Ryan Kerrigan is a Washington franchise legend. After 10 seasons in the burgundy and gold and one season with the Philadelphia Eagles, Kerrigan announced his retirement Friday after signing a one-day contract with the Commanders.
On Saturday, Kerrigan held a retirement press conference with the media and then took in practice, at times watching the defensive line with head coach Ron Rivera. Kerrigan’s final season in Washington was in 2020 — Rivera’s first season as head coach.
Kerrigan explained when he arrived at his decision to retire:
“So I actually came to that decision in the offseason of 2021, when I was a free agent,” Kerrigan said. “Got a not-so-good medical report from a couple of different doctors about my knee. But at that time, I was kind of encouraged not to play in the 2021 season, but I was not emotionally ready to not play football at that point.”
After Kerrigan finished the season on a strong note, he began training for a potential return in 2022 and quickly realized it was time to walk away.
“As I got into training again this summer, late in June, the knee really started bothering me again,” Kerrigan said. “And I was just like ‘you got a long life to live, Lord willing, and you got to not play anymore.’ So, I kind of came to it in late June.”
Ryan Kerrigan watching the Commanders’ DL with Ron Rivera pic.twitter.com/WuaTQs9S9x
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) July 30, 2022
So, what’s next for Kerrigan?
“I love football too much to not be involved in some capacity,” he said.
Could that mean coaching is in Kerrigan’s future?
“I want to stay in football, so I am excited to find out where football is going to take me next,” Kerrigan said. “Coaching is something I want to explore because I just feel like I love the environment too much; I love the football-building environment, I love being around the guys too much and I love being able to impart some of the things I’ve learned over the last 11 years on people.”
We’ll have more on Kerrigan’s career in the next few days.
You can check out his entire press conference below:
LIVE: Ryan Kerrigan’s retirement press conference https://t.co/j773YGgU3U
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) July 30, 2022