Former Chiefs OT Mitchell Schwartz Announces Retirement

Former Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz has been a technical free agent for the past couple of offseasons, but his football career is officially coming to a close in 2022. On Thursday, the 33-year-old officially announced his retirement from the NFL on Twitter. Here's the opening portion of his statement:

I'm officially retiring from the NFL. 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.

Schwartz, who was either a First- or Second-Team All-Pro in each of his first four seasons in Kansas City, started 70 games with the club and was one of the steadiest right tackles in the league when healthy. He was a reliable contributor along the Chiefs' front line and also won Super Bowl LIV with the club.

A back injury he suffered during the 2020 season forced Schwartz out of action, and he was subsequently cut the following offseason as general manager Brett Veach opted to rebuild the team's offensive line over the following few months. In Schwartz's statement, he thanked several members of the Chiefs organization for their help over the years (including CEO & Chairman Clark Hunt and his family -- omitted from the quote below for brevity).

Thank you to Andy Reid for bringing me to Kansas City. He is the best coach you can ask for and an even better person. It was a privilege to sit in those meetings and hear him speak. It is special being a part of his offense and football team. To Brett Veach and Brandt Tilis for their ability to put a championship team on the field every year, and for seeing my value when it was time to renegotiate. To Andy Heck for his steadying presence and leadership in the OL room.

Schwartz, a second-round pick by the Cleveland Browns back in 2012, played through his entire rookie contract in Cleveland before inking a five-year, $33 million deal with the Chiefs as a free agent. Before that deal was up, he restructured his contract for three years and $24.45M remaining in 2019. When Kansas City cut him in March of last year, the move saved $6.25M in cap space. Now a year-plus removed from that, Schwartz decides to hang his cleats up and continue working on his post-football career.

This story is being updated.