With more than a dozen NFL seasons to his name, Richie Incognito is calling it a career.
The veteran guard announced his retirement via the Raiders' team website Friday.
"My last few seasons couldn't have happened with a better group of men, guys that embraced me. I wanted to finish on my own terms," Incognito wrote. "Not a lot of people get to do that in this league and that's why I'm so proud to retire with the Raiders. I came back. I set my mission. I accomplished my goal."
Incognito's career encountered plenty of twists and turns, but when he was playing, he was among the league's best guards. Incognito earned four Pro Bowl selections, including three straight from 2015 to 2017, and even at the age of 36, former Raiders general manager Mike Mayock thought highly enough of the blocker to bring him into the Raiders organization after Incognito sat out of the entire 2018 season.
After missing the first two contests of the 2019 campaign due to suspension for violation of the league's personal conduct policy, Incognito started in all 12 games in which he appeared for the Raiders before injuries cut his time short. He played in just two games in the following year, missing the majority of the season due to an Achilles injury, then missed all of 2021 before calling it quits.
A good portion of Incognito's tale deals with on- and off-field issues. He was a central figure in the bullying scandal that emerged from the Miami Dolphins in 2013, receiving a suspension that ultimately amounted to eight games during the 2013 season and extended throughout the entire 2014 season. During his suspension, Incognito checked himself into a treatment facility in Arizona in order to seek therapeutic help for well-documented issues with controlling his emotions.
Incognito resumed his NFL career in 2015 with the Buffalo Bills, where he kicked off his run of three straight Pro Bowl-level seasons from 2015-2017. Between the ages of 32 and 34, Incognito proved he was still a high-quality blocker, good enough to get one last shot with the Raiders.
Incognito's 13-season career began in St. Louis with the Rams, who spent a third-round pick on the lineman from Nebraska in the 2005 draft and used him as a stopgap along the offensive line in 2006 (he did not play in 2005) before he eventually moved to guard. In St. Louis, Incognito's temperamental nature first became evident when his anger caused him to incur three fines totaling $35,000 after a game with the Rams in 2008. A year later, he was penalized twice and benched for headbutting opposing players in a game, leading to his release from the Rams.
Incognito seemed to find some stability in Miami, where he appeared in all but one possible game in his first three seasons with the Dolphins before the aforementioned bullying scandal forced him out of action. Once he returned, he didn't miss a game with the Bills from 2015-2017.
In all, Incognito's career was certainly tumultuous and controversial, and didn't produce a sparkling reputation among all players. But as he wrote Friday, he left on his own terms.
"I've dealt with injuries the last two years I never had before in my career," Incognito said. "My body told me it was time, and I knew I was ready to hang them up. And though some in my inner circle might not believe me – I'm ready. There's no turning back."
