Richie Incognito, a four-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman, announced his retirement from the NFL on Friday. Incognito, who turned 39 on July 5, retired as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders, his fourth and final NFL team.
The 81st-overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, Incognito broke into the NFL with the Rams. He spent four seasons in St. Louis before joining the Buffalo Bills in 2009, spending the next four years with the Miami Dolphins and then returning to Buffalo for the next three seasons. After a year away from football, Incognito played his final two years with the Raiders before spending the 2021 season on injured reserve. In all, Incognito started in each of his 164 career regular season games.
"While I wouldn't change those long hours in the gym and on the field, I'm excited for the wide-open ventures ahead of me," Incognito said in his retirement letter. "Take a vacation when I want. Go back to school to get my MBA. Spend more time with my family and friends.
"After stepping away from football in 2018, I knew if I came back, it would be to finish out my career on my terms. It also had to be with the right team, which I found in the Raiders. There's always hesitancy in coming back when you've been out of the game, but after a tryout with the Raiders, I immediately knew it was the place for me. It made me hungry to come back.
"It felt like home the minute I got here. I'd played so long, and I'd gotten this 'bad boy' reputation, but it just fit with the Raiders. They trusted who I was, and they let me play. And I played my ass off just to repay them for the opportunity."
One of the NFL's top interior lineman during the 2010s, Incognito earned his first Pro Bowl berth in 2012 as a member of the Dolphins. He earned three consecutive Pro Bowl nods with the Bills from 2015-17. His play in 2017 helped Buffalo end the franchise's 18-year playoff drought.
Incognito missed the entire 2014 season after he was initially suspended by the Dolphins for misconduct related to the treatment of then Dolphins lineman Jonathan Martin. In 2016, Incognito was fined over $9,000 for throwing Andre Branch's helmet during a game against the Dolphins. He served a two-game suspension in 2019 for violating the league's personal conduct policy.
