Getty Image / Michael Zagaris
Over the last couple of days, there was a pretty unexpected phenomenon in the NFL involving retirements.
3 players in their 20s all decided to retire within 24 hours of each other.
Those 3 included a former 1st-round pick and a rookie fullback.
Those retirements also came shortly after former 1st rounder John Ross (27) made his own retirement decision.
Now it looks like there will be another player joining them in retirement in his 20s.
According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, the New England Patriots placed Jalen Hurd on the reserve/retired list.
WR Jalen Hurd has been placed on the reserve/retired list by the Patriots.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) August 1, 2023
At 27 years old, Hurd had been preparing to head into just his 5th NFL season after being drafted in the 3rd round by the San Francisco 49ers back in 2019.
Hurd entered the league as an interesting prospect that some believed could end up being a steal for the 49ers.
Hurd actually began his college career as a running back at Tennessee. During his time there, he was actually the preferred rushing option on a Vols roster that included Alvin Kamara.
As a sophomore, Hurd ran for 1285 yards and 12 touchdowns. The following year, he had 122 carries in 7 games before suffering an injury and deciding to transfer.
He ended up heading to Baylor and changing positions. It didn’t take long for him to impress despite the new school and new position. He made 69 catches for 946 yards in that season at Baylor.
Standing around 6’5″ and having had success at two positions in college, there were high hopes for Hurd in the pros when he joined the 49ers.
Unfortunately, he never actually took a snap for the team. He ended up on injured reserve with a back injury early in his rookie season.
The next year, he tore his ACL during the pre-season. Year 3 saw him head to injured reserve with another knee injury and the 49ers released him later that year.
Jalen Hurd wasn’t on an NFL roster last year, but signed with the New England Patriots last week.
Now it appears that his attempt at a comeback has come to an end.
It’s unfortunate that we never got to see what Hurd was capable of in the NFL because of some horrible injury luck.