Arizona Cardinals TE John Carlson announces retirement
May 5, 2015, 10:51 AM | Updated: 10:52 am
Arizona Cardinals tight end John Carlson announced his retirement from the NFL Tuesday.
“After much thought and consideration, my wife Danielle and I know that this is best decision for us,” Carlson said in a statement released by the team. “I was blessed to play seven seasons in the NFL for three tremendous organizations — the Cardinals, Vikings and Seahawks. I will always treasure the experiences and relationships made during that time but I’m also very excited about the next phase of my life and what’s ahead.”
A free agent pickup prior to last season, Carlson played in all 16 games for the Cardinals, starting 12 of them. He caught 33 passes for 350 yards and one touchdown.
The 30-year-old former second-round pick out of Notre Dame finishes his career with 210 receptions, 2,256 yards and 15 touchdowns. His best season came in 2009, when he caught 51 passes for 574 yards and seven scores for Seattle.
With Carlson gone, along with the departure of Rob Housler in free agency, Arizona’s tight end group features 29-year-old Darren Fells, who came on strong at the end of last season, Troy Niklas, a 2014 second-round pick who struggled with injuries, and Gerald Christian, whom the team selected with the final pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, along with Andre Hardy and Ted Bolser.
