B.J. Raji quoted Vince Lombardi in announcing his decision to leave football for a year.
While the late Hall of Fame coach for the Green Bay Packers would have been proud, the current team now has a hole to fill on the defensive line.
Raji said Monday that he was taking a "hiatus" from the NFL and would not play in 2016 following seven seasons with Green Bay.
"This decision was made after hours of conversation with close family members and mentors and considerable self-introspection and is one in which I am absolutely certain," Raji said in a statement. "I cannot rule out a return to the NFL in the future, but I will definitely not be playing during the 2016 season."
"Coach Lombardi once said that 'Unless a man believes in himself and makes a total commitment to his career and puts everything he has into it — his mind, his body, his heart — what's life worth to him?' That is the approach I have taken with football since I was a two-star high school recruit," Raji said.
... The Chargers agreed to terms of a three-year contract with former Packers cornerback Casey Hayward, a second-round draft pick in 2012 who played in 51 games with 20 starts in four seasons.
Steelers' Bryant suspended one year
Martavis Bryant's blossoming NFL career took another significant hit when the NFL suspended the talented but troubled wide receiver for at least one year following another violation of the league's substance abuse policy.
