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Jordy Nelson has decided to call it a career.
The longtime Green Bay Packers wide receiver is retiring after 11 seasons in the NFL. His final season saw him play for the Oakland Raiders before being released earlier this offseason.
Nelson was a potential free agent target by the Seattle Seahawks, who reportedly brought him in for a visit last week. There was also reported interest from several other teams, including the reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.
The 33-year-old Nelson was once among the NFL’s best wideouts, peaking in 2014 with 98 catches for 1,519 yards and 13 touchdowns. Even after tearing his ACL in 2015 preseason, he bounced back with a 97-catch, 1,257-yard season on his way to winning the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award for 2016. Since then, he’s caught just 116 passes for 1,221 yards and 9 touchdowns over the past two seasons. Of course, Aaron Rodgers’ collarbone injury in 2017 contributed to his productivity drop, as Brett Hundley was decidedly unable to unseat Favre as the best Packers QB named Brett.
Playing against the Seahawks, Nelson matched up against the crummy defense of 2008 as a rookie, the peak Legion of Boom years of 2012 and 2014, all the way through the rebuilt defense of 2018. All things considered, Seattle did a pretty damn good job regardless of the defenses they trotted out.
Jordy Nelson played 8 career games against Seahawks, including 1 in postseason. Seattle played him well in this games. Averaged 44.8 yards per game, career-high of 79 in 2017 win over Seahawks, held to 71 yards by Richard Sherman in 2014 NFC championship.
— Field Gulls (@FieldGulls) March 27, 2019
Two of Nelson’s three TDs against the Seahawks came in the 38-10 blowout in 2016, a game which did not involve Earl Thomas due to his broken leg.
Nelson does at least retire with a Super Bowl ring, catching the opening touchdown in Green Bay’s 31-25 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2011.