Seahawks’ Kam Chancellor to ‘Walk Away’ from Football

July 2 (UPI) — Legion of Boom cornerstone Kam Chancellor has announced that he is walking away from football.

The Seattle Seahawks safety made the announcement Sunday on social media. Chancellor, 30, played his entire eight-year NFL career for the Seahawks. He was a fifth round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft and went on to be selected for the Pro Bowl four times. The Virginia Tech product won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks in 2014, helping the pilot the defense against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos in a 43-8 rout.

Chancellor was injured in a Week 10 game against the Arizona Cardinals last season. He missed the second half of the 2017 campaign due to the injury. He had 48 tackles, two passes defensed, a forced fumble and a safety in nine starts last season.

Chancellor didn’t officially retire, but he wasn’t medically cleared to play.

“I always prayed to God and told myself that I would play this game of football until the wheels fall off,” Chancellor wrote on Twitter. “Well the wheels didn’t fall off, but God has given me a sign that I just can’t ignore.”

Chancellor said that he has played through many injuries throughout his career, but he couldn’t ignore the implications of his latest ailment. He said the images that he saw of his neck had him at one of his “lowest points as a man.”

“To walk away from the game by choice is one thing,” he wrote. “To walk away from the game because of the risk of paralysis is another.”

Chancellor said his final test showed no healing.

“Pray for your boy,” Chancellor wrote at the end of his message. “I have no clue how these head injuries will go after the game. What I do know is that my God is stronger. Peace and love.”