Veteran cornerback Steven Nelson, formerly of the Kansas City Chiefs, announced his retirement on June 9 via KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson.
“Retirement, after thinking it over and having some talks with my family, I think it’s time for me to take a step back and spend more time with my family,” Nelson told Wilson. “We’re expecting a newborn this coming month and I wanted to devote all of my time and energy to that and various business ventures off the field. I’m extremely proud of what I was able to do in the game of football.
“Coming from a small town without a lot of resources, having to go to junior college, making it out of there to go to Oregon State, which was across the country from my family, going through a lot of trials and tribulations to get to where I am today and to be able to persevere and make it this far. I’m extremely proud of my legacy and my career.”
Nelson, 31, entered the NFL as a third-round pick of the Chiefs in 2015 out of Oregon State. He played in a total of 52 regular season games — started 38 of them — and had 158 tackles, 35 passes defended, 8 tackles for loss, and 4 interceptions, according to Pro Football Reference.
The veteran corner’s tenure in Kansas City came to an end when his rookie contract expired in 2019. After he took to free agency for the first time in his career he then signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nelson went on to spend two seasons with the Steelers, one with the Philadelphia Eagles, and two with the Houston Texans.
During his NFL career, Nelson played in a total of 130 regular season games and registered 374 tackles, 78 passes defended, 13 interceptions, and 11 tackles for loss.
Steven Nelson Hasn’t Completely Ruled Out NFL Return
Despite announcing his retirement over the weekend, Nelson hasn’t completely ruled out a return to the NFL if the timing and situation are right.
“I always will keep my body in shape and will always be ready if the right opportunity comes or I feel like the timing is right and my heart is into, I’ll do it,” Nelson told Wilson. “As of now, I think it’s best for me to take a step back and just enjoy my family.”
Per Wilson, Nelson had “prospective” contract offers or “serious inquiries” from the Texans, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants, Los Angeles Rams, Washington Commanders, and Miami Dolphins this offseason.
Throughout his NFL career, Nelson made a total of $33.8 million from his contracts, according to Spotrac.
Twitter/X Reacts to Steven Nelson’s Retirement
Users on X, formerly Twitter, reacted to Steven Nelson’s retirement.
“This one really surprised me than the Darren Waller,” one user wrote. “Very solid outside CB retiring early. I Thought he had few years still up left in the tank while playing pretty good ball still.”
“People are going to hate but he was good for us, had a great career, and I hope he enjoys retirement,” another user wrote.
“Damn. Surely he had interest somewhere after tying a career high with 4 INTs, having his highest tackling total since 2018, and allowing just 1 TD (his best mark since 2019),” another user wrote. “All in his age 30 season. Likely going out on his own terms.”
