Wide receiver Jermaine Kearse revealed his retirement from the NFL on Tuesday, writing on Instagram that he was “leaving the video game feeling content and incredibly grateful with what I had the ability to accomplish.”
Kearse, who grew up in Washington and scored a goal in the Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl XLVIII triumph over the Denver Broncos, composed that it was a “total honor” to play for the team and that he was “grateful I had the ability to assist bring our very first Super Bowl home!”
Kearse had a hand in some of the most significant plays in Seahawks history. In addition to his touchdown catch in Super Bowl XLVIII, he captured the consent and game-winning goals in successive NFC Championship Games. His 35-yard rating versus the San Francisco 49ers preceded Richard Shermans popular pointer of Colin Kaepernicks pass in the end zone. The next year, Kearse sent out the Seahawks back to the Super Bowl with another 35-yard goal catch in overtime to cap an unlikely return win over the Green Bay Packers.
Kearse, 30, who signed with the Lions last season as a veteran who understood offensive organizer Darrell Bevells offense, broke his left leg and injured his left ankle in Detroits preseason opener against New England in 2019. The Lions then put him on injured reserve, ending his season.
The 6-foot-1 Kearse invested the very first five seasons of his career with Seattle before being traded to the Jets on Sept. 1, 2017, as part of an offer for Sheldon Richardson. He had signed with Detroit last season to attempt to resurrect his career after a down year with New York in 2018, where he had 37 catches for 371 lawns and a touchdown.
Kearse was a productive receiver in Seattle, playing 69 games (beginning 51) while catching 153 passes for 2,109 backyards and 11 goals.
In his profession, he had 255 catches for 3,290 lawns and 17 touchdowns. He also had 31 catches for 493 backyards and 6 touchdowns in the postseason. Kearses 6 postseason goal catches are connected with Doug Baldwin for the most in Seahawks history.
ESPNs Brady Henderson and Michael Rothstein contributed to this report.
