Xavien Howard, the 3-time Pro Bowl cornerback, has decided to retire from professional football on Wednesday. He moved to Vienna at 32 to make this decision. His decision comes a week after his poor outing against the Los Angeles Rams, where he was under a considerable amount of fire. Howard was hoping to reestablish his potential NFL career after a year-long hiatus from the game. He walked away from the sport because something became more important to him.
Howard did not attend practice on Wednesday due to a personal issue. A day or two after, he told the Colts organization that he was retiring. This unexpected announcement marks the end of a notable career during which he started 103 games and amassed 29 career interceptions, ranking third among active players, trailing only Harrison Smith and Kevin Byard III.
In his most recent outing, against the Rams, Howard was abused by emerging stud receiver Puka Nacua. He primarily matched up with Davante Adams. Even on a rare instance where he actually lined up against Charvarius Ward, Adams got home in entertaining fashion. Howard rebounded from a poor performance in Week 2 vs the Denver Broncos. As a result, he was penalized for pass interference two times and defensive holding once that game.
“My dream has now changed. My purpose has been fulfilled in this sport, but my kids are more important to me than football.” – Xavien Howard
Howard’s release is ironic, only in part because of his past honors, such as making the Pro Bowl four times. He had signed on with the Colts in August with the aspiration of jump-starting his career. After a rough start to the season and increased criticism of his play, Howard decided enough was enough and made a shift in priorities.
Colts head coach Shane Steichen admitted to the challenges Howard presented in his worst recent games. He was especially struck by the intense competition that sharpened Howard’s talent. He stated, “Looking back, too, with Xavien, those were two elite receivers that we were going up against last week.”
Though his retirement was unexpected, the Colts had no intentions of cutting Howard prior to him making his decision. He stated that he was proud to have chosen family over football, meaning he was able to find self-actualization outside of the game.
“As the head coach, obviously, I have final decision on all those things and we have those conversations throughout the week.” – Shane Steichen
Leave a Reply