Ravens OL John Urschel retires abruptly, two days after CTE study

ByJAMISON HENSLEY
July 27, 2017, 10:05 AM

— -- OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman John Urschel, the NFL's mathematics expert, abruptly announced his retirement from football at the age of 26 on Thursday, just before the team's first full-team practice of training camp.

His decision, which was announced by the Ravens, comes two days after a medical study indicated that chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known as CTE, was found in 99 percent of deceased NFL players' brains that were donated to scientific research.

Urschel left the Ravens facility before practice without making a statement.

"This morning John Urschel informed me of his decision to retire from football," coach John Harbaugh said in a statement. "We respect John and respect his decision. We appreciate his efforts over the past three years and wish him all the best in his future endeavors."

Urschel is pursuing his doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the offseason, focusing on spectral graph theory, numerical linear algebra and machine learning. He was expected to compete for the Ravens' starting center job in training camp.

In January, Urschel told HBO's "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel" that his passion for playing football outweighs the risks of suffering head trauma.

"I recognize that this is somewhat irrational, but I am doing it," Urschel said. "It's more important to me that I'm able to do the two things I love. I don't know if people have really done things that I've done before. I don't know if they'll do it after me. But I enjoy carving out my own path and not listening to what people say I can and I can't do."

The dangers of damaging his brain is something Urschel has already experienced. In August 2015, he suffered a concussion when he went helmet-to-helmet with another player and was knocked unconscious.

"I think it hurt my ability to think well mathematically," Urschel said. "It took me about three weeks before I was football ready. It took me a little bit longer before my high-level visualizations ability came back."

Urschel was recently named to Forbes' "30 under 30" in the field of science. He has published six peer-reviewed mathematics papers to date and has three more ready for review.

Because of his unique ability in football and math, Urschel has appeared in a handful of national commercials, including one with Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt.