Former Cal Star Mitchell Schwartz Officially Announces His Retirement
Former Cal offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz, a first-team All-Pro selection in 2018 and second-team All-Pro choice three other times, officially announced his retirement from the NFL on Thursday.
This does not come as a surprise because the 33-year-old Schwartz sat out the 2021 season after missing the most of the 2020 season with a back injury. Schwartz cited the injury as a reason why he is retiring.
"I'm officially retiring from the NFL," Schwartz wrote in a statement. "It's been almost two years since I injured my back. I had surgery last February and have been doing rehab ever since. I'm currently feeling as good as I have since then, but it's clear my body won't ever be the same. The nerve pain down my legs is no longer a daily occurrence, but it might never fully go away."
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The back injury that required surgery in 2020 ended a long stretch of durability.
Before that he had started every NFL game while playing for the Browns and Chiefs over eight-plus seasons. That's 134 straight regular-season starts. That does not include Schwartz's seven postseason starts, giving him a total of 141 straight starts as an NFL player.
Schwartz also started all 51 games Cal played in his final four active seasons with the Golden Bears. Schwartz's Cal streak goes back to 2007, when he sat out the season as a redshirt freshman.
He also started every game his Palisades Charter High School team played in his four seasons on that roster.
In 2019, his streak 7,894 consecutive offensive snaps played to start his pro career ended when he was sidelined for three plays because of a knee injury.
Presumably now he can devote all his time to cooking. He has a recipe for almost everything, as noted in Miitch in the Kitch:
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Cover photo by Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports
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