Former Texas Longhorns Star Safety Pens Heartfelt Goodbye From NFL

There is one devastating point in every football player’s career that each player tries to kick down the road. Some players are better at it than others, guys like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Flacco and Jerry Rice, but still, no one beats it.

As much as football players will try to fight it, everyone’s career has to come to an end at some point. For the fortunate players, it comes to an end when they are ready. For the less fortunate, the game, or their body, tells them that their time has come.

On Thursday, former Texas Longhorns safety Caden Sterns announced his official retirement from the NFL in a heartfelt X post that reads like a letter to the game he loved so dearly.

Caden Sterns’ Departure From Football

Texas Longhorns defensive back Caden Sterns (7) looks over the Oklahoma State Cowboys offense during the third quarter at Boone Pickens Stadium. Texas won 41-34. | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

”This isn’t a sorrow post,” Sterns wrote. “Because honestly, what I’m feeling most is joy. Pure joy. Gratitude. This game has meant everything to me. It’s the only thing I’ve ever known for 20+ years.”

“I’m beyond grateful for every step: to big-time high school ball, to playing at the GREATEST university of all, and then living the dream of playing in the NFL,” Sterns continued. “Although, my goal was never just to “make it.” I wanted to take over. I wanted to have impact. But, even if it didn’t end the way I pictured, I’m truly blessed that God gave me the vision, the doors, the people, and the memories.”

In his three seasons at the University of Texas, Sterns was one of the most important pieces of the defense that helped build the stalwart program that is in place now. As a freshman, Sterns saw action in 13 games and recorded an impressive 62 tackles, three tackles for loss, four interceptions and a sack. Throughout his other two years as a Longhorn, he put up similar numbers before being drafted in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos.

Sterns’ time in the NFL was riddled with injuries, including a patellar tendon tear in 2023 that would ultimately end his career.

“There were days the rehab hurt more than the hits,” Sterns revealed. “Days I questioned if I was chasing ghosts. Days I felt like the only one in the world who understood what my body and mind were going through. But day after day, I got up anyway. That discipline changed me. It taught me to keep showing up even when it seems the thing you love most is working against you, when there’s no crowd, when it’s just you, your thoughts, and your why. That’s a gift I’m carrying out of this game.”

At just 26 years old, Sterns’ NFL career is coming to an end, but he is focused on the future.

“So to the game I’ll forever love and cherish—thank you for the euphoria, the highest of highs, the tough lessons that didn’t feel like lessons at the time, and the perspective I couldn’t have learned any other way. Thank you for the brotherhood. Thank you for the standard. Thank you for the purpose.
So with that Goodbye… to the jersey. But not to the work. Not the standard. Not the love.”