Former Kansas City Chiefs stalwart Mike DeVito explains his retirement.
Yet another NFL player stepping away from the game perhaps too early. After making the call to hang up the cleats this offseason, Mike DeVito recently expressed his train of thought on Sirius XM NFL Radio. The former 6-foot-3, 305-pound defensive lineman emphasized his main motivation for calling quits had to do with his family, and more specifically, the concerns of his wife.
DeVito had struggled to stay healthy the past two seasons as a 3-4 DE for the Chiefs. In the 2014 opener, an unfortunate Achilles tear would put an end to his season and hurt Kansas City mightily in defending against the run. Last year, DeVito suffered two concussions in games versus Minnesota and Oakland.
This has been a reoccurring theme around the NFL over the last year or so. The fans are not the only ones who see the statistics linking CTE and football; the players know exactly what is going on around them. When one guy walks away, the next guy thinks twice as hard. Calvin Johnson, Chris Borland, Patrick Willis, and D’Brickashaw Ferguson are just a few names that quit the game early with plenty left in the tank.
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Borland is a very interesting case in itself; after a fantastic rookie season, the former 49ers linebacker suddenly walked away from the game. For DeVito, it could have been as simple as watching his defensive teammate Husain Abdullah walk away (who did so for similar reasons) in order for him to reconsider returning.
These players are starting to value their futures, and there should be nothing but praise for them doing so. As much as we love this game and sit idol in front of the TV each Sunday, it is a violent and brutal sport.
There is more out there than just football as the ex-Chief indicates:
"“…but when I started getting concussions, I had two right in a row, you’ve got to be really careful. You see the new data coming out. That really changes who you are as a person. So it was a tough sell to my wife and, obviously, she’s a higher priority to me than football is. It made the decision easy, but it still was difficult.”"
DeVito continues:
"“But you think down the line, when I’m 40-50 years old, I have a family that needs me around and needs me coherent to be able to function, and so that really weighs into the decision-making.”"
It is beyond clear at this point that the number one concern for these players and their families is not a tear of an Achilles or ACL. The fear is of the brain and what it could potentially become down the line. I recently was able to watch the movie Concussion, and if you have not done so already, I suggest you watch it. This is a film every football fan should see for the sole reason being that it educates its audience on the potential hazards this beautiful but sometimes deadly game has to offer.
Mike DeVito will primarily be remembered as a New York Jet where he spent six of his nine seasons in the NFL. In 110 games played, he finished with 250 combined tackles, 5.5 sacks, and six forced fumbles. Overall, stats won’t do justice to the nice little career DeVito put together. This guy got the dirty work done inside. While the stout run defender definitely could have played a few more years in the trenches, kudos to him for being a responsible and unselfish family man.
And of course, shall we never forget…