Twin centers Maurkice Pouncey and Mike Pouncey have announced their retirement from the NFL. The announcement was made through their close teammate Ramon Foster.

Foster made the announcement for the twin brothers on Friday morning through Twitter. “It’s my honor that my brothers from another asked me to announce the next stage in their life,” Foster wrote on Twitter. “After over a decade [Maurkice] and [Mike] are RETIRING from the NFL.” The memos from both of the players were attached to the tweet.

Mike’s statement provided by Foster, read, “We began this journey at 6 years old and now at 31 we will close this chapter of our lives as I announce my retirement from the NFL and walk away from the game.”

“I’ll always love the game of football & always will be the ultimate competitor in life,” the former Steelers center Maurkice said. “I’m just not in love with the sacrifice football carries on my life, my beautiful daughters Jayda, Marley & my family!”

Maurkice was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers as the 18th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Maurkice spent his entire career with the Steelers and became a nine-time Pro Bowler.

The Pittsburgh center became close friends with his team’s quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Both players were fond of one another. Both even vowed to play together as long as both were active. Pouncey had thought about retirement following their playoff loss to the Browns in the Wild Card round.

Mike was drafted a year after Maurkice and was selected with the 15th pick by the Miami Dolphins. Like his twin brother, he also became a Pro Bowler while with the Dolphins. Mike earned three Pro Bowl selections when he was with Miami.

In 2018, Mike signed with the Los Angeles Chargers where he spent his final seasons. Coincidentally, Mike’s final game happened to be a team loss in the wild card round of the playoffs, just like his twin brother.

Maurkice’s retirement gives the Steelers some cap relief, about $8 million is freed, but he does leave $6.475 in dead cap.

During an interview with CBS 4, Mike and Maurkice Pouncey were asked about their former teammate Mike Wallace: Mike played with Wallace in Miami and Maurkice in Pittsburgh. And neither had nice words about the wide receiver.

“First of all, in my opinion, he’s a coward,” Maurkice told CBS 4. “I never want a guy on my team like that to walk out on your band of brothers. Forget the things that don’t happen in the game. Say, you don’t get the ball a lot, or you mess up and they pull you out. Forget all that. It’s about playing for your brothers.”

“I think the offseason is a time to speak your mind,” Mike Pouncey continued. “Obviously our organization felt a way about some guys, and they got those guys out of our football team. I think it was the right move for everybody, because at the end of the day, if everyone is not on the same page, you’re not going to win football games… So I’m glad that we moved on from that, and I just can’t wait to see where we go from here.”

Wallace was the source of controversy in Miami. He was benched following a sideline altercation during the Dolphins’ week 17 game against the New York Jets and was then traded to the Minnesota Vikings during the offseason. In his two seasons with Miami, he had 140 receptions, 1,792 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Since then, Wallace has responded to Maurkice and Mike’s comments through Twitter.

Soon after the story hit the Internet, Maurkice retreated, claiming his quote was taken out of context.

It is hard to understand what was taken out of context, but it is important to note that neither player referred to Wallace by name.