Former first-round pick Aaron Curry announces retirement from NFL
Former first-round pick Aaron Curry will retire from the NFL. (Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
Aaron Curry, the fourth pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, announced his retirement Wednesday on Twitter. He wrote:
After a lot of prayer. Consulting with God. The best thing for my family and myself is to retire from the @nfl. I enjoyed it #DeliveredDefender
Curry, 27, had tried to catch on the Giants this fall, but the team released him on Sunday. Curry had only two tackles in three preseason games and had lost his spot on the second-team defense.
The Seahawks took the linebacker out of Wake Forest in the first round in 2009. He was considered close to a sure thing - a solid all-around linebacker who could play immediately. “While I don’t agree with the pick,” ESPN analyst Mel Kiper wrote after draft, “it’s not a bad pick for the Hawks, especially since Curry was the No. 1 player on my board.”
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Curry never made an impact, despite starting 12 games as a rookie and 16 in his second year. Seattle gave up on him in 2011, trading him to Oakland for a seventh-round pick. He put up a career-best 80 tackles that season. But last year, with Oakland, he only played two games. He battled a knee injury and missed the start of the season. When he returned, it was clear he wouldn't be able to contribute. The Raiders released him in November.
