HawkShack.com

Maybe this is already up on a post but;
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/12496480/san-francisco-49ers-linebacker-chris-borland-retires-head-injury-concerns

I can't blame a guy if he doesn't think the rewards are worth the risks. You can't play this game with a partial effort and afraid.

Happy for the kid to put his health 1st.... Glad he played for the 9ers. I hope it continue to get worse

The kid was good. I had never heard of him until he became the starter at SF last year. I wonder if the team will demand that 3/4 of the signing bonus back.
This could become a trend for the next few years until we get to the generation that can't use the NFL hiding the concussion issue as an excuse.

I hope he finds happiness in his life. Sucks to be a 49er fan right now.

js

This is easily the 49ers' biggest loss for the offseason.

This guy is young and expected to be one of their cornerstone LB's, especially with the recent retirement of Willis.

It's a Crushing blow to a team that is already reeling, and completely changes their draft board.

o/u for regular season wins with this team in 2015 is 7 or 8, tops.

Ouch... yeah they were really counting on Borland to soften the blow of the Willis retirement. Bad Karma for how they handled Harbaugh?

He was pretty cheap compared to Willis, too.
It looks like they will have to concentrate a little on LB this off season.

Unlike last year, when I cautioned against saying the Niners were imploding, I think its safe to say they will not be much a threat.

That is the second very young and very talented player to retire this off-season.

Who would have thought that it would be John Moffitt who was going to pioneer a trend of leaving the NFL while you are young when he left the Denver Bronco's to pursue "Life" two years ago?

The NFL in a different time....A different era....

Exercise and health maintenance technologies are why no team from that era could win against modern teams, regardless of talent level.

c_hawkbob wrote:Exercise and health maintenance technologies are why no team from that era could win against modern teams, regardless of talent level.

Yeah - But there is something "Badass" about the QB smoking a Cig and washing it down with a Sugary Fresca. At halftime of the Superbowl too.

I would love to see a QB pull out a cig and Mountain Dew at halftime of a Superbowl game and then go on to win the game. Could you imagine the press & public reaction to that today? Half of the viewing public would react in the same manner as they did when the nipple was shown at halftime in the Superbowl. The other half? They would have a new American hero.