Linebacker Paul Worrilow retires from NFL hours after signing with Ravens

Linebacker Paul Worrilow retires from NFL hours after signing with Ravens

Before the Ravens could even pencil Paul Worrilow into their depth chart, the 29-year-old linebacker is already leaving town.

The former Atlanta Falcon decided to retire from the NFL less than 24 hours after the Baltimore announced his signing and left the Ravens’ coaching staff searching for more answers at a time when they’d otherwise be smoothing out their roster.

You go to sleep thinking you’ve got another piece to your defense locked in. You wake up to the news that he’s decided to stop playing football altogether.

Or at least Worrilow is done playing for now.

According to NJ.com’s Mike Kaye — who covered Worrilow in Philadelphia last season — Worrilow’s change of heart stems from the fact that his wife is due with another child in September and he wanted to be with his family at this time.

It’s certainly an admirable reason to pause any career, let alone one as an athlete in a league that burns through players as quickly as the NFL does. Kaye says Worrilow wanted to play but that his priorities changed. That’s understandable.

Especially considering that the linebacker was forced to sit out all of last season in Philadelphia with a torn ACL. He rejoined the Eagles for camp this year but was let go without seeing any preseason action. That’s a long time away from getting into a game.

Worrilow wasn’t guaranteed to make the roster in Baltimore — though his 413 tackles, 11 deflections and four sacks in 72 career games surely gave him a leg up — but there was a need on the depth chart at inside linebacker as the team takes its time bringing Chris Board back from a concussion.

If nothing else, Worrilow’s time in Baltimore has given football fans a fantastic future trivia question.

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Blake Schuster is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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