Report: Former Lions guard T.J. Lang expected to retire

It looks like former Detroit Lions guard T.J. Lang will be calling it a career.

According to the Detroit Free Press, people close to Lang are saying that the 10-year veteran has played his last game, and an official announcement may be coming as soon as Friday.

While Lang’s recent career has been marred by injuries that have caused him to miss 15 of the last 36 games, his legacy should overshadow his last few years in Detroit. Lang has made the Pro Bowl twice and he won a Super Bowl in 2011 with the Green Bay Packers. Additionally, he got to finish his career with his local team, giving him the opportunity to stay close to family.

Retirement feels like the right option for Lang, who reportedly suffered a concussion again in 2018, at least the fourth in his entire career. After suffering a particularly scary one against the Cowboys in Week 4, Lang visited several specialists to see if his football future was in jeopardy. While he initially returned to play, a neck injury quickly sidelined him again, and at the end of 2018, he admitted he had serious issues to consider.

“I would love to play going forward, but there’s also a lot of people I need to talk to before any decision like that is made,” Lang said at the end of the season. “I’ve got to wait for the dust to settle. It’s never good to make decisions when you’re emotional.”

Lang was released by the Lions a few weeks ago, saving Detroit nearly $9 million in cap space. Now it appears Lang will take his impressive 10-year career into the history books. We wish Lang the best in retirement and hope he hangs around the franchise that he grew to love in the past few years.