Former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Zach Orr retired back in January, saying that he'd spoken to "multiple doctors and spine specialists." Orr, 25, was drafted by the Ravens in 2014. The Ravens, naturally, didn't pick up Orr's restricted free agent tender this year, and now Orr is seeking a return to football. Orr now claims that he did not initially seek out multiple opinions, but rather it was getting multiple opinions that convinced him to return to football.
Now an unrestricted free agent, Orr said that Ravens team doctors told him that a congenital spine deformity put him at tremendous risk. "It was probably a premature decision for me to retire so early just because I listened to one doctor," Orr said. "After people found out I only went to one doctor, they were telling me, 'You've got to go get a second opinion. It was kind of eating at me. Obviously, I wanted to play ball. I love ball. I went ahead and did that."
Seeking second opinions is a natural step for players that are contemplating retirement due to injury. Indeed, Saints defensive lineman Nicholas Fairley saw at least three doctors about a heart condition that is causing him to miss the 2017 season, and may cut his career short. It's extremely uncommon for a player to hang things up after one doctor tells him to.
Orr is now in the midst of seeing potential suitors in free agency. He's a hot commodity now, as he's young and hasn't missed any substantial time. He led the Ravens with 133 tackles in 2016, and was being marked as a priority for them this offseason. It's an extremely odd situation, to say the least, but whatever team plucks him up is getting an excellent young linebacker.
