Ed Reed Thinking About Early Retirement?

NFL News - January 18th, 2010 - Written by John

Saturday night's loss by the Baltimore Ravens may be the last time the ol' band gets together.

Per ESPN (and several other news outlets), All-Pro safety Ed Reed is contemplating retirement, citing neck injuries that have plagued him for the last two seasons. He is also particularly ruffled over the team's 20-3 defeat by the Indianapolis Colts, a game in which he had two interceptions that were for naught.

Reed admitted that his desire to hang it up may be a knee-jerk reaction, but also said that he is tired of dealing with NFL Injuries.

"It's 50-50," Reed said. "I got great doctors that I deal with. So I'm going to re-evaluate things and see how it goes...At the end of the day, it's my decision to play with injuries going forward for my career."

Teammate Derrick Mason is reportedly also thinking about retirement. He is set to become a free agent and has been dealing with injuries as well. He retired briefly during last off-season due to emotional stress from the passing of his old friend Steve McNair, but was coaxed into coming back for at least another year.

Mason seemed to make a good decision, leading the team with 1,028 receiving yards, but is not convinced he even cares anymore.

"I got some months to think about it," said Mason. "I'm not in a rush. If I decide to play, obviously this would be a place that I'll come back to. All the pieces are in place. But I have to think about my two little [children]."

If Reed retires, he will go down as on of the all-time greats of the Baltimore franchise. He has been the best safety in the NFL this decade, with a franchise-record 46 career interceptions and six touchdowns. He was recently selected to his sixth Pro Bowl, and was named the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year in 2004. His 108-yard interception return last season is the longest in NFL history, breaking his own record of 106 yards.

Last September, he was named to Sporting News' Team of The Decade.

"It's very tough because these opportunities don't come often," Reed said. "As a player getting older, you don't know how much you can last. So it's hard, man. It's really hard.