Ryan Ramczyk has called it a career.
The New Orleans Saints long-time right tackle announced his retirement Thursday after eight years in the NFL. He missed all of last season because of a chronic knee injury, but at his peak, he was one of the most dominant offensive linemen in the league.
Ramczyk, 30, made three All-Pro teams — one first-team selection and two second-team selections. The former 2017 first rounder, drafted 32nd overall, landed with the Saints after the team traded wide receiver Brandin Cooks to the New England Patriots, who sent back the pick New Orleans used to acquire the Wisconsin product.
In 2021, Ramczyk signed a five-year, $96 million extension to make him then the league’s highest paid right tackle.
Ramczyk’s retirement came one week before the NFL Draft, where the former offensive lineman will announce the Saints’ selections on Day 2 of the three-day event.
“What an incredible journey it’s been,” Ramczyk wrote on a social media post that thanked his family, former coaches and teammates. “My path to the NFL wasn’t a straight line, it wasn’t the path most people expect. … As I step into retirement, I’m filled with gratitude for everything this sport has given me.”
That journey included spending his first two years of eligibility at UW-Stevens Point — a Division III school that employed his former high school football coach. He then transferred to Wisconsin, where he worked his way to become a first-round pick.
As a Saint, Ramczyk joined William Road as the only tackle to be named an All-Pro three times. He was remarkably durable over the first half of his career, missing only one game in his first four seasons.
But then came the injuries.
Ramczyk’s career was undoubtedly cut short due to a chronic knee injury that slowed him down in later years. In 2023, his last season on the field, he missed the final five games because of the ailment and told reporters that he was uncertain of his future. He underwent surgery in the offseason, though his knee did not respond to the point in which he could play football again.
While sidelined, the lineman appeared noticeably slimmed down in the few public appearances that he made last season. He was seen loading boxes into a car at the end of the 2024 campaign.
The Saints, too, were expecting his retirement. The team and Ramczyk reworked his contract in January that reduced his $18 million salary to the league minimum of $1.255 million.
Though he announced his decision Thursday, Ramczyk also may technically wait to retire in June since it would allow the Saints to spread the $23 million left in dead money over the next two seasons rather than absorb it all at once in 2025. The procedural step would follow what the team did with former quarterback Drew Brees.
Ramczyk also announced his retirement the same offseason as Terron Armstead, the former Saints left tackle who also revealed he was stepping away from the NFL weeks earlier.
