Who hasn’t threatened to shoot funeral home employees? Very normal guy who’s only gotten in a normal amount of trouble.
Peace out bro f the haters
I’m gonna copy and paste your response when Watson comes back
Nice get it ready for sep 2023
Oh no, let me play the world’s tiniest violin to mark this sad day?
Nice to see one of the league’s all-time knuckleheads finally head off into the sunset…
I like how Sam avoids saying “Oakland” in this article because of how the site is formatted. I honestly don’t mind it though, we don’t want any Carl Nassib’s, Richie Incognito’s, Damon Arnette’s, and Henry Ruggs’s being associated with the “Oakland” Raiders at all, anyway lol…
Putting Nassib in a category with those other guys is wild.
Yeah, really now. Did Nassib recently kill someone or is this angle what I think it is?
Good riddance to a horrible guy.
Seems like a current Browns roster-esque character type of guy. Maybe Cleveland can entice him outta retirement with a fully guaranteed deal.
Haven’t you heard? Browns have a great OL.
Lol great and Browns don’t go together…..
It was all because of an average quarterback.
Average and browns don’t belong in same sentence. Lol. Face facts the real Browns are in Baltimore any way.
Well then it looks like the real Browns have won a couple of Super Bowls. That’s great
What is this? 2010?
Whatever happened to Jonathan Martin?
Good ole shotgun Johnny
A disgrace to humans. Fit right in with the good ‘ol boy owners.
Good luck. The Raiders were a better team when you played. Hopefully some of your problems have settled down.
Richie is very disappointed that his retirement announcement has reached the media and been made into being a “Big Deal”.
He wanted his retirement to be kept INCOGNITO!