Nine-time Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey said Friday he calls the “sacrifice” of playing pro football, and he announced the nine-time Pro Bowl center.
Pouncey and his twin brother, Mike, made their joint announcement via Maurkice Pouncey’s longtime teammate and friend Ramon Foster on Foster’s verified Twitter page. Foster, a guard, played ten seasons with Pouncey with the Steelers until he announced his retirement in March last year. Foster is now co-hosting a radio program in his native Tennessee.
It is my honor that my brothers from another asked me to announce the next phase in their lives. After more than a decade @MaurkicePouncey and Mike Pouncey RETIRED from the @nfl 🤝. Below are their memoranda to thank those involved in their careers. #Steeler # loaders # Miami # NFL pic.twitter.com/v9IALOrZaX
– Ramon Foster (@RamonFoster) 12 February 2021
Set in the first round in 2010, Pouncey was named the Pro Bowl Series each season in which he played more than one quarter. Pouncey missed the entire 2015 season due to a broken leg, and two ligaments in his right knee were torn during a play in early 2013.
Pouncey was the first AP All Pro team in 2011, 2012 and 2014. He was the second All Pro team in 2010 and 2018.
But since turning 30 in 2019, Pouncey has missed six games in the past two seasons, the first time apart from the two major injuries he has missed since 2012 due to an injury. The Steelers have been chasing yards for the last time in the NFL this past season, and their surprise blowout loss in their playoff starting batsman for the Cleveland Browns was facilitated in part by Pouncey hitting the ball well over Ben Roethlisberger’s head during the first game of the match.
After the game, Pouncey and Roethlisberger sat on the bench alone after almost every other player in both teams retired to their locker rooms. Roethlisberger in particular apparently had tears in his eyes when he sat down with Pouncey, one of his best friends on the team.
“I love that man (Pouncey),” Roethlisberger later said. ‘He’s one of the best competitors and teammates I’ve ever had. It was so much fun to share a football field with him. ”
Pouncey and Roethlisberger sometimes said they were going to retire together. Over the past few weeks, Art Rooney II, president of Steelers, and Roethlisberger have both publicly said they want Roethlisberger to return for an 18de season at age 39. But contract negotiations remain before that can happen.
Pouncey’s retirement leaves the Steelers with a “dead money” of $ 6.48 million on their salary limit of 2021, according to overthecap.com. If he had played this season, Pouncey would have paid a salary of $ 8 million. The Steelers can now shoot the money off their 2021 cap, though they are likely to supplement their domestic offensive line with free agent letters and / or drafts.
Pouncey’s backup last season was JC Hassenauer, a former unknown player whose biggest pro experience came in the everyday alliance of American football in 2019. Hassenauer, who was a backup during his time in Alabama, started four games in 2020 – three in place of Pouncey.
Pouncey’s retirement means the Steelers could have as many as four new starters on their offensive in 2021. Left-back Matt Feiler, left-tackle Alejendro Villanueva and right-back tackle Zach Banner are unlimited free agents next month – though Banner is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in the season opener.
“I will always love the football game (and always be the best competitor in life),” reads a message released via Foster. “I’m (just) not in love with the sacrifice football makes in my life, my beautiful daughters Jayda, Marley (and) my family.”
Mike Pouncey was born a minute later as Maurkice in Lakeland, Fla. Mike Pouncey played alongside his brother at the University of Florida and was a first-round pick for the Miami Dolphins in 2010. He played seven seasons for them and the 2018-19 season for the Los Angeles Chargers. But Mike only played five games in 2019 due to a neck injury, and he has not played at all due to a hip injury last season.
In his retirement note, Maurkice promised Pouncey to keep his job for the TeamPouncey Foundation. Pouncey was an advocate for underprivileged children and for police issues.
Pouncey and Roethlisberger were the only active players left in the Steelers who last participated in the February 2011 Super Bowl. However, Pouncey did not play in the loss to the Green Bay Packers due to an ankle injury. .
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Chris Adamski is a staff writer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Chris by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
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