Former Wisconsin Badgers All-American, Super Bowl champion retires from the NFL

Former University of Wisconsin offensive lineman Rob Havenstein is calling it a career.

The Los Angeles Rams right tackle announced on Instagram that he is retiring after 11 seasons and a Super Bowl championship with the franchise.

The 33-year-old Havenstein was a second-round pick by the franchise in the 2015 draft and played his rookie year in St. Louis, making him the only player to play in both cities without leaving the franchise.

“11 years, 150+ starts, 4 time captain, 4 NFC West Championships, 2 NFC Championships and 1x Super Bowl Champion. What a ride it’s been! I can look back on my career and smile knowing I have given everything I had and more to the game I love,” Havenstein said. “In saying that, I am officially retiring from the NFL.

“Thank you to all my teammates, coaches, and fans who have supported me and helped me over these past 11 years. I have had the time of my life with the Los Angeles Rams (formerly known as the St. Louis Rams) and can’t thank the whole organization enough for giving me a shot back in 2015. Although some in the organization weren’t totally convinced. … As this chapter ends, I couldn’t be more grateful, hopeful, and excited to see what comes next!”

A four-time team captain, Havenstein started all 148 of his career games and anchored the right tackle position when the Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20, in Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles. Former UW offensive lineman David Edwards also started for Rams that season.

He was a member of Pro Football Focus' Top 101 squad on three occasions - 2018 (83.3 overall grade), 2020 (80.6), 2021 (83.4).

Injuries limited Havenstein to 32 games over the past three seasons and hasn't played since last November as he dealt with knee and ankle problems. Havenstein returned to practice in the days before the NFC championship game in hopes of playing if the Rams made it to the Super Bowl.

Havenstein started 42 games and played in 54 from 2011-14 for the Badgers. The Maryland native was a part of an line that led way for two of the three best single-season rushing performances in school history at 283.8 yards per game in 2013 and a school-record 320.1 yards per game in 2014, the latter a season in which he was a consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection and a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association.

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