Jermaine Kearse miss last year due to injury and decided to call it a career in 2020. Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Veteran WR Jermaine Kearse announces retirement

By Blake Harper | Last updated 9/29/20

Wide receiver Jermaine Kearse announced that he is retiring from the NFL after spending most of his career with the Seattle Seahawks, including helping the team win a Super Bowl.

"After 8 years playing in the NFL, I’m leaving the game feeling extremely grateful and content with what I was able to accomplish out there on the field not only for myself, but my family as well," Kearse wrote on Instagram. "Going through some extreme highs and some extreme lows has taught me a lot about myself and by the grace of God he was able to pull me through the rough times and in the end all those experiences were all worth it."

Kearse was signed by Seattle as an undrafted free agent in 2012 and spent the next five seasons with the Seahawks. In his second season, he broke out in the playoffs, catching touchdowns in the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers and the Super Bowl win over the Denver Broncos.

View this post on Instagram

It’s never really easy writing posts like this. I’m not a big announcement type of guy lol Trying to find all the right words to say to sum up my experiences over the past decade isn’t an easy feat so I’m going to try and keep this short and sweet. Lol After 8years playing in the NFL, I’m leaving the game feeling extremely grateful and content with what I was able to accomplish out there on the field not only for myself, but my family as well. Going through some extreme highs and some extreme lows has taught me a lot about myself and by the grace of God he was able to pull me through the rough times and in the end all those experiences were all worth it. I want to thank my wife @marisakearse for being the incredible woman that she is. Thank you for keeping me sane during the tough times and thank you for pushing me to be a better man. I couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you to my family for your endless support and I love you guys so much! Thank you to all my teammates! You guys made this whole experience what it was. I had so much fun out there with you guys. I love y’all. Seattle, as a hometown kid it was a complete honor to represent you guys out there on the field. Thank you so much for your endless support throughout my football career. It was an honor to put on that Hawks uniform and I’m so grateful I was able to help bring our first Super Bowl home! Something We will never forget. I’m Looking forward to what God has planned for me in this next chapter of this thing called life but I can assure you it involves a lot of time with my family time and a lot of Golf haha see you on a course near you. THANK YOU and I love you all God Bless✌

A post shared by Jermaine Kearse (@jkearse15) on Sep 29, 2020 at 7:50am PDT

In 2017, Kearse was traded to the Jets for defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson. His first season in New York was his best in the NFL, as he caught 65 passes for 810 and five touchdowns. But in his second season, he struggled and ended the year with just 371 yards receiving and a single touchdown.

He signed with the Detroit Lions in 2019, but he broke his league in the first quarter of the team's first preseason game, forcing him to miss the rest of the season. He had not signed with any team heading into the 2020 season.

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