San Francisco 49ers’ Chris Borland Retires At 24

In the most shocking story of the offseason — yes, it somehow tops everything Chip Kelly has done — Chris Borland, the San Francisco 49ers linebacker, has decided to retire at the young age of 24. The 2014 third round draft pick out of Wisconsin has talked to experts about head trauma and has decided to call it quits before it is too late.

“I just honestly want to do what’s best for my health,” Borland told ESPN’s Outside the Lines. “From what I’ve researched and what I’ve experienced, I don’t think it’s worth the risk.”

“I feel largely the same, as sharp as I’ve ever been,” Borland continued. “For me, it’s wanting to be proactive. I’m concerned that if you wait ’til you have symptoms, it’s too late… There are a lot of unknowns. I can’t claim that X will happen. I just want to live a long, healthy life, and I don’t want to have any neurological diseases or die younger.”

Head trauma has become a hot button topic over the last few years, which was only briefly pushed aside in 2014 because of various active player scandals. In a court case that predates 2013, more than 4,500 former players sued the NFL over ignoring the signs of neurological disease in the sport.

Since then, the NFL has failed to dismiss the case, causing them to officially settle prior to the start of the 2014 season: the National Football League offered a $1 billion settlement, which many claim was too small and had stipulations that could limit the amount of players that receive this benefit.

Needless to say, this is an issue that has not gone away. Still, most athletes today know the side effects of playing football for ten-plus years. And tons of players have walked away after numerous concussions, but Borland is the first to leave without an already existing injury.

In his rookie season, Chris Borland saw plenty of playing time for the injured Patrick Willis, garnering 107 combined tackles, a sack and two interceptions.

He was supposed to fill the gap — as much as he could — left by Willis’ retirement, but it looks like the organization could chalk this up to another player lost in the 49ers’ mass exodus. Remember, there is still the possibility of losing Justin Smith to retirement and this is after already losing Kevin McDonald, Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree, Mike Iupati and, worst of all, Willis.

The front office needs to do a lot of things this offseason to secure any semblance of a shot for competing against a healthy Arizona Cardinals, Super Bowl runner-up Seahawks and the infinitely improved St. Louis Rams.