A few weeks after accepting a contract with the Green Bay Packers, a Michigan national championship team member announced his retirement from football, per a report from Packers.com.
On Monday, the Green Bay Packers placed Trente Jones, a rookie offensive lineman, on the reserve/retired list. Two weeks ago, the Packers signed him as an undrafted free agent, and he had just taken part in the rookie minicamp in Green Bay.
Former Michigan OL Trente Jones has been placed on the reserve/retired list. He signed with Green Bay as an undrafted free agent. The Packers have his rights if he returns to the NFL. https://t.co/CRldcoEJ2K
— Clayton Sayfie (@CSayf23) May 13, 2024
After high school, Trente Jones was a 4-star recruit and attended Michigan for his collegiate football career. Almost all of his offensive snaps (around 1,000) were at right tackle. It was predicted that he would play guard in the NFL.
The Packers are able to keep Jones’ NFL rights by putting him on the reserve/retired list. Thus, should he choose to play football again in the future, Green Bay will have the option to bring him back if it so chooses. If not, the team will have to waive him, allowing him to sign with another team.
The reason behind his decision to retire from football has yet to be disclosed.
Trente Jones Had a Highly Successful Career With The Michigan Wolverines
A versatile depth player and sixth lineman throughout the majority of Michigan’s incredible three-year run, Trente Jones was forced into a starting role for the Big Ten Championship Game and College Football Playoff as a redshirt senior due to Zak Zinter’s injury in the Ohio State game, via his Wikipedia.
The most famous thing about Jones was when he took the Block M flag and waved it in Ohio Stadium’s end zone following Michigan’s second of three consecutive wins over the Buckeyes.
He had a significant role in Michigan’s offensive line’s back-to-back Joe Moore Awards victories in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, he also played an essential role in the program’s inaugural 15-0 season.
Trente Jones spent five seasons in Ann Arbor, winning three Big Ten titles and a national championship.
Packers Rookie Announces Sudden Retirement 2 Weeks After NFL Draft
The 2024 NFL Draft has come and gone, and the players who were not lucky enough to have been drafted by a team have gone on to be signed as undrafted free agents. One of those players is offensive lineman Trente Jones, who was signed by the Green Bay Packers a short two weeks ago.
Despite being an undrafted free agent, Jones was a member of the national championship-winning Michigan Wolverines team who made 15 starts in 2023. Jones worked his way to the starting right tackle position after he arrived in 2019.
GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN – MAY 03: Kenneth Odumegwu #98 and Jack Daly of the Green Bay Packers participate in drills during the rookie minicamp at Ray Nitschke Field on May 03, 2024 in Green Bay,…
Jones was facing an uphill battle to make the 53-man roster, but many believed he was the right kind of player to do just that. Sadly, his hopes of playing in the NFL long-term are now over, as the rookie announced his surprising retirement via social media.
Jones starts the video by stating, “I didn’t know this was going to be a turning point in my career, but I did injure my back. And it’s one of those things where it’s like you either make the decision to keep pushing and possibly get cut and also hurt your back. Or you could try to do this and try to do that and try to push through it and end up messing up your back forever. Or none of those things happen and you play for 10 to 15 years.”
Jones then weighs his options. He could attempt to come back to the NFL after healing. However, he concludes, “I made the decision to leave football. It’s kind of like a medical retirement. But it is also a situation where I could, in theory, come back to football at some point.”
Jones does sound a bit hopeful of the idea that he could return to football after getting well, but he also hurt his back to a degree that was enough for him to walk away from the game of football. Back issues are certainly very serious and scary. Once irreparable damage is done, it’s hard to get it right without extensive surgery.
At 23, Jones is young enough to dream of returning to the NFL once he gets the proper care and healing. He wouldn’t be the first player to be medically retired and later come back to football. Miami Dolphins defensive end Jaelen Phillips medically retired in 2018 after sustaining several concussions at UCLA. He returned to football a mere year later at the University of Miami. He has since been drafted and has had a stellar career with the Dolphins.
Jones might just need rest and relaxation to allow his back to heal and become stronger. Then again, he does have a huge presence on social media and could pivot to an professional influencer-type role moving forward.
